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®hp  i.  1.  Mill  ICtbrarg 


North  (Carolina  ^tnU  ^moprfiilg 


SI 
S6 

V.20 

no. 1-2,  4»   6 

1860 


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the  Library  building. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/southernplanter20rich 


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■  _i     I  III  nr"  ".  "*'^**"' 


-^^n  VOL.  XX. 


t.^^^ 


[JAHTJARY-l 


i* 


^o.t^^ 


fi 


;rsT  ik  WiLLTAMS,  rKOPi:ii:n<>i:>^.  2jJ 


J.    E.    WILLIAMS,    Edit'jh 


^  ^'  I  ¥ 


<^  - 


TH  E 


DEVOTED   TO 


AGRICULTURE,  HORTIGULTUUE, 


AND   THE 


HOUSEHOLD  AETS, 


PEIXTED  AT  PvICIIMOND,  Va., 
BY  MACFARLAXE   &  FERGUSSON 

18:^0. 


D.  H.  Hia  LIBRARY 
N.  a  STATE  UNIVERSITY 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


CONTENTS. 

Slavery  and  Free  Labor  Describeil  and 
Compared,  .... 

Jol  n  Jolinson  and  his  Farming, 

The  India  Cotton  Qiie.-tion, 

Change  of  Food  for  Cattle, 

A  Few  Reasons  why  Land  slionld  be  Im- 
proved— Tiic  Horse  an  Intellectual  Be- 


^ 


Feeding  Stock  as  a  Branch  of  Farm  Man- 
agement,  ..... 
Marvels  of"  Human  Caloric, 
Farm  Drainage, 

Ultimate  Benefits  of  Droughts,  and  the 
Mode  in  which  they  Act  to  Improve 
Land,         .  .  .  •  -       21 

Tobacco  the  Bane  of  Virginia  Husbandry,        22 
Feeding  Stock — Manures,  Soiling,  .       24 

Salt  as  a  Mannre,     .  .  .  .26 

Animal  Food — Vegetable  Food,      .  .       27 

Dairy  Management  in  Scotland,      .  .       29 

Experiments — Importance  of,  .  .       32 

Advice  to  Young  Farmers,  .  .       33 

Capital  and  Enterprise — the  Bases  of  Ag- 
ricultural Progress,  .  .  -36 
On  Tobacco  Culture,             .             .  .30 
The  Use  of  Quails,  .              .  .40 
Virginia  State  Agricidtural  Society,  .       41 
Premiums   Awarded  at   the  Seventh  An- 
nual  Exliibiiion    of    the  Virginia   State 
Agricultural  Society,  &c.,              .  .       48 
Friends! — On  Economical  Living,  and  the 

Encouragement  of  Home  Iiulustry,  .       58 

To  our  Subscribers — Information  Wanted 

—Droughts,  .  .  ,  .60 

Important  Discovery,  .  .  .61 

Lime  and  Salt  Mixture,       .  .  .62 

Cooking  by  Gas,        .  .  .  .63 

Six  Little  Feet  on  the  Fender — The  Con- 
tented Man — The  Voyage  of  Life,  .       64 

ALEXANDER  GARRETT, 

C-ary  s«treet,  second  door  below  13th  street, 
Adjuiuiug  the  Old  Culumblau  Hotel, 

RICHMO^XD.  VA.. 

GENER.iL  COMMISSION  MERCHANT, 

AND    DEALER    IN" 

GROCERIES, 

PERCTIAN.  ELIDE  ISLAND.  AND  KLFFIX'S  PHOS- 
I'HOULANU,  PLAsTEU,  &C. 
Particular  Htteiiiiun  puid  tu  (he  sate  of  all  kinda  of 
counirv  products : 

IV/itut,  Corn,  Flour,  Tnhacco,  Oaf.<),  ff'c. 
1  h.-ive  inmle  nrnnispiiient^  «iih  .Mr.  Jno.  .M.!>«f.P- 
P\KU,  Jr,  one  of  llie   [let^t   judues  uiiil  salrsiiieii  of 
Tobacco    'D   lliis  city,   lo   nlieud    to   the   sale   of  all 
tobacco  coajiigned  lo  uie.  Jul^  ^9—1/ 


AYER'S 

Cathartic  Pills, 

FOR  ALL  THE  PUllPOSES 
OF  A  FAMILY  PHYSIC, 

are  so  composed  that  disease  within  the  range 
of  their  action  can  rarely  withstand  or  evade 
them.  Their  penetrating  properties  search,  and 
cleanse,  and  invigorate  every  jiortion  of  the 
human  organism,  correcting  its  diseaseil  action, 
and  restoring  its  healthy  vitalities.  As  a  conse- 
quence of  these  projjerties,  the  invalid  -who  is 
bowed  down  with  pain  or  physical  debility  is 
asionir-hed  to  find  his  health  or  energy  restored 
by  a  remedy  at  once  so  simple  and  inviting. 

Not  only  do  they  cure  the  cvery-day  crm- 
plaints  of  every  body,  but  also  many  formidable 
and  dangerous  diseases.  The  agent  below 
named  is  pleased  to  furni^ll  gratis  my  American 
Almanac,  containing  certificates  of  their  cures 
and  directions  for  their  use  in  the  following  com- 
plaints: Cosliveness,  Heartburn.  Headache  arifing 
front  (lisorilered  Sto7narh,  Nausea,  hidigeslioii,  Pain 
in  and  Morbid  Inaction  of  the  Bowels.  I'latvlenry, 
Loss  of  ..Appetite,  Jaundice,  and  other  kindred 
complaints,  arising  from  a  low  state  of  the  body 
or  obstruction  of  its  functions. 


Ayer's  Cherry  Pectoral, 

FOR   THE   RAPID    CURE    OF 
Coughs,  Colds,  Influenza.  Hoarseness.  Croup, 
Bronchitis,  Insipieut  Consumption,  and  lor 
the  relief  of  Consumptive  Patients  in  ad- 
vanced Stages  of  the  disease. 

So  wide  is  the  field  of  its  usefulness,  and  so 
nimierous  are  the  cases  of  its  cures,  that  almost 
every  section  of  country  abounds  in  persons 
publicly  known,  who  have  been  restored  from 
alarming  and  even  desperate  di.-eases  of  the 
lungs  by  its  use.  When  once  tried,  its  superi- 
ority over  every  other  medicine  of  its  kind  is 
too  apparent  to  escape  observation,  and  where 
its  virtues  are  known,  the  public  no  longer  hesi- 
tate what  antidote  to  employ  for  the  distressing 
and  dangerous  afl"ections  of  the  pulmonary 
organs  that  are  incident  to  our  climate.  While 
many  inferior  remedies  thrust  upon  the  com- 
mimity  have  failetl  and  been  discarded,  this  has 
gained  friends  by  every  trial,  conferred  benefits 
on  the  afflicted  they  can  never  forget,  and  pro- 
duced cures  too  numerous  and  too  remarkable 
to  be  forgotten. 

PREPARED  BY 

DR.  J.  C.  AVER  &  CO., 

LOWELL,  MASS. 

Sold  by  PURCELL,  LADD,  &  CO., 

Richmond. 
And  by  all  Druggists.  Aug.  1859 — Ora, 


^PA9-:iJ  jJJH    H  .G 
YT!a^3V;i.*  J  .'JTAT8  0  J? 


SOUTIIER>^  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


4  Silver  Medals— 3  Diplomas— 68  First  Premiums! 

J.  MONTGOMERY  &  BRO. 

loo  2^or!h  Hisli  Strce'. 

BAl^TIMORC,    Md. 

I.WF.XTORS  AND  MANUFACTURERS 

OF    THEIR 

DOUBLE  SCREENED 

ROCKAWAY  GRAIN  FAN, 

Celebrated  for  tiieir  cjfirienry.  durabiiny  ami  ea^e  m 

icorfring. 

We  wi>!ilj  =\aic  for  ilie  infuriiin;inn  of  Fnrmers  and  the 
.vfjz^.^^^  trade,  ili:it  our  F«n  is  of  ilip  larae^t   sizr- — niili   G  lnriTe 

Fievos  aiiil  -crei-MS.  unile  of  iIip  lie.=  i  lirislit  wire,  on  simd  sirons  frniiips.  Ii  is  ni;iile  e.=|ipri:ill\  for  i.,p  Sou- 
thern market,  where  all  impletiient.':  ought  to  lie  of  ihe  lie.-t  iind  '.-irongest  make.  We  do  tioi  lies^iinte  liir  ji 
nioMieiit  to  .«HV,  ilini  our  F:in  (cMisiderins  the  make,  llie  niiml>er  iiml  qiialit>  of  sieve*,  ami  the  amouiil  aiid 
qil.-rilv  of  work  il  will  do  i<i  a  eiveir  lime.)  i~  l'r«'m  if  10  lo  $I.i  clieajier  iliiin  niiv  in  ihe  mnrkei.  We  lime 
slMtted  a  BRANCH  SHOI*,  at  I  VNCHBUHO.  VA..  lor  the  iicioinmndaiion  ol  i1h'>p  located  in  ihnl  ?Piii..n 
of  connlrv.  Onr  F«n  is  po  iiniversall*  known  ili:il  it  is  nnnecssary  lor  ns  lo  say  more  than  ii  has  not 
been  lie:ilen  in  a  'rial  anv  ti  le  duriiis  ihe  last  ei;:lil  \i'ars,  and  cannul  he  heal. 

As  iliP  present  wheat  crop  is  nnusiially  full  of  c<M*kle.  everv  firiil>*r  tiiiiht  to  order  one  of  our  T)oii!>!e 
Screened  Rockuwny  Fans  ui  once,  as  it  is  ilie  ouly  Kaii  in  the  imukcl  tliui  will  clean  ihe  corkle  fioni  ihe 
»  h-  at. 

'I'lie  price  of  onr  Fans  in  Baltimore  i-;  $34 — and  in  I.yncldmr?  f3G.  Orders  addressed  to  us  al  either 
place  will  receive  pro  opt  iilienlion.     A  I'lieral  disconni  '.i  the  irude. 

We  respeciliill\  refer  lo  S  Sands.  E>f|..  es  editor  of  the  '•American  Fanner,"'  Balljinore,  as  lo  ihe  cliurac- 
ler  of  iii.r  Fan  :   and  Win.  Palmer,  Suns  i5c  Co..  our  ayenls.  KiclMiinnH,  V'a. 

July  1859— I V  J.  .MOMGn.MERV  &  BRO.  Baliimore.  »ld. 


C3rXJ-^3XrO. 


We  would  call  the  attention  of  Guaiio  Dealers,  Planters  and   Fanners  to  tlse  article  which  we 
liave  on  hand  and  for  sale  at 

Thirty  per  cent  less  than  Pernrlan  Gnano, 

and  which  we  claim  to  be  superior  to  any  Guano  or  leriiiizer  ever  im|:i>rte(l  or  mantifactured  in 
this  country.  This  Guano  is  inipurted  by  WM.  H.  WEBB,  of  New  York,  tVoiii  Jarvis"  and  Bakers" 
Islands,  in  the  '-South  Pacific  Ocean,"'  and  is  sold  genuine  and  pure  as  iniporteil.  It  has  been 
satisfactordy  tested  by  many  of  our  prominent  Farmers,  and  analyzed  by  the  most  eminent  and 
popidar  Agricultural  Chemists,  and  found  to  contain,  (as  will  be  seen  by  our  circulars.)  a  large 
per  centage  of 

Bone  Phosphate  of  lime  and  Phosphoric  Acid, 

and  other  animal  orj^anic  malter.  yieldinjf  ammonia  sullicicni  to  jJroduce  immediate  abtmdant 
crops,  besides  substantially  enricliing  the  soil.  It  can  be  freely  used  without  daiifrer  of  burning 
the  seed  or  plant  by  coming  in  contact  wiih  it.  as  in  the  case  with  some  other  fertilizers:  retain- 
ing a  great  degree  of  moisture,  it  causes  the  plant  to  grow  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  as  experi- 
ence has  proved 

Free   of  Insects. 

For  orders  in  any  quantity,  (wliich  will  be  promptly  attended  to.)  or  pamphlets  containing  full 
particulars  of  analyses  and  tests  of  farmers.  Apply  to 


Oct— 3t 


JOHN 


S  S.iuth  St 


SARDY,  Agent, 

.  ccinier  cf  Wall  S:..  Nc-w  York  Citr. 


FRUIT  TREES.  baddies,  Harness.  &o. 


50.00 J  Peach  Trees: 

20,000  Apple  Trees  : 

10,000  Pear  Trees: 

5.000  Grape  Vines. 
For  sale  by  C.  B.  ROGERS, 

At  his  Seed  and  Agriculture  Store, 
No.  Ill  Market  St.,  Philadelphia. 
Jan,  '60— 


I  manufacture  a  superior 
COLLAR 

which  I  warrant  not  lo  chafe  or  gall.  I  hnve 
alwavs  on    hand   a    eooil    assortment  of  all  articles  in 
my  line,  which  I  will  -^ell.  wholesale  or  retail,  as  cheap 
as  they  can  he  procured  anywhere,  Noiih  or  South. 
CHARLES  I.  BALDWIN, 
Franklin  St.,'Jd  square  above  Old  Market. 
Sept — ly 


SO    TllEli.V  PLINTER— ADVEa^Ji^hftJ^^^^T.  ♦ 

Grace  Street,  Bjiweea  ist  aad  fjaaaes,  E-ijiiiiijad,  Va. 

<c5--i.>ii  oi"  our  Ssciiiju!  begins  on  Ilic  first  tiny  ol  O.r  !      .  t'^.i,  and  lormiuaies  on  tlse  l.t>l  J-.v 

Ol  Jllll.',  iiuii.  ....  •       .  /• 

Our  liMi::  t  xnciipiice  in  leailjiiiz.    mid  I'la  very  l«i»er:il   pairo  ,ve  ret-eivfitftirso  laaoy  yearf, 

lliive  imlti  Ciiii.t-il  <iiic|  I  '     '  MS   lo  iin'ive  iiiii»Ht  ml  .iiijir..  ■■■  i    -  .:  "■•  ." 

A  niiif.-e  I't  l-itnatu.  ;  E:i;:Ii-'li,  Fr-iirii,  (ifr:ji:iii.  I 

i!iiiiui:li  ilie  ii).(lin!n  i>;   .  )  !ms  Ijcpii   sm-fessluijy  in. 

liiiuetl  jiiii!  e   hir^ed  i'l  III  •  i; -\1.  ,.',.,  ^    ,-  ,, 

\\  e  liiive  ciii;us;r-t]  xVlr   Kuwark  C  Hmv.ARn  lo  lake  cluiree  i>f  i!ie  K;];:!!SJi  part  of  iiii- r<njr=p,  a>  '^<i^a^^ 
i!^p  ttlieioric  5i-ii^."Leiiic's  a  ri  i"ii-t  iC'iilm;  ri.Tises  of  our  liisujiiii  i  i.     Mr.  U.*is  ii  _.  ,.  It-  n  .  ;1ie 

1  i.li, -1  q  iaiificJiiiuiis^Mijil  vv.  I -m  i>i.it  \\\<  PiTvices  will   InJ^rf^Jv  sijip.'.'CWlcr 

1.   -;li.iicc»iriiiii>iid  «<ir  l.iliva.  ;ira<lj.uiB;<  inij'il*. 

lliffm-w  liuiise  wJiicli  ««"  ii::»i    .iri...ii  «vi!l   grenily  aJdU  lo  ihe  coiiveni-!- ■"  -^^  "-' 
iKft  \oiiiii:  LnJi-'s  I.ii::r,iiu2  iu  our  ijtiiilv.     l\vo    Voiiii^   Ladies  uiilv  »iii  i<' 
wlie'ii  ihiee  wtnilJ  df^ire  lo  occupy  iho  .-:riic  chauib^r. 

HUBERT  P.  l.KFEBVRE,  A.  51  ,  Principai,  - 

5        .\.iii.r,ii  niiU)S4.]iliy,  J.iiPfiMr*',  l^loral  «ml  jMeiitnl  PJiiJii  f      i -1>. 

WILJ.I  VSI  G.  \\  iLl.lASl'?,  A-  1*  ,  Virc  Principal,  A>iroiiiiin>,  A!aili«-ui:iyo>,  Cu<.*iiiiairj ,  Hislorv ,  LaUii. 

EI>i\'^RI'  C   Hi»UAi»i),     Liteiaiiirfi,  R:i«t'.iic,  li'lle-  Leiifrt^,   lle^idjiii- 

!Vlli>.    (.iU\CK    r.}:.\M:rl",   Eh-!i#Ii    Uraiulifs.      iMl.SS    .MAitV    C     liOU'JOX,   En:li-1i   Ci        '-^ 
SlisS   ELIZV    iiAliri-Eir.    En-li.-li   IJramii.'s.     .\lAi)VME  I..  V.  liLA.\':iIi^  PT.  Vr  n.li  G 
•^ENOil  lA.il-O';  CAitlH>RVEZ   M'iilA.  .SjK.i.i-l)  -.iii  ii;.l.ii!i.     AJA;»AAIK    WAUIK  £S  i  V  \ 
"m,.'<i.-.    .<l'G.\oiiL\A  AM'o.MJ-ITA  EUBA.  \.i.al  Miwic.    riiG.\.JJH.VV   UAKlEiT.-vj' 
JDIINA    C  aL« '),  lirawi.i-:    ami    I'^iimiii;:.      Ull-EIA.U    V.    ii;lAiiAU.    l*i  .n  .,  Or^  m,  :- 
C<\W':'\\'     '■-■'    '■:■'  "^  \i;!f(!   ^CH\Eli>c.i{.    Ilarjr.     <>     KI;     .^^Si     .  ii  uiar 

TKiiMS. 

For  noanl,  .              ■              •              •  Fur  ioiii   lesiioiif   (,)1' jii  Jj.tiif)  u  wceli.     liJil  W! 

Fi-r  \\asiiiii_,   .              ■              •              •  F«'r  Sarrrrd  *Ji«»ii- ill  cluss,        ..           •         8  <W 

For  1  rlii--    .         .             •                           •  .>    'i-    i    .1  ilip  ii:^e  <iJ  I'iaii  >,                        .             •             Hi  III 

Forliit-i.    '      .                                                        •  ]«KiJ'i    F..r  Dia.viiitr.  iron)  M...1hI?.         .              .            .      tSM.O 

For  English  Tiii'i'iu.         ....  40  i  li    r'.ir  Drmiiji.  irn.n   \»Jiire.  .              .              .           4U  li« 

J'"(ir  .UoiltMH  Lju.};!!- pes,  lai'li.         •             •  *<>  *'*'  ;  Fur  I'.iiuinu  ill  Water  CoJor-^,  .           .             .      4<i  OJ^ 

For  Fiemli,  wIm-11  t^uidted  escliisively  of  ilie  i  IW  Oil  Faiuniiir,    .             .             .             -            OU  UJ 

E.  sli-li  br:.i;ciie.-:.  .              •              •           ■  4"  HO    I'mniiry    lJ«';>arlineiit,    for  "■l.-.lrpn    i-n.s-r    !i 

For  Lmiii,    .           .                .                            •  "-"                   .vear.-«  «.i  affe,  . 

For  Liiej  MUMP,  .              .              ■                            .  LI  I'          '  .y  S<t  exira  cllrirsc?. 

For  Alo>;c  ...,  Ti.no.  G.i.ar.  O..:.-.  -;r^-"i:'"?  ,      ^il  l.uer.  M  1«  a.Wre..PU  ,a 

i'.ir  oiir  V^s.ui  (ill   ai,  lioiii)  a  werk,  41'   Ull  |                                                                           „            .            ,     ., 

For  i«u  leHr-tiHs  (Ol  a^.  lio.il)  a  «eek.  H«  Ol.  ;             IIUBEIIT  P.  LEFEBVRE;  Richjaoiid,   Va. 
iorlfei*  le-sons  (olaii  liour)  a  »CPl^,    J-JO  «tt        au'I— U 


pL^ijStts.  points.  i»a.i^ts. 

PlIlOELlj  i.ADD  ft  O'Oij 

Ko.  122  Main  Street,  corner  13tli,  SICIUferaD,  VIEGINIA, 

Offer  at  low  prices,  a  large  and  well  assorted  s!ock  of  articles  ia  their  line — emltruciug 

PAINTS,   COLORS,  VARNISHES,  OILS,  &,G. 

LEWIS'  WHITE  LEAD.  -  ?.!ACniNE  OIL, 

NEW  J.  WHITE  ZLNC,  Horsehead  brand,  PARIS  CREEN, 

CHROME  G'lEE.N,  ,  CHROME  YELLOW, 

VEKDlGKiS.  'ILRKEV  I'MBKE,- 

TERRA   nr  SIENNA,  LAMP  OILS. 

LLN.SEED  OIL.  SPTS.  TURPENTINE. 

All  Colors  for  Paiaiers,  Coach  Jlaker.',  and  others.  Dry  and  in  Oil.  Paiot  BrtK^s  Sand  Paper, and  a  very 

l.ir^e  stock  of  best  ^ 

omprisiDff  nearly  eveni*  size  nwde.    W'e  arc  al?c<  prepared  to  take  orders  for  Imported 

Polislied  Plate,  Sky  Liglit  aud  Ornamental  Glass. 

n^  Particular  ■■••'»"''""  '^'  r.o.i,.iT  ■,,,,!  TnrM  .r.^iim  :il|  {rnodf: — and  the  quality  warranted. 

PURCELL,  LADD  &  CO.  Dn^igists, 
June  1S58.  123  Alain  .Sti-eei.  H^hmond. 


TH  E 


Devoted  to  Agriculture,  horticulture,  and  tJie  Souseh.old  AHs. 


Agriculture  is  the  nursing  mother  of  the  Arts. 
•                                                             [Xesophox. 

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

J.  E.  WILLIAMS,  Editor. 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS,  Prop'rs. 

Vol.  XX.              RICHMOND,  VA., 

JANUARY,  1860.                   No.  1. 

Slavery  and  Free  Labor  Described  and 
Compared. 

BY   EDMUND   RUFFIX. 
(^Concluded.) 

^'F-CTIOS  Till. — How  the  substitution  of  free  labor 
for  slavre  labor  would  finally  operate  on  agri- 
cultural interests — High  price  of  land,  of  it-i 
self,  not  a  benefit  to  agriculture,  and  may  be  j 
the  reverse — Still  greater  evil  in  fluctuating  I 
prices.  i 

But  enough  of  reference  to  the  incidental- 
and  minor  question.     I  will  now  proceed  to 
the  consideration  of  the  main  proposition  of  i 
the  opposers  of  negro  or  personal  slavery — ' 
which  is    (as   enunciated   above   at   home. ' 
and  by  thousands  of  anti-slavery  authorities 
abroad),  that  the  removal  of  negro  slavery 
r;nd  slave  labor  will   bring    in  a  sufficient 
supply  of  free  laborers — and  that  the  change' 
will  operate   speedily,  greatly  and  profitably; 
for  the  land  owners,  in  raising  the  prices  of 
lands.     I  deny  .the  general  proposition,  andj 
also  each  of  its  minor  parts;  and,  so  far  as: 
the  present  land-owners'    interest  are   con-] 
eerned,  will  maintain  that  the  pecuniary  evils ; 
of  the  change  would  scarcely  fall  short  of' 
the  evil  political   and  social  results  which  I 
have  been  previously  and  elsewhere  asserted. 

The  same  general  positions  were  assumed 
by  the  English  anti-slavery  party,  to  advocate  I 


and  prove  the  expediency  of  the  general 
emancipation  of  slaves  in  the  British  colonies. 
There,  however,  it  was  argued  that  the  eman- 
cipated negroes  would  be  more  industrious 
when  freed,  and  therefore  their  labor  would 
be  cheaper  than  the  previous  slave  labor. 
The  same  reasoning  was  then  used  and  be- 
heved  in  by  every  emancipationist  in  these 
United  States — of  whom  there  then  were 
many  in  the  southern  States.  Since  the  utter 
failure  of  obtaining  labor  from  the  emancipa- 
ted slaves  in  the  West  Indies  can  no  longer 
be  denied,  the  opposers  of  slave  labor  can  no 
longer  promise  free  negro  labor  as  a  substi- 
tute. But,  in  this  country,  the  old  argument 
is  still  maintained,  with  the  mere  change  of 
terms,  of  free  northern  and  European  labor 
being  now  promised  as  the  substitute  for  the 
negro  slave  labor  lost — and  an  improvement 
is  claimed  in  the  change,  which,  while  re- 
taining to  the  owners  the  high  prices  of  their 
slaves,  by  selling  them,  will  sei"ve  also  to 
more  than  double  the  present  price  of  their 
lands. 

In  reply  to  these  assertions — first,  let  us 
inquire  in  what  manner,  and  by  what  new 
inducements,  the  removal  and  scarcity  of  ne- 
gro slave  labor  will  operate  to  bring  in  free 
labor.  That  the  removal  of  slaves,  and  a 
consequent  greatly  increased  demand  and 
price  for  hireling   labor,  will   bring   from 


2  THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER.  [January 

abroad  some  amount  of  the  latter,  is  freely  j  ous  as  is  the  employment  of  the  latter, 
admitted.  Also,  that,  in  a  very  long  course  j  Higher  wages  are  required  by  -white  hire- 
of  years,  the  low  prices  of  land,  reduced  to  lings,  and  greater  indulgences,  while  they 
one-fourth  or  less  of  their  present  rates,  may  are  more  intractable,  less  contented,  and 
invite  so  many  foreign  and  new  purchasers  often  more  lazy,  and  always  less  serviceable 
as  gradually  to  fill  the  country  with  new  and  and  reliable  than  negro  slaves.  These  are 
small  proprietors,  who,  with  the  aid  of  other  truths  known  to  every  experienced  Virginia 
mere  hireling  laborers,  may  even  till  all  the  'farmer.  And  to  the  experieece  of  all  .such, 
land  DOW  under  culture,  or  more.  Further:  |  whether  on  our  borders  nearest  to  the  free 
the  longer  continuation  of  the  (so-called;  free  I  labor  and  slave-stealing  States,  or  in  our 
labor  system  at  a  much  later  time,  by  redu- 1  interior  counties,  I  appeal  to  sustain  my 
cing  the  extent  of  farms  and  creating  position  of  the  greater  cheapness  and  econo- 
greater  demand  for  lots  and  residences  by  imy  of  using  negro  slave  labor  in  preference 
the  then  more  crowded  population,  may  raise  to  free  labor.  There  ia  no  position,  in  re- 
the  price  of  land  to  higher  than  the  present 'gard  to  agricultural  or  political  economy, 
or  slave  labor  rates  for  land.  All  this  may  j  which  coirid  be  better  sustained  by  reason- 
be  admitted  without  strengthening  the  anti-  ing  and  by  evidence.  But  I  will  not  occupy 
slave  labor  argument  in  the  least.  For  even  J  more  time  and  space  on  this  point,  than  to 
if  free  labor  shall  be  so  invited,  and  shall,  in  a '  refer  the  decision  to  every  farmer's  experi- 
long  course  of  time,  become  never  so  plenty  jence  and  knowledge  of  the  comparative 
and  cheap — and  if  land  shall  finally  be  appre-  prices  charged  for  hireling  and  slave  labor, 
ciated  never  so  highly — the  early,  and  also  a  and  their  respective  advantages  and  dLsad- 
long  continued  operation  of  the  change  will  ]  vantages. 

be  to  make  labor  much  scarcer  and  more  cost- '  As  I  aimed  to  show,  in  a  previous  a^tic^c, 
ly  at  first,  and  for  a  long  time,  and  land  must  the  actual  and  increasing  operation  of  the  too 
sink  very  low  in  price,  and  be  reduced  as !  high  price,  and  con.?equent  removal  of  our 
much  in  extent  of  culture,  before  an  impor-  slaves  by  sale  to  the  South,  is  to  reduce  the 
tant  reaction  can  be  expected,  and  before  price  of  land;  and  to  prevent  investments  of 
higher  than  the  present  prices  of  land  will  be  capital  in  agriculture,  until  the  price  of  land 
caused  by  a  new  demand  of  immigrant  or  shall  be  enough  reduced  to  compensate  in  its 
other  buyers.  If  such  final  results  are,  in-  i  lower  cost  to  the  new  purcha.ser  the  increased 
deed,  to  be  deemed  benefits  in  any  aspect,  it'  coast  of  his  investment  in  slaves  at  their  en- 
would  be  at  least  fifty  years,  and  more  likely  haneed  prices.  As  there  is  nothing  in  these 
more  than  a  century,  before  they  could  begin  changes,  or  their  causes,  to  increase  the 
to  be  realized,  and  very  long  after  the  present  '■  amount  or  the  prices  of  agricultural  products, 
owners  were  dead,  after  having  been  utterly  we  may  suppose  that  they  will  maintain  the 
ruined  by  the  removal  of  slave  labor,  or  after  previous  average  rates.  Then  the  gross  in- 
the^'  or  their  children  had  fled  from  Virginia '  come  of  the  farmer  will  remain  the  same — 
to  avoid  the  manifestly  approaching  ruin  of,  while  either  the  removal  of  labor,  or  the  de- 
aJl  property-holders  who  remained.  |  cline  of  land  in  price,  or  the  certain  approach, 

If  the  mere  removal  and  scarcity  of  slave  or  even  expectation  of  either  or  both,  will 
labor  would  serve  to  invite  enough  of  free  and  .serve  to  render  the  farmer's  position  uncer- 
hireling  labor  from  abroad,  why  is  Mary-  tain,  his  prospects  of  the  future  still  more 
land  now  so  much  wanting  in  labor  of  every  doubtful— -to  discourage  the  effort  to  improve 
kind  ?  Why  are  our  counties,  which  border  ]  his  land  and  his  business,  by  presenting, 
on  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  (where  slaves 'plainly  in  view,  the  probability  of  his  neces- 
cannot  be  kept  in  safety,  because  of  the  dan- '.  sarily  selling  his  land  and  removing  with  his 
ger  of  their  loss  by  Abolition  action,)  so  de-  negroes  to  a  region  where  their  productive 
ficient  in  labor?  There  is  in  all  Maryland,  or  laboring  value  is  equal  to  their  market 
and  these  parts  of  Virginia,  great  demand  for '  price.  Under  such  circumstances  of  begin- 
hireling  labor,  yet  the  supplies  have  not,  by  ning  actual  loss,  or  prospective  and  much 
half,  filled  the  void  made  by  the  removal  or  greater  fiiture  loss,  in  his  general  busi- 
absence  of  slave  labor.  And  the  sufficient  ne.?s — when  his  slave-labor  (as  capital)  costs 
reason  is,  that  the  free  labor  that  is  offered,  him  much  more  than  he  can  afford  to  pay 
and  which  would  come  in  any  amount,  if  at  for  or  to  retain  as  an  inve.kment,  and  when 
high  enough  wages,  is  now  dearer  and  less  free  hireling  labor,  even  if  to  be  obtained, 
suitable  than  slave  labor,  costly  and  hazard- ,  would  be  certainly  much  dearer — could  it  be 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


possible  that,  thiis  situated,  Virginia  fanners  j  question  occurs,  how  low  a  rate  of  price 
could  pay  still  hisiher  prices  for  die  free  labor  will  serve  to  induce  new  buyers  to  occupy 
of  white' immiirrants?  If  the  farmer  who  is  .  our  reduced  and  partially  abandoned  and 
the  best  supplied  with  slaves,  even  now,  can-  desolate  fields?  Let  it  be  remembered  that 
not  obtain  fair  profits  from  their  labor  (as  the  j  while  the  prices  of  land  were  sinking,  and 
profits  of  invested  capital),  because  of  their  |  the  owners,  also,  were  being  reduced  to  less 
hich  appreciation  for  sale,  can  others,  having  j  labor,  income  and  means  to  live,  the  lands 
noslaves,  aflTotd  to  employ  free  labor  at  still  would  also,  and  necesi-arily,  get  into  bad 
higher  rates  ?  I  condition,  and  partly  out  of  cultivation  :  the 

But  suppose,  notwithstanding  all  these  |  buildings  would  go  to  decay  or  utter  ruin, 
reasons  and  all  losses,  our  farmers,  deprived :  and  the  whole  face  of  the  country  would  be 
of  slave  labor,  whether  giadually  or  sud-  generally  becoming  waste,  desolate,  and 
denlv.  would,  by  their  necessity,  be  compel-  much  of  it  returning  to  the  original  wilder- 
led  to  hire  the  free  labor  of  immigrants,  at  ness  state,  except  that  its  prior  fertility  had 
any  price  required.  At  first,  and  during  the  i  been  exhausted  before  its  bad  culture  had 
greatest  scarcity  and  demand,  the  price  would '  been  abandoned.  L'nder  the  necessary  ccn- 
be  exorbitant.  And  should  the  high  price '  ditions,  the  land  now  valued  at  §20  the  acre, 
serve  to  increase  the  supply  of  labor  so  as  to  would,  probably,  not  be  fit  to  yield  a  fair 
bring  it,  within  some  eight  or  ten  years,  to  farming  profit  to  a  purchaser  at  §4.  And  if 
fair  and  uniform  rates  for  free  labor,  these  to  be  bought  at  84,  or  even  at  half  that  price, 
rates,  for  the  reasons  stated,  would  still  be  there  will  still  be  no  inducements  for  pur- 
hi^her  than  those  of  slave  labor  now.  During '  chasers  and  new  cultivators  to  come  from 
all  these  changes,  the  farmers  would  have  abroad,  so  long  as  rich  new  lands  in  the 
to  bear  either  greater  or  less  of  annual  loss,  |  West  can  be  bought  of  the  L^nited  States 
if  counted  on" their  original  capital  stock.  I  government  at  §1  25  the  acre;  or  be  set- 
But,  in  truth,  under  such  circumstances,  (as  tied  upon  and  occupied,  and  a  preemption 
the  price  of  wages  would  not  fall  below  a 'right  thereby  acquired  for  the  occupant  to 
fair  rate  so  long  as  labor  was  truly  free,)  [  buy  at  that  low  price,  whenever  the  govern- 
their  other  capital,  land,  must  fall,  until,  ment  shall  subsequently  order  the  sale  of 
whether  to  the  original  possessor  or  to  a  new  the  territory. 

buyer,  the  value  of  the  whole  capital  was  i  Now,  under  these,  or  any  possible  con- 
so  reduced,  that  the  reduced  profits  still  ditions  and  results  of  the  removal  of  all  our 
oflTered  a  fair  return  for  cultivation.  This  slave  labor,  and  the  change  to  the  free  labor 
might  take  place,  possibly,  after  many  years  system,  such  as  above  described,  would  be 
of  continued  depression  and  loss  to  the  oc-|the  manner  in  which  only  could  be  finally 
cupants,  and  of  the  ruin  of  one  or  more  of  |  reached  the  alleged  benefits,  promised  by 
them  in  succession,  before  the  prices  of  1  the  anti-slavery  school,  of  substituted  immi- 
land  were  reduced  to  their  lowest  rates,  grant  free  labor,  and  immigrant  land  buyers 
Then,  a  new  purchaser,  who  bought  a  farm  and  faruiers.  The  opposers  of  negro  slavery 
for  one-fourth  (or  it  might  be  one-tenth)  of  and  slave  labor  are  welcome  to  my  broad 
its  former  price,  might  make  a  profit  on  his  admissions,  and  to  make  the  most  of  them 
cheap  land  investment,  even  with  having  to  for  their  cause  and  argument, 
pay  the  high  price  of  free  labor  for  its  cul-  But  my  admi.s^sions  of  consequences,  and 
tivation.  -  the  supposed  progress  of  events,  so  far,  have 

Next,  let  us  inquire  what  would  be  the  in-  merely  reached  the  suppo.sed  filling  of  the 
ducements  that  would  operate  to  incite  new  country  with  enough  free  labour,  at  the  or- 
purchasers  of  land  in  Virginia,  and  especi-dinary  higher  wages  of  free  labour — and 
ally  from  abroad,  whose  increased  demand  j  found  enough  purchasers  for  the  land  at 
for  land  shall  serve  (as  promised)  to  greatly  i  greatly  reduced  prices. .  I  am  willing  to  ex- 
raise  the  price  of  lands.  It  is  admitted  that  tend  the  views  to  such  far  remote  time  as 
new  purchasers  may  be  so  brought  into  the  will  sei-ve  to  crowd  the  population,  and 
land  market  by  prices  being  reduced  sufli-j  thereby  raise  the  prices  of  lands  to  any 
ciently  low,  and  by  that  inducement  only,  rates  required  for  the  opposing  argument; 
Passing  by  the  univei'sal  ruin  to  be  caused  and,  in  short,  to  admit  that  Virginia,  in  a 
to  the  present  and  even  liter  proprietors  very  long  course  of  time,  nniv  be  brought 
and  successive  generations  by  such  a  de-  to  as  near  the  present  condition  of  Massa- 
cline,   so   great    and   long   continued,   thejchusetts  as  can  be,  in  the  entire  absence  of 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[January 


all  the  government  protection  and  bounties 
which  have  operated  to  build  up  for  Massa- 
chusetts full  one-half  of  the  navigation 
"  trade,  manufactures — the  population,  the 
extent  and  the'  demands  of  the  towns,  and 
the  consequent  high  price  of  lands,  and  the 
general  profits  and  wealth  of  the  people. 
13ut  putting  aside  these  great  advantages 
bestowed  by  the  federal  government,  and 
which  Massachusets  has  fnlly  enjoyed  and 
profited  by,  and  which  Virginia  has  largely 
helped  to  pay  for,  but  never  can  receive — 
let  it  be  admitted  that,  under  the  then  free 
labour  system,  Alrginia  may,  in  two  or  three 
centuries,  become  more  populous,  and  the 
lands  be  raised  to  much  higher  prices  than 
now — still  there  would  not  necessarily  be  a 
more  prosperous,  happy,  or  worthy  com- 
munity. Increased  population  and  increas- 
ed prices  of  lands,  both  are  important  ben- 
efits when  resulting  from  the  true  and  grow- 
ing prosperity  of  a  country.  But  either 
may  be  the  accompaniment,  if  not  even  the 
result,  of  the  privations  or  misei-y  of  the 
people.  For  a  long  series  of  years  in  re- 
cent times  (preceding  and  up  to  the  Irish 
famine,  which  operated  to  change  circum- 
stances,) Ireland  increased  more  rapidly  in 
population  than  any  country  of  Europe — 
was  more  densely  populated  than  any  except 
Holland,  Belgium,  and  some  others  of  the 
most  fertile  and  highly  cultivated  small 
Territories — the  land  was  exceeded  by  no 
country  in  fertility,  and  its  price,  to  the  oc- 
cupier and  cultivator,  was  enormously  high. 
The  poor  Irish  peasant  had  to  pay  to  his 
landlord,  or  more  often  to  the  "middle 
man,"  more  per  acre  for  the  annual  rent  of 
his  potato  patch  and  its  wretched  hovel, 
and  to  live  on  potatoes  only,  than  would 
have  bought  the  full  property,  in  fee-simple 
right,  of  as  much  and  as  good  land  in  the 
United  States.  Yet,  with  all  the  greatly 
lauded  and  coveted  benefits  of  dense  and 
rapidly  increasing  population  and  high- 
priced  lands,  Ireland  was  the  most  wretch- 
ed country,  with  the  most  destitute  and 
miserable  people  of  all  Europe,  and,  indeed, 
of  the  civilized  world.  The  extreme  case 
of  Ireland  never  can  be  paralleled  in  Amer- 
ica. But  even  that  condition  of  dense  pop- 
ulation, high  price  of  land,  and  low  price 
of  free  labour,  (improperly  then  so-called,) 
as  is  coveted  by  some  persons  as  an  improve- 
ment and  blessing  for  Virginia,  could  only 
be  reached  through  a  long  course  of  early 
loss  to  the    property-owners,   and   of  late 


privation  and  suffering  to  the  poor  and  more 
destitute  inhabitants. 

The  high  price  of  land,  of  itself,  and 
considered  in  regard  to  the  then  present 
and  future  time  only,  is  not  a  benefit  to  ag- 
ricultural interests,  nor  the  community — 
but  the  reverse.  It  operates  to  increase  the 
cost  of  investment  in  agricalture  without 
increasing  the  products,  and,  therefore, 
serves  to  lower  the  profits  of,  and  so  to  dis- 
courage agriculture.  The  low  price  of 
lands,  by  the  reverse  operations,  ofi"ers 
cheaper  investments,  consequent  higher 
profits,  and,  therefore,  greater  encourage- 
ment to  agricultural  pursuits. 

When  lands  rise  in  price,  slowly  and 
gradually,  and  the  rise  is  based  upon  the 
improvement  and  increased  capacity  for 
production  of  the  lands,  such  rise  is  the 
best  indication  of  the  sound  prosperity  of 
agriculture,  and  is  also  a  stimulus  to  in- 
creased industry.  But  the  attainment  of 
the  highest  rate  of  price,  (even  in  this  ben- 
eficial manner,)  however  truly  indicating  a 
previous  and  past  progress  of  prosperity  of 
agriculture,  is  not  an  element  of,  or  as  a 
means  for,  future  profit  and  prosperity, 
as  would  be  low  price  of  lauds,  suppos- 
ing all  other  facilities  for  their  use  to  be  equal. 

But  of  all  evils  of  either  high  or  low 
prices  of  land,  none  are  so  injurious  to  the 
owners,  and  to  the  agricultural  and  general 
interests  of  a  country,  as  fluctuating  prices 
— and  are  changes  caused,  not  by  any 
changes  of  the  intrinsic  worth  of  the  land 
itself,  or  at  all  dependent  on  the  will  and 
action  of  the  owners,  but  by  artificial  and 
extraneous  circumstances.  Such  causes  have 
operated  most  banefully  in  Virginia,  espe- 
cially in  the  great  expansion  of  irredeema- 
ble bank  issues  in  and  after  1814 — (which 
caused  apparent  and  great  increase  of  the 
prices  of  land,  which  was,  in  fact,  but  the 
■depreciation  of  paper  money,  and  the  stim- 
ulus of  speculation  thereby  produced) — the 
succeeding  collapse  of  bank  and  paper 
credit,  and  consequent  extensive  losses  and 
bankruptcy  of  proprietors,  and  therefore 
great  and  undue  depression  of  prices  gen- 
erally— and  the  great  emigration  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  especially  of  slaves,  caused  by 
losses  to  proprietors,  and  invited  by  the 
higher  profits  of  agriculture  ofiered  to 
them  on  the  cheap  and  rich  cotton  lands  of 
the  new  South-western  States.  After  strug- 
gling through  those  opposite  evils  and  fluc- 
tuations of  too  high  and  too  low  prices  of 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


13 


the  pick;  but  a<-  the  depth  of  a  foot  it  -wasltural  papers  and  to  private  correspondents, 
found  to  be  so  wet  and  soft  that  a  spade,  of  whom  he  has  recorded  164  who  applied 
could  easily  be  sunk  to  the  entire  depth  of  |  to  him  last  year.  His  opinions  are,  there- 
ten  inches  with  little  force.  The  ditches  fore,  worth  more  than  a  host  of  theoretical 
were  made,  and  in  less  than  the  specified !  men,  who  write  without  practice.  He  says 
time  a  brave  lot  of  water  flowed  in.  The  that  the  retrogression  of  our  agriculture  in 
piece  was  thoroughly  drained,  and  the  result  the  older  States,  is  to  be  accounted  for  in 
was  an  immense  crop  of  corn.  The  field  our  lack  of  drainage,  poor  feeding  of  stock, 
has  regularly  borne  60  or  70  bushels  since. !  which  results  in  giving  a  small  quantity  of 
Corn  was  planted  for  a  first  crop  in  this  and  |  poor  manure,  and  in  not  keeping  enough  to 
the  preceding  instances,  because  a   paying  make  manure.    He  applies  twenty-five  loads 


crop  is  obtained  in  one  year,  whereas  if 
wheat  were  sown,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
wait  two  seasons.     He  always  drains  when 


of  manure  to  the  acre  at  the  beginning  of 
a  rotation,  and  this  lasts  throughout  the 
course.     He  learned  from  his  "randfather 


the  field  is  in  grass,  if  possible,  for  the ;  that  no  farmer  could  afibrd  to  keep  any  ani- 
ditches  can  be  made  more  easily;  and  spring  i  mal  that  did  not  improve  on  his  hands,  and 
is  chosen  that  the  labor  may  not  be  inter- .  that  as  soon  as  it  was  in  good  marketable 
fered  with  by  frosts.  !  condition  it  should  be  sold  and  replaced  by 
To  show  how  necessary  it  is  to  avoid '  another.  This  theory  he  has  always  carried 
planting  trees  ovfr  drains,  we  quote  a  case,  out,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  has  al- 
in  point.  In  a  lot  adjoining  his  house  are  j  ways  got  higher  prices  for  his  beef  stock, 
four  large  elms,  which  are  marked  to  be  and  a  ready  market  in  the  dullest  of  times, 
felled,  and  for  the  reason  that  the  lot  was  


formerly  so  wet  that  a  pond  of  water  stood 
upon  it  in  winter,  and  throughout  the  season 
the  children  skated  and  slid  upon  it.  It 
was  drained,  and  all  went  well  for  a  time  ; 


The  India  Cotton  Question. 

The  chimera  of  cotton  supply  from  India 
continues  to  dance  before  the  imagination  of 
but  after  seven  years  Mr.  Johnston  found!  the  Manchester  men,  and  the  idea  seems  to 
his  drains  did  not  discharge  properly,  and ;  be  adroitly  kept  alive  by  those  who  have  an 
that  in  certain  places  the  water  came  to  the  1  interest  in  fostering  it,  in  face  of  the  reali- 
surface,  so  as  as  to  destroy  or  greatly  lessen  I  ties  of  the  past.  It  is  many  years  since  the 
the  crop  above  them.  He  could  not  account;  capacity  of  India  to  grow  cotton  for  the  Eu- 
for  the  circumstance  until  he  dug  down  to'ropean  market  fastened  itself  so  firmly  upon 
the  drain  at  each  of  these  spots,  when,  to  those  who  desired  to  be  emancipated  from 
his  surprise,  he  found  the  tile  [two  four-inch  dependence  upon  the  United  States,  and 
tile,  with  a  semi-circle  of  nine  inch  set  on  above  all  upon  "slave  labor,"  for  the  most 
top  of  them,]  completely  choked  with  fibrous  important  material  of  human  clothing, 
roots  of  the  elm.  Great  exertions  have  been  accordingly  made 

Mr.  Johnston  says  he  never  saw  one  hun-jto  stimulate  a  growth  in  India,  but  the  re- 
dred  acres  in  any  one  farm,  but  a  portion  of  suits  have  been  that  machine-made  goods 
it  would  pay  for  draining.  Mr.  Johnston  is  have  been  introduced  into  India  faster  than 
no  rich  man,  who  has  carried  a  favourite  the  raw  material  could  be  drawn  thence  for 
hobby  without  regard  to  cost  or  profit.  He  i  the  manufacture ;  in  other  words,  instead  of 
is  a  hard-working  Scotch  farmer,  who  com- [being  a  cotton  producer,  India  has  become 
menced  a  poor  man,  borrowed  money  to  |  a  cotton  consumer,  as  far  as  regards  the  Eu- 
drain  his  land,  has  gradually  extended  his  ropean  market.  At  times  circumstances  have 
operations,  and  is  now  reaping  the  benefits, '  for  a  year  raised  the  quantity  of  cotton 
in  having  crops  of  forty  bushels  of  wheat  which  India  has  been  able  to  send  to  Europe, 


to  the  acre.  He  is  a  gray-haired  Nestor, 
who,  after  accumulating  the  experience  of 
a  long  life,  is  now,  at  sixty-eight  years  of 
age,  written  to  by  strangers  in  every  State 
of  the  Union  for  information,  not  only  in 
drainage  matters,  but  all  cognate  branches 
of  farming.  He  sits  in  his  homestead  a 
veritable  Humboldt  in  his  way,  dispensing 
information  cheerfully  through  the  agricul- 


but  the  extra  quantity  has  only  been  drawn 
from  the  accumulation  of  old  stocks,  to  be 
succeeded  almost  invariably  by  a  diminished 
quantity.  Since  1820  there  have  been  four 
periods  in  which  the  export  of  cotton  from 
India  to  England  have  increased  over  the 
average  of  previous  years.  The  first  was  in 
1836,  when  speculation  ran  high  and  car- 
ried up  prices.      A  reaction  followed  until 


14 


THE  SOUTHEKN  PLANTER. 


[January 


tlie  China  war  in  1841,  when  Indian  cotton 
was  turned  from  that  destination  to   Eng- 
land.    Reaction  again  followed  in  1851,  the 
failure  of   the    United  States  having  sent  |  ing  table 
prices  up  veiy  high,  made  an  opening  fer 

Importec 
From  U.  States. 
lbs. 
1834.  269.336,320 

1836.  281,181,180 

1836.  417,281,601 

1841.  336,647.^^3 

1846.  352,855,160 

1850.  493,153,112 

1852.  765.630,544 

1857.  654,758.008 

1858.  833,257,776 

This  table  shows  how  iltvariably  after  a 
rise  in  prices  in  Europe,  caused  by  the  short- 
ness of  the  United  States  crop,  in  proportion 
to  the    demand  ;    reaction  followed    in  the 


that  of  India,  and  in  1857  the  speculative 
action  again  brought  out  large  quantities. 
These  changes  are  expressed  in  the  follow- 


to  Great  Britain 

r 

— Price— N 

From  India. 

U.S. 

Surat. 

lbs. 

d. 

d. 

32,666,560 

6 

41 

79,449,730 

10  i 

7^- 

-speculation. 

33,232,612 

7 

0 

100,104,510' 

6i 

41- 

—war. 

33,711,420 

41 

3  - 

-Irish  famine 

122,626,976 

7i 

b\- 

-short  crop. 

81,922,432 

5f 

U 

250,338,144 

7,1 

51- 

-speculation. 

132,722,576 

250  million  pounds.  In  all  the  period  from 
1836  to  1858,  the  greatest  exertions  have 
leen  made  to  draw  cotton  from  India,  with 
what  results  the  table  shows.     If  we  now 


India  supply.     In  the  year  1836  speculative '  take  the  quantities  of  cotton  sent  to  India 


high  prices  doubled  the  import  from  India. 
In  1852,  a  year  of  reaction,  the  receipts 
from  India  were  hardly  more  than  in  the 
16  years  previous,  while  the  United  States 
supply  was  t  ree  times  greater  in  1852,  at 
little  more  than  half  the  price  obtained  in 


in  the  shape  of  goods,  we  may  estimte  the 
value  of  India  as  a  source  of  supply.  In- 
asmuch as  that  China  is  a  large  customer  for 
India  cotton,  it  makes  but  little  odds  whe- 
ther the  cotton  is  sent  raw  from  India  or  in 
the  shape    of    goods   from    Great   Britain. 


1836.  In  the  three  years  ending  with  1857  The  official  tables  in  1836  did  not  separate 
there  had  been  annually  increased  receipts  the  quantities  sent  to  China  from  those  for- 
of  cotton  from  India;  from  119  millions  in  I  warded  to  India.  The  quantities  were  as 
1854  it  rose  to    145   million,   180   million,  follows : 


EXPORTS   COTTON   GOODS    FROM   GREAT   BRITAIN. 


1836. 
1846. 
1856. 
1857. 

1858. 


To 

India. 

196,140,700 
407,951,400 
469,955,011 
791,537,041 


To 
China. 

73,671,889 
112,665,202 
121,587,515 

138,488,957 


Total 

yards. 

74,927,870 
269,812,589 
590,616,602 
591,545,526 
920,025,993 


Equal  to 
lbs.  cotton. 
32,000,000 
108,000,000 
250,000,000 
200,000,000 
868,000,000 


Thus  in  1836,  it  appears,  India  supplied 
Europe  with  35,000,000  lbs.  cotton  more 
than  the  weight  India  and  China  took  in  the 
shape  of  goods.  In  1846,  India  and  China 
took  75,000,000  lbs.  more  cotton  than  they 
furnished,  and  in  the  three  years  ending 
with  1858  they  took  in  goods  878  million 
lbs.  ol:  cotton,  and  supplied  569  million  lbs. 
of  the  raw  material,  leaving  a  net  demand 
for  the  latter  of  350  million  lbs.  This  is 
rather  a  crab-like  motion  towards  supplying 
England  with  raw  cotton.  If  we  try  the 
United  States  by  the  same  rule  we  find  that 
the  quantity  of  goods  purchased  from  Eng- 
land rose  from  50  million  yards  in  1856,  to 


150  million  in  1858,  or  equal  to  33,000,000 
lbs.  raw  cotton,  while  the  quantity  of  the 
latter  sent  to  Great  Britain  rose  to  550,000- 
000  lbs.  From  these  facts  it  is  evident  that 
the  market  for  goods  in  India  and  China 
outruns  by  far  the  capacity  of  India  to  sup- 
ply the  material.  In  fact,  the  increased 
growth  of  cotton  in  India  has  not  .sufficed  to 
keep  up  with  the  local  consumption.  When 
we  reflect  that  those  cotton  goods  consumers 
are  more  than  equal  in  number  to  the  cotton 
goods  consumers  in  Europe,  and  the  quan- 
tity per  hoad  of  that  material  which  each 
consumes  is  also  far  greater,  we  cannot  won- 
der that  the  machine  products  of  Europe 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


15 


rapidly  supplant  the  hand  prnducts  of  the 
Asiatics,  and  that  the  field  for  such  opera- 
tions is  almost  limitless.  It  is  like  supplant- 
ing the  silver  of  Europe  with  California 
gold.  The  operation  is  profitable  and  resist- 
less, and  while  the  substitution  is  going  on, 
the  aggre'gate  demand  increases  in  the 
double  ratio  of  the  enhanced  numbers  and 
wealth  of  the  people.  The  Asiatic  market 
for  British  cotton  goods  has  risen  from  15 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  exports  in  1836,  to 
40  per  cent,  of  the  whole  exports  in  1858, 
while  the  material  derived  from  them  has 
fallen  from  20  per  cent,  of  her  whole  pur- 
chases to  13  per  cent,  in  1858.  It  must  be 
a  bold  operation  who,  in  face  of  these  facts, 
continues  to  speculate  upon  a  cotton  supply 
from  India.  The  course  of  events  points 
soon  to  absorbing  all  the  mill  power  of  Eng- 
land in  working  up  India  cotton  for  India 
use,  and  pos.sibly  the  transplanting  of  that 
mill  power  nearer  to  the  crop  and  to  the 
goods  market. —  U.  S.  Economist. 


Change  of  Food  for  Cattle. 

Nature  seeks  variety,  and  with  almost  as 
great  pertinacity  as  she  insists  on  progres- 
sion. 

The  continuous  use  of  salt  food,  by  man, 
produces  scurvy,  while  the  entire  absence 
of  either  salt  or  animal  food  produces  other 
classes  of  disease,  and  refuses  to  build  up 
an  organism  capable  of  enduring  disease. 

All  those  things,  which  by  analysis  an 
animal  is  found  to  contain,  must,  of  neces- 
sity, form'of  its  food,  or  it  cannot  be  per- 
fect as  an  organism;  therefore,  no  one  kind 
of  food  can  produce  as  perfect  an  animal, 
developing  all  its  functions  equally,  and  a 
variety  is  distinctly  called  for.  The  very 
instinct  of  an  aniifial  shows  this  fact.  The 
cattle-breeders  of  England  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  have  succeeded,  imtil  after  the  intro- 
duction of  the  various  root  crops,  and  still 
we  find  many  cattle-breeders  in  America, 
who  have  never  raised  roots  at  all,  and  who 
continue  to  feed  their  animals  on  hay  and 
corn  alone.  The  same  area  of  land  used 
by  a  heard  of  milch  cows  for  pastu.e,  when 
appropriated  to  a  proper  variety  of  crops, 
will  cause  them  to  furnish  thirty  per  cent, 
more  milk,  and  of  a  better  quality,  than 
when  they  are  confined  to  the  use  of  one  or 
two  kinds  of  food  only.  For  the  same 
reason  that  horses  flourish  best  when  travel- 
ing over  an  undulating  country,  rather  than 
when  perambulating  the  plains,  viz.,  that 


other  sets  of  muscles  are  brought  into  action 
when  they  leave  the  dead  level,  and  thus  a 
single  set  of  muscles  is  not  called  on  to 
bear  the  whole  fatigue.  So  with  the  variety 
of  food  :  their  digestive  functions  are  in 
turn  appealed  to,  and  all  the  constituents 
required  by  the  body  are  in  turn  furnished, 
so  that  a  healthy  result  is  the  consequence. 
It  is  true,  that  cows  fed  on  carrots  give 
better  milk  in  winter,  than  when  fed  on 
other  kinds  of  food,  but  if  fed  on  carrots 
alone,  they  soon  lose  their  highest  state  of 
health. 

Look  at  the  cows  in  the  distillery  stables 
of  New  York,  when  they  are  fed  altogether 
on  swill,  (the  name  given  to  that  portion  of 
the  grain  not  transformed  into  alcohol  by 
fermentation,)  in  a  very  short  time  the  very 
membranes  of  the  animal  become  so  tender 
that  they  fall  to  pieces,  and  are  generally 
diseased.  Is  this  because  the  residuum  of 
the  still  is  not  the  proper  food  for  cows  ? 
Far  from  it;  no  food  is  better,  provided  it 
be  used  in  part,  and  not  exclusively.  Mr. 
John  Wilson,  at  the  Wallabout,  had  as  fine 
cows,  and  in  as  fine  condition,  as  any  man 
in  America,  and  with  as  profitable  results; 
he  fed  theii-  on  the  residuum  of  his  dis- 
tillery in  jjctft,  but  at  the  same  time  in  pari 
on  various  roots,  hay,  etc.,  and  none  of  the 
difiiculties  arising  from  thfe  exclusive  use  of 
swill,  were  to  be  seen  with  those  cows.  Car- 
rots have  a  value  far  beyond  that  which 
can  be  attributed  to  the  mere  nutriment 
they  contain;  for,  in  addition  to  what  the^: 
furnish  in  this  way,  they  contain  a  quantity 
of  pectic  acid,  and  this  carries  the  property 
of  gelatinizing  the  vegetable  and  animal 
matters  held  in  solution,  and  thus  enabling 
tlie  peristaltic  motion  of  the  intestines  to  seize 
hold  of  their  contents,  so  that  digestion  of 
all  matters  of  food  is  perfected  by  the 
presence  of  carrots.  If  the  horse  be  fed 
in  part  on  carrots,  he  ceases  to  evacuate  the 
undigested  shells  of  oats,  bits  of  hay,  etc. 
His  dung  is  as  homogeneous  almost  as  that 
of  a  man,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  a 
bushel  of  carrots,  and  a  bushel  of  oats,  are 
better  for  the  horse  than  two  bushels  of 
oats — not  from  the  nutritious  matter  con- 
tained in  the  carrot,  but  in  part  from  the 
power  of  the  carrot  to  cause  all  the  nutri- 
ment of  the  oat  to  be  appropriated  in  the 
making  of  muscle,  instead  of  part  of  it  be- 
ing evacuated  in  feces.  This  action  is  true 
in  regard  to  all  the  vegetable  substances 
which  go  to  make  up  the  variety  of  food 


16 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[jAXrART 


for  animals;  and  the  very  instinct  of  every 
animal  gives  evid  nee  of  this  truth. —  WorJc- 
v}j  Farmer. 


A  Few  Reasons  Why  Land  Should  be 
Improved. 

More  may  be  cultiTated  with  the  same 
hand?,  because  tilled  with  less  hard  labor. 

Briers  and  shrubs  disappear,  grasses  ap- 
pear. 

Cattle  damage  the  land  and  grass  less,  be- 
cause they  do  not  hare  to  tramp  so  great  a 
spaxie  to  fill  themselves. 

Less  land  required. 

Less  fencing. 

Less  trotting  after  cows  and  horses. 

Less  work  at  the  smith's  shop. 

Fewer  whips  worn  out. 

Stronger  teams. 

More  manure  and  less  need  for  it, 

A  stimulus  to  action. 

A  protection  against  winter's  frost  and 
summer's  heats. 

A  good  example  to  children  and  neigh- 
bors. 

Keeps  off  sheriffs  and  buzzards. 

Stops  emigration. 

Produces  monej  for  books,  and  time  for 
reading. 

Also,  school  houses  and  churches. 

Produces  time  to  travel,  to  lecture  on 
economy,  and  preach  the  Gospel. 

Produces  sociability  and  hospitality. 

Makes  a  paradise  of  a  barren,  ptlenty  out 
<rf  poverty,  and  a  blessing  out  of  a  curse. 

The  barn  is  filled,  the  dairy  is  filled,  the 
purse  is  filled,  and  the  soul  is  filled  with 
gratitude. 

If  the  reader  will  reflect,  he  will  dis- 
cover that  the  number  of  good  reasons  why 
the  &rmer  should  improve  his  lajid  is  al- 
most innumerable. — From  an  Old  Paper 
of  1804. 


The  Horse  an  Intellectual  Being". 

Dr.  G.  H.  Sutherlaud  of  Dekalb,  Xew- 
York,  sent  us  a  letter  a  few  days  since,  in 
which  among  other  things,  he  alluded  to  the 
importance  of  treating  horses  as  "  intellec- 
toal  lyings,"  and  of  trying  the  effect  of 
"  constant  kindness"  in  training  them,  the 
result  of  which  he  believed  would  be  the 
attainment  on  the  part  of  the  horse,  to  "  an 
elevated  p>ositiou  in  the  scale  of  intelligence, 
not  only  distingushing  themselves  among 
their  kind,  bat  actually  outstripping  m-;ny 


of  their  owners,  as  far  as  the  nobler  attri- 
butes are  concerned."  With  this  high  ap- 
preciation of  the  capacity  of  the  horse,  the 
Doctor  five  years  ago  came  into  possessien 
;of  a  firje  three-year-old  colt,  and  he  conclu- 
i  ded  to  try  the  power  of  kindness  in  the  en- 
I  deavor  to  develope  his  mind.  TBe  result  is 
j  given  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Republican,  in 
1  which  paper  a  correspondent  writes  : 
I  During  my  wanderings  a  short  time  since, 
jl  chanced  to  stop  at  Hermon.  Hearing  of 
!  Dr.  Sutherland's  learned  colt,  I  had  the  cu- 
riosity to  go  and  see  him,  and  found  him 
quite  a  prodigy  in  learning,  besides  being 
quite  a  curiosity.  The  Doctor  calls  him  the 
"  White  Pilgrim."  His  color  is  light  nan- 
Ikeen,  white  mane  and  tail,  and  white  eyes. 
He  is  a  splendid  little  horse.  The  Doctor 
'tells  me  that  he  has  owned  him  only  six 
'  months — rode  or  drove  him  almost  every  day, 
I  (as  his  riding  is  considerable,)  but  stUl  dur- 
'ing  that  bi^ief  time  he  broke  him  to  the 
I  saddle  and  harness,  and  taught  him  the 
!  different  feats  I  saw  him  perform,  such  as 
standing  upon  his  hind  feet,  jumping  the 
'whip,  kneeling  down,  lying  down,  sitting  up, 
'and  walking  on  three  legs.  He  will  un- 
buckle a  common  saddle-girth,  and  take  off 
[  his  own  saddle ;  he  will  step  up  to  his  own 
I  master,  make  a  very  low  bow,  shake  hands, 
I  take  his  coat,  cap  and  mittens  off  and  lay 
them  away,  and  when  told,  bring  them  all 
iback  to  him  again.  With  cards  he  will  tell 
I  his  age,  the  days  in  the  week,  months  in  the 
year,  kc.  With  the  alphabet  he  will  spell 
'any  simple  word  put  to  him.  Spread  out  a 
■  number  of  playing  cards  and  he  will  fetch 
I  the  one  called  for.  He  will  play  a  good 
!  game  at  old  .ded^je,  and  beat  you  as  often  as 
!  you  can  him.  and  tell  your  fortune,  if  request- 
led.  He  will  waltz  around  his  yard  with 
(quite  as  much  ease  and  grace  as  some  of  our 
I  country  gentlemen,  and  pass  around  a  hat 
for  a  contribution  at  the  close  of  a  perform- 
ance. He  is  a  rare  specimen  of  horse  flesh, 
and  his  equal,  I  think,  for  beauty,  activity 
and  intelligence,  could  not  be  found,  con- 
sidering the  labor  performed  by  him  and  the 
short  time  he  has  been  under  discipline  ;  and 
the  Doctor  certainly  deserves  the  credit  of 
being  a  "  great  Horse  Man." 

The  Doctor,  in  the  conclusion  of  his  let- 
ter, says  that  until  this  season  he  never  be- 
fore undertook  to  train  a  horse  for  trotting, 
but  that  he  now  has  a  three-year-old  mare 
he  calls  "  Crazy  Jane,"  out  of  Tom  Jeffer- 
son's Black  Hawk,  her  dam  sired  by  George 


I860.] 


THE   SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


17 


Parish's  imported  St.  Lawrence.  With  very 
little  training  she  will  make  her  mile  in  less 
than  3.30,  over  rather  a  poor  track.  Now, 
says  the  Doctor,  "  if  trotting  is  a  science 
that  a  horse  can  acquire  by  careful  training, 
(like  playing  old  sledge,)  Crazy  Jane  will 
yet,  if  nothing  befals  her,  be  one  among 
many  to  demonstrate  the  fact  that  the  horse 
has  an  intellect,  or  reasoning  powers,  equal  if 
not  superior  to  many  of  their  brute  owners, 
and  that  it  can  be  developed  and  cultivated 
with  as  much  certainty  and  profit  as  the 
minds  of  our  children." 

We  look  forward  to  the  result  of  the  Doc- 
tor's experiments  with  a  great  deal  of  inter- 
est ;  how  much  kindness  will  do  to  develope 
speed  in  horses  is  yet  to  be  ascertained. 
Evening  Post. 


From  the  Country  Gentleman. 

Feeding  Stock  as  a  Branch  of  Farm 
Management. 

A  lecture  delivered  to  the  members  of 
the  Highland  Society  during  the  Edinburgh 
5how  week. 

Dr.  Anderson  said:  The  feeding  of  stock, 
and  its  relation  to  the  general  management 
of  the  farm,  is  a  subject  of  the  very  highest 
practical  importance,  and  one  of  those  in 
which  definite  information  is  most  essential; 
and  yet  there  is  probably  no  branch  of  ag- 
ricultural practice  in  which  more  difference 
of  opinion  exists;  so  much  so,  that  while 
one  class  of  persons  believe  it  to  be  a  high- 
ly remunerative  department  of  farming, 
others  with  equal  confidence  maintain  that 
cattle  are  chiefly  valuable  as  mediums  for 
the  manufacture  of  manure.  Even  regard- 
ing details  much  doubt  exists,  and  there  are 
really  but  few  points  in  which  absolute 
unanimity  exists.  Looking  at  the  magni- 
tude of  these  diff'erences,  it  was  not  without 
some  diffidence  that  I  ventured  to  select  it 
as  the  subject  of  my  address  on  the  present 
accasion.  Those  matters,  however,  in  re- 
gard to  which  doubts  and  differences  of 
opinion  exist,  are,  on  the  other  hand,  spe- 
cially suited  to  discussion,  for  it  is  incum- 
bent upon  us  to  sift  our  information,  and 
to  ascertain  what  can  be  relied  upon  and 
what  requires  to  be  elucidated  by  further 
experiment.  When  this  is  done,  it  appears 
that  there  are  many  points  on  which  we  are 
very  imperfectly  informed,  and  others  on 
which  statements  of  the  most  conflicting 
nature  have  been  made ;  and  the  difficulty 
2 


of  drawing  conclusions  is  enhanced  by  in- 
dividuals maintaining  the  exclusive  excel- 
lence of  the  systems  they  themselves  prac- 
tice, and  insisting  that  because  they  have 
been  led  to  adopt  a  particular  opinion,  their 
neighbor  who  holds  the  opposite  one  must 
necessarily  be  wrong.  A  great  point  is 
gained  when  we  admit  that  both  may  be 
right,  and  when  we  set  to  work  cordiallj 
to  trace  out  the  cause  of  the  discrepancy. 
All  branches  of  agriculture  are  now  going 
through  this  phase  of  their  existence,  and 
principles  are  being  gradually  established. 
The  feeding  of  stock  is  exactly  one  of 
those  subjects  which  can  be  most  success- 
fully advanced  by  studying  the  principles 
on  which  it  depends ;  and,  though  these  in- 
volve many  most  complex  chemical  and 
physiological  questions,  we  have  obtained 
some  foundation  on  v/hich  to  go.  The  food 
which  an  animal  consumes  is  partly  assimi- 
lated, and  partly  excreted;  but,  if  it  be 
properly  proportioned  to  its  requirements, 
its  weight  remains  constant,  and  hence  we 
learn  that  the  food  does  not  remain  perma- 
nently in  the  body.  If,  now,  an  animal  be 
deprived  of  food,  it  loses  weight,  owing  to 
the  substances  stored  up  in  the  body  being 
used  to  maintain  the  process  of  respiration 
and  the  waste  of  the  tissues.  The  course 
of  events  within  the  body  is,  so  far  a3 
known,  somewhat  of  this  kind  :  the  food  is 
digested,  absorbed  into  the  blood,  and  de- 
posited in  the  ibrm  of  flesh  and  fat  in  the 
body,  a  certain  quantity  being  consumed  to 
support  respiration.  If  the  food  be  proper- 
ly adjusted  to  the  requirements  of  the  ani- 
mal, its  weight  remains  unchanged ;  the 
quantity  absorbed  and  that  excreted  exactly 
corresponds  to  one  another;  but,  if  we  in- 
crease the  food,  a  part  of  the  excess  will 
be  deposited  in  the  tissues  and  add  to  its 
weight.  Now  the  quantity  absorbed  de- 
pends upon  the  state  of  the  animal — a  lean 
beast  thoroughly  exhausting  its  food,  while 
when  it  is  nearly  fat,  it  takes  only  a  small 
proportion.  So,  likewise,  if  the  quantity  of 
food  be  greater  than  the  digestive  organs 
can  well  dispose  of,  a  certain  quantity  es- 
capes digestion  altogether,  and  is  practi- 
cally lost,  i  he  problem  which  the  feeder 
has  to  solve  is,  how  to  supply  his  cattle  with 
such  food,  and  in  such  proportions,  as  to  en- 
sure the  largest  increase  with  the  smaller 
loss.  In  solving  this  problem  we  must,  in 
the  first  place,  consider  the  general  nature 
of  the  food  of  all  animals,  the  constituents 


18 


THE  SOUTHEKN  PLANTER, 


[January 


of  which  may  be  divided  into  three  great 
classes  ;  ■  the  nitrogenous  matters,  which  go 
to  the  formation  of  flesh ;  the  saccharine 
and  oily,  which  support  respiration  and 
form  fat.  It  is  sufficiently  obvious  that  as 
the  two  great  functions  of  nutrition  and 
respiration  must  proceed  simultaneously, 
the  most  advantageous  food  will  be  that 
which  supplies  them  in  the  most  readily 
assimilated  forms,  and  in  proper  propor- 
tions. In  regard  to  the  first  of  these  mat- 
ters, it  will  be  obvious  that  if  two  foods 
contain  the  same  quantity  of  nutritive  mat- 
ters, but  in  one  way  they  are  associated 
with  a  larger  quantity  of  woody  fibre  or 
other  non-nutritious  matter,  the  latter  will 
have  considerably  less  value  than  the  for- 
mer. The  necessity  for  a  proper  balance  of 
the  two  great  classes  of  nutritive  constitu- 
ents is  also  sufficiently  obvious;  for  if,  for 
example,  an  animal  be  supplied  with  a 
large  quantity  of  nitrogenous  matters,  and 
a  small  amount  of  respiratory  elements,  it 
must,  to  supply  a  sufficiency  of  the  latter, 
consume  a  much  larger  quantity  of  the  for- 
mer than  it  can  assiu;ilate,  and  there  is 
practically  a  great  loss.  We  may  deter- 
mine the  proper  proportion  of  these  sub- 
stances in  three  different  ways :  1st,  we 
may  determine  the  composition  of  the  ani- 
mal body  :  2nd,  we  may  examine  that  of 
the  milk,  the  typical  food  of  the  young  ani- 
mal;  and  3rd,  the  results  of  actual  feeding 
experiments  may  be  examined.  The  com- 
position of  the  animal  body  is  a  subject  on 
which,  as  it  appears  from  the  recent  expe- 
riments of  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  groat  misap- 
prehension has  hithertd  existed.  It  has 
always  been  supposed  that  by  far  the  larger 
proportion  consisted  of  nitrogenous  matters; 
but  that  is  quite  an  error,  and,  even  on 
lean  animals,  The  fat  greatly  preponderates 
over  the  lean.  A  lean  sheep,  fur  instance, 
contains  one  and  a  half-pound  of  fat  for 
every  pound  of  dry  nitrogenous  matter,  and 
when  very  fat  it  may  contain  six  times  as 
much  fat  as  lean.  The  inference  obviously 
is,  that  the  food  must  contain  a  very  large 
quantity  of  non-nitrogenous  matters.  The 
milk,  which  contains  a  number  of  each 
of  the  three  great  cla.'jses  of  nutritive  mat- 
ters, also  afl'ords  us  instruction,  although. 
of  course,  more  especial  as  regards  the  feed- 
ing of  young  stock,  when  the  conditions 
are  different  from  those  existing  in  the  ma- 
ture animal.  But,  however  valuable  the 
data  derived  from   these  experiments  may 


be,  they  are  less  important  than  those  de- 
rived from  actual  feeding  experiments.  In 
fact,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  propor- 
tions in  which  the  different  substances  are 
found  in  the  animal  are  exactly  those  in 
which  they  ought  to  exist  in  the  food.  On 
the  contrary,  it  appears  that  while  one-tenth, 
of  the  saccharine  and  fatty  matters  are  as- 
similated by  the  animal,  only  one-twentieth 
of  the  nitrogenous  compounds,  and  one 
thirty-third  of  the  mineral  substances  in  the 
food  are  assimilated  by  the  animal.  On  the 
other  hand,  however,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  particular  compounds  also 
exercise  a  very  different  influence.  Thua 
a  pound  of  fat  in  the  food,  when  assimila- 
ted, will  produce  a  pound  of  fat  in  the  ani- 
mal; but  it  requires  about  two  and  a-half 
pounds  of  sugar  or  starch  to  produce  the 
same  effect.  The  broad  general  principle 
arrived  at  is,  that  we  must  afford  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  readily  assimilable  food, 
containing  a  proper  proportion  of  each 
class  of  nutritive  substances.  But  there 
are  other  matters  also  to  be  borne  in  mind, 
for  the  food  must  not  only  increase  the 
weight  of  the  animal,  but  also  support  res- 
piration and  animal  heat;  and  the  quantity 
of  food  required  for  this  purpose  is  large. 
It  appears  from  Boussingault's  experiments, 
that  in  a  cow  eighteen  ounces  of  nitroge- 
nous matters  are  required  to  counterbalance 
the  waste  of  the  tissues — a  quantity  con- 
tained in  about  ten  or  twelve  pounds  of 
wheat  flour ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  an 
ox  expires  four  or  five  pounds  of  carbon 
daily,  to  supply  which  one  hundred  pounds 
of  turnips  are  required.  "We  sec  from  this 
the  large  quantity  relatively  to  that  used 
up  which  is  required  for  the  maintenance 
of  these  functions,  and  the  importance  of 
adopting  such  measures  as,  by  restraining 
them  within  the  narrowest  possible  limits, 
produce  a  saving  of  food.  The  diminution 
of  muscular  exertion,  and  keeping  the  ani- 
mals warm,  so  that  a  small  quantity  of  food 
may  be  required  to  act  as  fuel  to  maintain 
the  animal  heat,  are  the  most  important 
considerations.  Although  the  presence  of 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  nutritive  matters  is 
an  essential  qualification  of  all  foods,  their 
mechanical  condition  is  not  unimportant, 
for  unless  its  bulk  be  such  as  to  admit  of 
the  stomach  acting  upon  it  properly,  there 
must  be  an  appreciable  loss;  and  there  is 
no  greater  fallacy  than  to  suppose  that  the 
host  results  are  to  be  obtained  by  the  use  of 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


19 


those  wh  ch  contain  their  nutritive  matters 
in  a  very  small  bulk.  As  a  practical  ques- 
tion, the  principle!?  of  feeding  are  restricted 
to  determining  how  the  staple  food  pro- 
duced on  the  farm  can  be  most  advantage- 
ously used  to  feed  the  cattle  kept  on  it,  and 
on  this  point  much  requires  to  be  said.  It 
appears  that  they  can  host  be  made  use  of 
when  combined  with  more  highly  nutri- 
tious food,  such  as  oil-cake  or  rape ;  and 
when  this  is  properly  done,  a  very  great  ad- 
vantage is  derived.  It  appears  from  ex- 
periments that  sheep,  which,  when  fed  on 
hay  only,  attain  a  weight  of  ninety  pounds, 
reach  a  hundred  when  rape  is  added.  The 
subject  cannot  be  completed  without  refer- 
ring to  the  value  of  the  dung  produced, 
which  has  been  very  variously  estimated. 
The  experiments  referred  to  in  the  course 
of  tlie  address  appear  to  show  that,  of  food 
generally,  about  one-third  to  one-fourth  of 
the  money  value,  and  seven-eighths  of  the 
valuable  matter,  appear  in  the  dung.  Dr. 
Anderson  concluded  by  saying,  that  he  had 
by  no  means  attempted  to  exhaust  the  sub- 
ject, bi»t  had  given  only  a  sketch,  trusting 
that  the  observations  of  others  might  fill 
up  the  details. 

Marvels  of  Human  Caloric. 

The  Eclectic  Review  declares  that  we  are 
"all  living  stoves — walking  fire-places — fur- 
naces in  the  flesh,"  if  those  terms  can  be 
applied  to  an  apparatus  for  the  express  pro- 
duction of  human  caloric.  After  stating 
the  fact  of  the  latent  heat  of  the  human 
frame,  the  writer  says  : — 

Suppose  it  to  be  the  month  of  January, 
when  winter  is  presumed  to  be  reigning  in 
full  vigor,  and  every  inanimate  object  ap- 
pears to  have  been  drained  of  its  caloric  ; 
still  thj  human  structure  will  exhibit  a  sur- 
plus of  sixty-six  degrees  above  the  freezing- 
point.  Why  is  that?  How  does  it  happen 
while  a  bronze  statue  fluctuates  in  its  tem- 
perature with  every  passing  breeze,  the  living 
organism  maintains  its  standard  heat  unim- 
paired, and  preserves  its  tropical  climate 
within,  though  the  air  should  be  full  of 
frost  and  the  ground  enveloped  in  snow  ? 
It  is  manifest  that  we  must  have  some 
power  of  "  brewing  "  caloric  for  ourselves 

Assuming  that  our  bodies  are  veritable 
stoves,  the  reviewer  proceeds  to  explain 
whence  we  procure  our  fuel.  Fortunately 
our  coal  and  fire-wood,  he  adds,  are  stored 
up  in   a  very  interesting  form.     They  are 


laid  before  us  in  the  shape  of  bread  and 
butter,  puddings  and  pies ;  rashers  of  bacon 
for  the  laborer,  and  haunches  of  venizon,  or 
turtle  soup,  for  the  epicure.  Instead  of 
being  brought  up  in  scuttles,  they  are  pre- 
sented in  tureens,  dishes,  tumblers,  or  all  of 
them  in  pleasant  succession.  In  fact,  when- 
ever you  send  a  person  an  invitation  to  din- 
ner, you  virtually  request  the  honor  of  his 
company  to  take  fuel ;  and  when  you  see 
him  enthusiastically  employed  on  your  dain- 
ties, you  know  that  he  is  literally  shovelling 
coke  in  his  corporal  stove. 

All  food  must  contain  two  species  of  ele- 
ments,, if  it  is  to  do  its  duty  efiiciently. 
There,  must  be  a  portion  which  is  availa- 
ble for  the  repair  of  the  frame,  which, 
will  remake  it  as  fast  as  it  is  unmade, 
and  which,  therefore,  is  called  the  plastic 
or  body-building  materials.  But  there  must 
be  a  certain  quantity  of  non-azotized  mat- 
ter, that  will  combine  with  oxygen,  in  order 
that  it  may  undergo  combustion.  If  we 
take  milk,  the  "  model  food  "  of  animals, 
as  a  ci'iterion  of  proportion,  we  shall  find 
that  three  times  as  much  of  the  latter  is 
needed  as  of  the  former.  For  one  JFound 
of  simply  restorative  jjrovender,  an  ener- 
getic man  requires  four  of  digestible  fuel. 
The  ultimate  form  in  which  this  fuel  is 
burnt,  is  that  of  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  sul- 
phur ;  but  proximately,  we  swallow  it  in  the 
shape  of  fat,  starch,  sugar,  alcohol,  and 
other  less  infiammatory  compounds.  By 
far  the  most  incendiary  of  these  substances 
is  fat;  ten  pounds  of  this  material,  impor- 
ted into  your  stove,  will  do  as  much  work — 
that  is,  will  produce  as  much  warmth  as 
twenty-four  of  starch,  twenty-five  of  sugar, 
or  even  twenty -six  of  spirits. 

It  is  pleasant  .to  observ^iow  sagaciously 
the  instinct  of  man  has  iStencd  upon  the 
articles  which  will  best  supply  him  with 
the  species  of  fuel  he  requires. 

The  Esquimaux,  for  example,  is  extreme- 
ly partial  to  oil  iare.  He  does  not  know 
why.  He  never  heard  of  the  doctrine  of 
animal  heat.  But  he  feels  intuitively  that 
bear's  grease  and  blubber  are  the  things  for 
him.  Condemn  him  to  dine  on  potatoes  or 
maize,  and  the  poor  fellow  would  resent  the 
cruelty  as  much  as  a  London  Alderman  of 
the  Old  School,  if  sentenced  to  subsist  on 
water  gruel  alone.  And  the  savage  would 
be  perfectly  right.  Exposed,  as  he  is,  to 
the  fierce  cold  of  the  northern  sky,  every 
object  around  him  plundering  him  of  his 


20 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[Jantart 


caloric  incessantly,  what  he  needs  is  plenty 
of  unctious  food,  because  from  this  he  can 
generate  the  greatest  quantity  of  heat.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  native  of  the  tropics, 
equally  ignorant  of  animal  chemistry,  es- 
chews the  fiery  diet  which  his  climate  ren- 
ders inappropriate,  and  keeps  himself  cool 
on  rice  or  dates,  or  watery  fruit. 


ry,  philosophy  and  practice  of  draining  are 
all  touched  so  gracefully,  agreeably,  and  yet 
so  PRACTICALLY,  that  wc  might  well  mis- 
take Mr.  French  for  a  hUnd-ditcliing  philo- 
sopher and  tile-pipe  layer  combined,  in.stead 
of  conceiving  him,  as  he  is  understood  to 
be,  a  lawyer  and  judge. 

The  book  has  fun  in  it,  too,  as  well  as 
philosophy  and  hard  licks — witness  a  quo- 
tation from  p.  183,  where  he  speaks  of  the 
importance  of  guarding  the  outkts  of  secret 
drains  from  the  intrusion  of  outsiders — and 
be  it  remembered,  that  drains  constructed 


For  the  Southertt  Planter. 

Farm  Drainage. 

Book-farmers  and  lovers  of  agricultural 
literature  are  indebted  to  Henry  F.  French,  of  tile  cannot  be  entered,  except  at  the  out- 
of  New  Hampshire,  for  a  volume  of  very  |  lets,  by  anything  larger  than  an  earth-, 
pleasant   reading;    and    practical   farmers,  j  worm  : 

owners  and  tillers  of  the  soil,  are  under  still  '"'There  are  many  species  of  'vermin,' 
greater  obligations  to  him — though  it  is, both  'creeping  things'  and  'slimy  things, 
probable  they  wi.l  be  slow  to*acknowledge  -that  crawl  with  legs,'  which  seem  to  imagine 
it,  for  they  will  be  very  slow  in  finding  it ;  that  drains  are  constructed  for  their  especial 
out.  ;  accommodations.     In  dry  times  it  is  a  favo- 

Thorough  drainage,  the  removal  of  all ,  rite  amusement  of  moles,  and  mice,  and 
stagnant  water  to  a  safe  distance  from  the  ,  snakes,  to  explore  the  devious  passages  thus 
roots  of  cultivated  plants,  is  the  basis  of  fitted  up  for  them,  and  entering  at  the  ca- 
good  husbandry.  Do  what  you  will  with  pacious  open  front  door,  they  never  suspect 
water-logged  land,  it  remains  unimproved. ;  that  the  spacious  corridors  lead  to  no  apart- 
Ho^  much  of  this  or  of  any  country  is  un- !  ments ;  that  their  accommodations,  as  they 
drained  by  nature,  and  in  need  of  art  to  progress,  grow  'fine  by  degrees,  and  beauti- 
remove  surplus  water,  can  be  determined  fully  less,'  and  that  these  are  houses  with 
only  by  careful  observation ;  and  it  is  only  no  back  doors,  or  even  convenient  places 
within  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years  that  for  turning  about  for  a  retreat  Unlike  the 
all  departments  of  the  British  government  road  to  Hades,  the  descent  to  which  is  easy, 
have  become  convinced  of  the  immense  ad-  here  the  ascent  is  inviting;  though,  alike  in 
vantages  of  draining:  but  they  are  con-  both  cases,  ' reiocore  gradum,  hoc  opus,  hie 
vinced,  so  thoroughly  convinced,  that  the  hiLor  est.'  They  persevere  upward  and  on- 
legislation  of  that  most  conservative  of  na-  ward  till  they  come,  in  more  senses  than  one, 
tions  has  appropriated  about  twenty  millions  to  'an  untimely  end.'  Perhaps,  stuck  fast 
of  dollars  to  agricultural  draining.  And  as  in  a  small  pipe-tile,  they  die  a  nightmare 
the  law  now  stands  in  that  country,  a  man's  death;  or,  perhaps,  overtaken  by  a  shower, 
land  may  be  drained,  and  a  due  portion  of.  of  the  efi"ects  of  which,  in  their  ignorance 
the  expense  charged  to  him  against  his  con-; of  the  scientific  principles  of  drainage,  they 
sent.  Such  a^arge  outlay  of  money,  and  had  no  conception,  they  are  drowned  before 
an  attack,  apparently  so  radical,  upon  land-  they  have  time  for  deliverance  from  the 
ed  interests,  by  the  most  cautious,  enlight- j  straight  in  which  they  find  themselves,  and 
ened  and  practical  of  European  States,  is  so  are  left,  as  the  poet  strikingly  expresses 
amply  sufficient  to  draw  the  attention  of  tit,  '  to  lie  \n  cold  obaf  ruction  and  to  vot.'" 
proprietors  in  this  country;  and  French  has.  But  if  the  farmers  of  Virginia  want  to 
written  the  entertaining  book,  with  the  know  all  about  the  wonderful  and  indestruc- 
modest  title  which  heads  this  notice,  for  the  tible  value  of  drainage,  they  must  get 
purpose  of  introducing  to  American  farm-  Judge  French's  book  and  study  it  carefully, 
ers,  in  a  plain  and  perfectly  intelligible  It  will  "pay"  in  the  pleasure  of  perusal — 
wav.  the  system  of  complete  drainage,  which  and  those  who  never  saw  a  draining  tile, 
is  the  grand  step  made  in  the  progress  of ,  will  understand  how  infinitely  superior  to 
agriculture  in  Great  Britain.  iall  that  has  preceded  it,  is  the  modern  sys- 

He  has  done  this  so  fully  and  fairly,  that  tern  of  thorough  drainage. 


his  book  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  in  the 
way  of  an  elementary  treatise.     The  histo- 


(jrREEN  Springs. 


Nov.  22d,  1859. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER. 


21 


of  sterility,  by  always  restoring  to  the  soil 
an  equivalent  for  that  which  is  taken  off 
by  the  crops;  but  as  this  is  not  done  in  all 
cases,  Providence  ha-  provided  a  way  of  its 
own  to  counteract  the  thriftlessness  of  man, 
by  instituting  droughts  at  proper  periods  to 
bring  up  from  the  deep  parts  of  the  earth 
food  on  which  plants  might  feed  when  rains 
should  again  fall.  The  manner  in  which 
droughts  exercise  their  beneficial  influence 
is  as  follows :  During  dry  weather  a  con- 
tinual evaporation  of  water  takes  place  from 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  which  is  not  sup- 
plied by  any  from  the  clouds.     The  evapo- 


For  the  Southern  Panter. 

Baltimore,  Dec.  7th,  1859. 
Dear  Sir, — In  the  September,  or  Octo- 
ber No.  of  your  journal,  is  an  article  copied 
from  the  "  Country  Gentleman/'  on  the 
beneficial  influence  of  droughts,  which  does 
not  do  me  full  justice,  as  in  it  I  am  only 
mentioned  as  having  made  some  experi- 
ments to  prove  the  facts  stated  in  that 
ar.icle. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  the 
whole  idea,  and  all  of  its  proofs,  are  ex- 
clusively my  own.  It  was  brought  to  my 
mind    by    observation,    during    the    great 

drought  of  1854,  and  I  instituted  at  once  a|j"ation  from  the  surface  creates  a  vacuum, 
series  of  experiments,  to  show  the  nio(7?/s  •  (so  far  as  water  is  concerned,)  which  is  at 
operandi  of  the  beneficial  influence  of  j  once  filled  by  the  water  rising  up  from  the 
droughts,  which  at  once  received  the  sane-  ^"b-soil  of  the  land;  the  water  from  the 
tion  and  was  adopted  by  the  highest  scien- '  sub-soil  is  replaced  from  the  next  stratum 
tific  minds  in  this  country.  Ministers,  of  ^elow,  and  in  this  manner  the  circulation  of 
the  Gospel  alluded  to  it  in  their  sermons  as  '"'ater  in  the  earth  is  the  reverse  to  that 
one  more  proof  that  God  was  ever  kind,  which  takes  place  in  wet  weather.  This 
though  we  might  seem  to  sufier  from  this  progress  of  the  water  in  the  earth  to  the 
Providence.  ;  surface    manifests    itself   strikingly  in    the 

I  send  you,  by  this  mail,  my  Fifth  Re-  drying  up  of  spring.s,  and  of  rivers  and 
port  to  the  Hotise  of  Delegates,  with  the  streams  which  are  supported  by  springs.  It 
request  that,  in  your  next  number,  you  will  is  not,  however,  only  the  water  w  ich  is 
copy  the  article  entire,  as  found  on  page. brought  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but 
56  of  that  Report.  also  all  that  which  the  water  holds  in  solu- 

With  sincerest  wishes  for  your  prosperity  tion.  These  substances  are  salts  of  lime, 
in  business,  '  and  magnesia  of  potash  and  so^a,  and  in- 

I  remain  yours,  very  truly,  deed  whatever  the  sub-soil  or  deep  strata  of 

James  Higgixs.       the  earth  may  contain.  The  water,  on  reach- 
— u  ing  the  surface  of  the   soil,  is   evaporated, 

TJltimate  Benefits  of  Droughts,  and  the  and  leaves  behind  the  mineral  salts,  which 
Mode  in  which  they  Act  to  Improve  I  will  here  enumerate,  viz:  Lime,  as  air- 
I'Siid,  'slacked  lime;  magnesia,  as  air-slacked  mag- 

It  may  be  a  consolation  to  those  who  have  nesia;  phosphat  of  lime,  or  bme  earth; 
felt  the  influence  of  the  late  long  and  pro-  sulphate  of  lime,  or  plaster  of  Paris;  car- 
tracted  dry  weather,  to  know  that  droughts ,  bonate  of  potash,  and  soda,  with  silicate  of 
are  one  of  the  natural  causes  to  restore  the  potash  and  soda,  and  also  chloride  of  sodi- 
constituents  of  crops  and  renovate  cultiva- .um,  or  common  salt.  All  these  are  indis- 
ted  soils.  The  diminution  of  the  mineral  pensable  to  the  growth  and  production  of 
matter  of  cultivated  soils  takes  place  from  plants  which  are  used  for  food.  Pure  rain 
two  causes:  !  water,  as  it  falls,  would  dissolve  but  a  very 

1st.  The  quantity  of  mineral  matter  car- ;  small  proportion  of  some  of  these  sub- 
ried  off  in  crops  and  not  returned  to  the  stances,  but  when  it  becomes  soaked  into 
soil  in  manure.  I  the  earth  it  there  becomes  strongly  imbued 

2d.  The  mineral  matter  carried  off  by  with  carbonic  acid  from  the  decomposition 
rain  water  to  the  sea  by  means  of  fresh -of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  and  thus  ac- 
water  streams.  •  quires  the    property   of   readily   dissolving 

These  two  causes,  always  in  operation,  I  minerals  on  which  before  it  could  have  very 
and    counteracted    by   nothing,    would,    in ;  little  influence. 

time,  render  the  earth  a  barren   waste,  in       I  was  first  led  to  the  consideration  of  t 
which  no  verdure  would   quicken   and  no  above    subjects   by  finding,  on    the   re-ex- 
solitary  plant  take  root.     A  rational  system ;  amination  of  a  soil  which  I  analyzed  three' 
of  agriculture  would  obviate  the  first  cause '  or  four  years  ago,  a   larger  quantity  of  a 


22 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[Januart 


particular  mineral  substance  than   I  at  first  f 
found;    as  none  had  been   applied  in  the 
meantime,  the  thing  was    difficult  of   ex-; 
planation  until  I  remembered  the  late  long  [ 
and  protracted   drought.     I    then    also  re-j 
membered  that  in    Zacateeas    and    several 
other   provinces   in    South   America,    soda] 
\ras  obtained  from   the  bottom  of   ponds, 
which  were  dried   in   the    dry,  and  again  j 
filled  up  in  the  rainy  season.     As  the  above  j 
explanation  depended  on  the  principles  of  j 
natural   philosophy,    I    at    once   instituted 
several  experiments  to  prove  its  truth. 

Into  a  glass  cylinder  was  placed  a  small  | 
quantity  of  chloride  of  barium,  in  solution ; 
this  was  then  filled  with  a  dry  soil,  and  for 
a  long  time  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of 
the  sun  on  the  surface.  The  soil  on  the 
surface  of  the  cylinder  was  now  treated 
with  sulphuric  acid,  and  gave  a  copious  pre- 
cipitate of  sulphate  of  baryta. 

The  experiment  was  varied  by  substi- 
tuting chloride  of  lime,  sulphate  of  soda, 
and  carbonate  of  potash,  for  the  chloride  of 
barium,  and  on  the  proper  re-agents  being 
applied  in  every  instance,  the  presence  of 
those  substances  was  detected  in  large 
quantities  on  the  surface  of  the  soil  in  the 
cylinder.  Here,  then,  was  proof  positive 
and  direct,  by  plain  experiments  in  chem- 
isty  and  natural  philosophy,  of  the  agenc}', 
the  ultimate,  beneficial  agency,  of  droughts. 

We  see,  therefore,  in  this,  that  even  those 
things  which  we  look  upon  as  evils,  by 
Providence  are  blessings  in  disguise,  and 
that  we  should  not  murmur  even  when  dry 
seasons  afflict  us,  for  they  too  are  for  our 
good.  The  early  and  the  latter  rain  may 
produce  at  once  abundant  crops,  but  dryj 
weather  is  also  a  beneficent  dispensation  of 
Providence  in  bringing  to  the  surface  food 
for  future  crops,  which  otherwise  would  be 
forever  useless.  Seasonable  weather  is  good 
for  the  present,  but  droughts  renew  the 
storehouses  of  plants  in  the  soil,  and  fur- 
nish an  abundant  supply  of  nutriment  for 
future  crops. 

I  am  happy  to  state  that  Prof.  Henry,  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institute,  has  fully  en- 
dorsed the  above  views. 

If  the  effect  of  this  had  only  been  to 
teach  men  patience  under  seeming  evils, 
and  to  add  another  proof  to  the  goodness  of 
our  Creator,  I  should  have  been  amply  re- 
warded for  all  sacrifices  that  I  have  en- 
dured in  my  present  position.  If  I  could 
teach  mankind  to  be  patient  under  present 


evils,  in  the  certain  anticipation  that  they 
will  bring  to  them  ultimate  good,  then  would 
I  .be  contributing  much  to  the  cause  of 
human  happiness.  Apart  from  this  view  of 
the  case,  however,  the  above  facts  have  a 
great  practical  bearing  on  the  operations  of 
farming.  In  soils  that  have  an  impervious 
sub-soil,  and  from  which  the  water  runs  off 
and  does  not  soak  through,  it  is  apparent 
that  no  benefits  can  arise  from  droughts; 
if  the  water  does  not  soak  through  a  sub- 
soil in  wet,  it  cannot  arise  in  dry  weather, 
and  this  being  the  case,  nothing  can  be 
brought  up  from  below ;  the  cultivators  of 
such  soils  will  endure  all  the  evils  of  drought 
on  present,  and  derive  no  benefit  from  them 
on  future  crops.  He,  therefore,  is  taught 
to  loosen  and  break  up  those  impermeable 
sub-soils  by  means  of  draining,  deep  plow- 
ing, and  sub-soiling,  when  these  sub-soils 
contain  nothing  injurious  to  vegetation.  It 
teaches  the  cultivator  of  the  soil  that  he 
should  so  prepare  it  as  to  reap  the  advantage 
of  his  labor  in  a  good  season,  and  when  a 
drought  comes,  he  will  be  comforted  by  the 
reflection  that  its  future  benefits  will  com- 
pensate him  for  all  his  present  lo-sses. 

For  the  Southern  Planter. 

Tobacco   the  Bane  of  Virginia   Hus- 
bandry. 

(continuation  of  No.  5.) 

It  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  to- 
bacco stands  convicted  of  every  attribute 
that  constitutes  an  idol — an  idol,  as  already 
shown,  of  the  most  demoralizing,  and 
otherwise  most  extensively  injurious  char- 
acter to  be  found  in  the  history  of  our 
fallen  race.  Its  evils  were  early  detected, 
and  although  exposed  by  all  the  influence 
of  royalty*  and  edicts  of  arbitrary  govern- 
ments, denouncing  the  penalty  of  deathf 
against  offenders  —  even  these  potentates, 
backed  by  the  unanswerable  arguments  in 
support  of  their  cause,  availed  nothing  in 
staying  the  progress  of  the  vice  of  tobacco- 
using — proving  that  in  the  designs  of  an 
overruling  Providence — apparent  present 
evils  were  being  made  subservient  to  pro- 
ducing ultimately,  greatly  overbalancing 
good.  Mysterious  are  the  ways  of  Provi- 
dence I  and  in  no  part  of  the  divine  econo- 
my does  He  appear  more  mysterious  than 
in  making  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him. 


•    Witness  King  James"  Counterblast. 

t  The  Ottoman  Sultan,  capital  punishment. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTEH. 


23 


But  as  to  the  extent  of  the  tobacco 
idolatry — the  millions  of  men  who  wor- 
ship in  its  world-wide  temple — the  mil- 
lions of  money  expended  to  produce  and 
consume  the  incense  oflfered  upon  the 
altars  of  this  modern  God,  prove  the  truth 
of  the  assertion,  that  all  other  idola- 
ters are  small  in  comparision  with  it.  It 
undeniably  consumes  more  of  the  treas- 
ure of  the  earth  for  its  support  than  is 
expended  for  all  the  Christian,  benevolent, 
and  educational  institutions  of  the  age, 
until  it  has  become  so  interwoven  in  the 
very  texture  of  society,  as  to  stand  pre- 
eminently the  master  vice  of  our  sin-ruined 
world. 

If  the  charges  made  against  tobacco  ic 
sustainable,  how  can  it  be  otherwise  ac- 
counted for,  that  natural  human  beings  be- 
come iis  votaries — its  deluded  victims — its 
abject  slaves — but  by  diabolical  fascination  if 
A  further  question  may  be  asked — how 
could  such  a  loathsome  evil,  poisoning  the 
bodies  and  destroying  the  souls  of  men, 
have  attained  to  such  an  overmastering 
power  in  all  the  earth  ?  the  only  true  solu- 
tion to  be  given,  is  the  fallen  state  of  man  : 

"  God  made  man  Hprigbt,  but  he  has  sought  out 
many  inventions." 

"  Man  is  as  prone  to  evil  as  the  sparks  fly  up- 
wards."' 

But  in  the  present  moral  enlightenment 
of  the  world,  and  this  progressive  age,  why 
do  not  Christians  rise  up  and  protest  against 
the  degrading  and  digusting  idolatry?  Sim- 
ply because  the  idol  has  an  overwhelming 
majority  enlisted  on  his  side,  and  it  is  to 
be  feared  only  for  the  want  of  faith  and 
moral  courage  on  the  part  of  the  followers 
of  the  Great  Captain  of  salvation.     ^ 

In  the  gloomiest  day  of  the  history  of 
our  holy  religion,  7,0U0  men  were  found 
who  had  not  bent  the  knee  to  the  idol 
God  of  the  day — and  shall  there  not  be 
found  among  the  millions  of  professing 
Christians  of  our  day,  a  sacramental  host 
of  Gods  elect — a  band  of  volunteers  to 
rally  to  the  summons  of  the  Almighty  con- 
queror— and  range  themselves  under  the 
standards  inscribed  by  his  own  finger  with 
such  inspiring  mottoes  as 

"Come  out  from  among   them  and  be  ye  sepa- 
rate."'., 
'•Te  shall  ndX  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil."' 
"Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon." 


TVhat  boots  the  superior  number  of  the 
enemy  against  the  host  of  the  Almighty, 
who  can  make  one  to  chase  a  thousand, 
and  has  already  made  proclamation  that  his 
warriors  elect,  bearing  the  jegis  of  faith, 
shall  '•  put  to  flight  the  army  of  the  aliens." 
All  things  indicate  that  the  crisis  has  ar- 
rived when  the  conflict  with  this  army  of  new 
idolaters  already  begun,  must  wax  hotter 
and  hotter  to  the  end — for  it  is  in  manifest 
accordance  with  God's  word,  that  every 
form  of  idolatry  must  fall,  before  Christ's 
kingdom  can  come  upon  the  earth.  And 
what  Christian  whose  eyes  are  not  "'holden" 
may  not  see  that  this  most  universal  of  all 
idolatries,  has  been  Providentially  permitted 
in  mercy  and  divine  goodness  to  off'er  a  new 
text  to  show  who  "  will  come  out  from 
among  them,"'  and  stand  on  the  Lord's 
side — by  abandoning  a  monstrous  evil — by 
a  simple  act  of  self-denial,  far  easier  than 
ojivins:  up  father  or  mother,  sister  or  brother, 
house  and  lands,  or  a  right  hand,  or  a  right 
eve.  as  in  duty  bound  under  our  covenant 
with  God  ;  but  herein  by  a  new  and  glori- 
ous dispensation,  nothing  is  required  to  be 
given  up  but  a  morbid,  unnatm-al  appetite, 
with  its  legion  of  concomitant  evils,  to  be 
replaced  by  innumerable  present  blessings, 
and  in  the  future  an  eternal  weight  of 
glory.  '•'  How  wonderful  is  the  goodness 
of  God,  His  ways  past  finding  out  1" 

It  is  freely  granted  that  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco,  in  the  last  preceding  ages,  was  the 
best  practical  course  of  opening  a  wilder- 
ness and  subduing  the  earth  for  the  purpo- 
ses of  wholesome  agriculture  ;  but  that  mis- 
sion of  tobacco  has  been  fulfilled,  and  the 
country  well-nigh  destroyed  by  its  impover- 
ishing efi"ects  upon  the  soil,  thus  showing  a 
necessity  for  a  change  of  the  fatal  culture 
which  produces  only  a  deleterious,  demor- 
alizing drug,  for  a  course  which  produces 
the  wholesome  necessaries  of  life. 

TTe  have  not  yet  presented  a  tythe  of 
the  evils  to  be  subdued,  and  the  benefits  to 
be  wvn  by  the  anti-tobacco  warfare.  If 
any  human  mind  has  yet  fully  compre- 
hended, surely  no  one  has  as  yet  fairlj 
shown  the  length  and  breadth  and  depth 
and  height  of  the  iriaantic  evil.  Tobacco 
stands  convicted  by  the  unanimous  verdict 
of  its  own  devotees,  that  in  the  end  it  does 
them  no  good — but  on  the  contrary,  much 
harm.  And  here,  finally,  it  may  be  well, 
before  dismissing  the  subject,  to  exhibit 
the  protean  monster  in  some  of  the  features 


24 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[January 


in  which  he  mars  the  image  of  God  in  his 
creature  man,  although  become  so  familiar 
to  us  as  hardly  to  be  recognized  as  the  off- 
spring of  their  true  parentage.  Neverthe- 
less, it  may  be  for  the  good  of  some  to  be 
told  again  that  the  discoloured  skin  and 
stained  teeth,  nervous  tremor,  dyspepsia,  a 
species  of  salivation  both  filth}"  and  disgust- 
ing— and  a  tainted  breath,  which  sooner  or 
later  make  the  man  a  moving  mass  of 
offensiveness  in  the  nostrils  of  the  un con- 
taminated— and  how  much  more  so  in  His, 
who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  ini- 
quity— all,  all  these  awful  effects  are  the 
work  of  tobacco,  seen  every  where  around 
us,  and  known  of  all  men. 

Who  would  dare  to  impugn  the  wisdom 
and  economy  of  God's  Providence,  in  tolera 
ting  for  a  time  and  for  temporary  good  pur 
poses,  that  which  may  now  be  demonstra- 
ted to  be  an  unmitigated  evil.  This,  it  is 
humbly  conceived,  may  be  in  strict  keeping 
with  the  principles  of  the  divine  govern 
ment,  for  He  who  sees  all  things  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  carries  on  his  govern 
ment  of  the  Universe  by  machinery  too  vast 
for  the  limited  comprehension  of  short- 
sighted mortals — the  light  revealed  by  the 
progress  of  Christian  morals  must  be  our 
polar  star. 

If  this  skeleton  sketch  of  the  mammoth 
subject  of  the  day  shall  bring  out  abler 
minds  to  do  justice  to  it,  I  shall  be  content. 
That  it  must  sooner  or  later  be  called  up  to 
the  public  attention  is  manifest,  for  while 
the  world  is  so  fully  taken  up  in  the  tobac- 
co-sin, it  uiny  be  confidently  asserted  it  can- 
not be  evangelized.  But  it  is  announced  in 
His  word  that  the  world  shall  be  evangelized, 
and  consequently  all  sin  and  idolatry,  and 
everything  inconsistent  with  His  purity, 
shall  fall  before  the  sovereignty  of  His  im- 
maculate truth. 

JOHN  H.  COCKE. 


Feeding  Stock. 

Omnibuses  constitute  one  of  the  convenient 
institutions  of  London  as  many  other  large 
cities.  Tlie  London  Omnibus  Company  use 
no  less  than  G,000  horses.  In  feedinjr  so  large 
a  number  of  animals  it  is  important  to  estab- 
lish that  method  that  will  sustain  the  animals 
best  on  the  smallest  amount  of  food,  or  at  the 
least  cost.  In  order  to  determine  this  fact, 
the  Company  have  made  the  experiment  of 
feeding  3,000  of  the  horses  on  bruised  oats, 
cut  hay  and  straw,  (fur  the  British  term  of 


bruised,  we  Americans  would  understand  it  a' 
ground  in  one  of  the  numerous  stock  niill^ 
now  in  use).  The  other  3,000  were  fed  in  the 
usual  way  on  uncut  hay  and  whole  oats,  the 
horses  doing  their  own  jrrinding  and  cutting. 
The  allowance,  according  to  the  first  sys- 
tem: bruised  oats.  16  lbs. ;  cut  hav,  TJibs., 
and  cut  straw,  2^  lbs.  The  allowance,  accord- 
ing to  the  second:  unbruised  oats,  19  lbs.  ; 
uncut  hay,  13  lbs.  The  bruised  o.its,  cut  hay, 
and  cut  straw,  amounted  to  26ibs.,  and  the 
unbruised  oats,  &c.,  to  32  lbs.  The  horse 
which  had  bruised  oats,  with  cut  hay  and 
straw,  consumed  26  lbs.  per  day,  and  it  ap- 
pears it  could  do  the  same  work  as  well,  and 
kept  in  as  good  condition  as  the  horse  that  re- 
ceived 32  ft)S.  per  day.  Here  is  a  saving  of 
6  Itis.  per  day  on  the  feeding  of  each  horse  re- 
ceiving the  ground  oats  and  cut  hay  and  straw. 
The  advantage  thus  gained,  the  Company  esti- 
mate at  5  cents  a  day  on  each  horse,  amount- 
ing to  the  handsome  sum  of  $300  per  day  to 
the  Company  on  their  entire  stock  of  6,000 
head. —  Ohio  Valley  Farmer. 


From  the  Counliy  Gentleman. 
EVENING    DISCUSSIONS    IN    AGRICULTURAL 
HALL. 

Thursd.\y  Evening,  Oct.  6. 
Manures— Soiling. 

The  attendance,  tliis  evening,  was  large,  and 
the  discussion  animated.  Dr.  Crispell,  of 
Ulster  Co.,  occupied  the  chair. 

In  opening  the  discussion,  T.  C.  Peters,  of 
Gennessee,  spuke  of  the  importance  of  having 
land  in  as  fine  a  tilth  as  possible  before  the 
application  of  manure  was  made.  lie  was 
followed  by  Judge  Leland,  of  Saratoga,  who 
stated  that  in  his  opinion,  manure  spread  in 
the  fall  was  better  than  to  have  it  lay  in  heaps 
until  spring.  Upon  his  land,  which  was  a 
clayey  loam  with  a  subsoil  of  granite,  he  had 
received  no  benefit  from  plaster.  Judjre  Blod- 
GETT,  of  Lewis,  remarked  that  he  did  not  be- 
lieve in  applying  manure  before  the  ground 
was  in  a  fit  state  to  receive  it,  and  thought  a 
hard  soil  would  obtain  no  benefit  from  a  sur- 
face application  of  manure.  In  regard  to 
pasture  land,  he  said  that  the  natural  sod  was 
better  and  more  productive  than  if  once  bro- 
ken, as  it  was  difficult  to  reinstate  them. 
Meadow  lands,  if  deeply  tilled  and  the  manure 
plowed  under,  give  an  inducement  ftr  the 
roots  of  the  plants  to  penetrate  the  soil,  which 
which  they  would  not  have  if  the  soil  was 
hard  and  unyielding.  He  believed  in  top- 
diessing  meadows  after  the  land  had  been 
properly  seeded  down,  by  a  good  coat  of  ma- 
nure plowed  under  to  be<i;in  with.  He  thought 
all  depended  upon  a  good  soil  .ind  a  fine  tilth. 
His  land  was  a  vegetable  loam,  with  a  hard- 
pan  at  the  bottom. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


25 


L.  F.  Allex,  of  Black  Rock.  Every  far-l 
luer  should  be  allowed  to  tell  his  own  story  in 
his  own  way,  for  there  are  various  cau?es  | 
which  influence  his  circumstances,  both  natural  i 
and  artificial,  such  as  soil  and  climate,  near  or 
remote  from  market,  &c.,  which  he  himself 
best  knows,  and  which  others  are  entirely  ig- 
norant of;  and  no  man's  system  of  farming 
should  be  condemned  by  another,  simply  be- 
cause it  does  not  apply  to  his  individual  cir- 
eumstances.  Hence  we  see  that  men  of  good 
judgment  and  careful  experience  difi'er  widely, 
each  in  his  own  way.  If  a  farmer  hears  an- 
other farmer  say  what  lie  knows  to  be  best, 
how  can  the  former  practice  what  the  latter 
teaches  ?  Soils  need  different  treatment,  and 
that  treatment  which  One  person  gives  his  land 
and  which  succeeds,  may  not  succeed  with  an- 
other. Doubtless  some  soils  when  once  laid 
down,  are  better  to  be  kept  so ;  others  need  to 
be  often  plowed  up.  In  good  dairy  regions  of 
England,  pastures  have  laid,  since  the  con- 
quest, with  a  surface  manuring,  and  now  pro- 
duce better  than  ever.  The  soils  of  "West- 
chester have  never  been  moved,  and  are  now 
better  than  ever  before.  In  the  southern 
counties,  three-fourths  of  the  land  has  never 
been  plowed  either  in  mowing  or  pasture,  and 
their  meadows  now  yield  three  tons  per  acre. 
These  meadows  also  show  at  the  present  day, 
the  cradle-knolls  of  centuries  ago,  and  the 
owners  of  these  farms  will  not  let  the  sod  be 
broken  upon  them.  They  know  very  well 
that  there  is  a  rich  vegetable  deposit  of  leaves 
that  has  constituted  a  humus  in  the  soil,  which 
if  once  broken  is  lost  forever. 

The  President  stated  that  it  was  proposed 
to  introduce  the  subject  of  soiling,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  one  then  under  consideration, 
and  as  Hon.  Mr.  Qcixcr  was  again  pre.-ent,  in 
behalf  of  the  farmers  of  New  York,  he  would 
call  upon  the  gentleman  to  give  some  addi- 
tional facts  and  details  in  regard  to  the  system 
which  he  had  alluded  to  the  evening  previous. 

Hon.  JosiAH  QuixcY,  Jr.,  of  Massachusetts, 
took  the  stand,  and  was  loudly  cheered.  The 
substance  of  his  remarks  were  as  follows: 

In  connection  with   the  suViject   of  soiling, 
one  of  the  first  questions  asked  is,  how  much 
land  does  it  require  to  keep  a  cow  ?     I  have 
learned  that  one  square  rod  of  grass,  barley, 
oats,  or  corn,  is  sufficient  for  the  food  of  a  cow 
a  single  day.     The  best  fodder  for  the  pur-| 
pose  of  soiling  is  grass,  oats,  Indian  corn  and 
barley.     My  system  is  this:   I  use  grass  until  | 
July  ;  about  the  5th  of  April,  oats  are  planted 
at  the  rate  of  four  busliels   per  acre:  they  are  i 
also  planted  on  the  20th  of  April,  and  the  1st' 
of  May.     This  lasts  through  July  and  August, ; 
and  corn  so  planted  will  remain  succulent  for! 
about  ten  days.     The  southern  variety  of  corn  | 
is  then  sown  in  drills,  in  the  quantity  of  three  i 
bushels  the  acre,  which  furnishes  food  for  Sep- 
tember and   October.     Barley  is   then  planted: 
ten  days  apart,  which  lasts  till  vegetables  come ' 


on.  In  winter  the  feed  consisted  of  hay,  cot- 
ton-seed meal,  and  roots — [Mr.  Ql'incy  here 
spoke  of  the  advantages  arising  from  this  sys- 
tem, whicli  he  alluded  to  in  his  remarks  the 
previous  evening,  and  continued] — The  great 
increase  in  the  soiling  system  is  as  seven  to 
one;  tliat  where  only  one  cow  was  kept  with- 
out this  practice,  seven  can  be  kept  by  it,  and 
I  have  demonstrated  that  one  acre  of  land  in 
a  good  state  of  cultivation,  will  afford  suf- 
ficient food  to  keep  three  cows  through  the 
season.  [Here  the  gentleman  alluded  to  the 
manner  of  using  liquid  manure,  as  practiced 
by  Mr.  Mechi  in  England,  which  consists  of  a 
series  of  pipes  in  the  ground,  through  which 
liquid  manure  is  forced  by  means  of  steam 
power — which  has  before  be?n  described  in  the 
Co.  Gent. — and  he  also  spoke  of  the  system  of 
manuring  in  Scotland,  by  which  their  lands 
have  been  made  to  produce  from  five  to  seven 
crops  in  one  year,  and  further  remarked.]  It 
has  been  well  said  tliat  there  are  tliree  im- 
portant elements,  or  princi}iles,  which  consti- 
tute a  good  farm  ;  the  fir^:t  of  these  is  manure, 
the  second  is  mamxre,  and  the  third  is  maxure! 
I  place  but  little  confidence  in  patent  fertili- 
zers, so  great  is  the  adulteration  in  most  kinds, 
but  strongly  urge  each  farmer  to  raise  his  own 
manure  upon  his  own  farm.  Muck  I  use  as 
an  absorbent,  by  placing  it  in  a  gutter  in  the 
stable  for  my  cows,  whith  gutter  is  eighteen 
inches  wide  and  four  deep.  There  is  a  cellar 
under  the  stable,  into  which  the  manure 
passes.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  keep  only 
about  twenty  cows; — in  the  morning  and  even- 
ing these  are  let  out  in  the  yard,  where  they 
remain  a  few  hours,  as  it  is  not  necessary  that 
they  have  a  great  amount  of  exercise.  My 
cows  are  perfectly  healthy,  having  never  lost 
an  animal,  and  this  system  appears  to  agree 
perfectly  with  their  health  and  comfort  in 
every  respect.  They  do  not  suffer  from  drouth 
or  lo'ss  of  pastures.  The  mowing  is  usually 
dime  in  the  morning,  and  the  cows  are  fed  five 
times  during  the  day.  I  think  one  man  would 
be  employed  half  ^^f  his  time  in  feeding  twenty 
cows,  if  the  fodder  Avas  not  too  remote  from 
the  stable.  One  other  advantage  of  the  soil- 
ing system  was,  that  it  added  in  importance 
and  "numbers  to  the  list  of  farmers  in  our 
country.     Mr.  Quincy  then  concluded  : — 

The  temperature  of  the  ocean  is  always  the 
same,  and  has  the  same  influence  upon  the 
surrounding  atmosphere — so  it  is  with  the 
farmers  of  America.  From  their  quiet  and 
retired  homes  they  are  the  men  who,  in  peace 
or  war,  are  ever  ready  to  serve  their  country 
when  !<he  calls.  I  have  always  had  for  my 
neighbor  a  family  who  has  occupied  as  pro- 
minent and  honorable  a  position  in  American 
history  as  any  other.  One  of  this  family,  one 
hundred  years  ago,  kept  a  school  in  Worcester, 
then  considered  an  inland  town.  I  need  not 
add  his  name  was  John  Adams.  Later  in  life 
I  once  asked  him  when  he  thought  the  bond 


26 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER. 


[January 


was  .severeJ  between  England  and  this  coun- 
try— if  at  the  signing  of  the  Boston  "  Port 
Bill."  or  the  meeting  at  Independence  Hall 
in  Philadelphia?  "  Uh,  no!"  he  answered, 
"  fur  when  I  kept  school  in  Worcester,  and 
heard  the  farmers  talk,  then  I  knew  that 
separation  must  take  place."  [Cheers.]  And 
so  let  it  be  now,  and  let  the  farmers  prove, 
by  their  love  and  adherence  to  the  common 
good  of  our  country,  that  they  have  not  de- 
generated, but  that  the  same  blood  flows  in 
their  veins  now  that  warmed  the  hearts  of  the 
farmers  of  the  Revolution.     [Cheers.] 

Mr.  Gedney,  of  "Westchester. — I  draw  out 
my  farm  manure  in  spring,  and  then  turn  it 
under  for  corn,  after  which  wheat  is  sown 
with  top-dressing  of  bones.  I  keep  20  cows, 
from  which  I  save,  in  one  year,  about  100 
hogijheads  of  liquid  manure,  by  means  of  a 
series  of  spouts  and  a  large  tank  constructed 
for  the  purpose.  The  liquid  is  pumped  from 
the  tank,  and  sprinkled  upon  the  land  as  a 
top-dressing.  In  six  months  it  will  increase 
the  product  of  grass,  per  acre,  three-fourths. 
Keep  my  cows  up  in  stables  all  summer — i.  e., 
at  night. 

Mr.  Stewart,  of  Hamburg,  Erie  Co. — For 
three  years  I  have  practiced  soiling,  and  find 
it  a  benefit  both  to  land  and  animals.  In  the 
course  of  my  experiments,  I  have  found  that 
one  acre  cut  is  equal  to  four  acres  in  pasture. 
The  manure  that  is  saved  by  this  system  more 
than  pays  all  the  expenses  attendant  upon  it; 
and  the  saving  in  fences  would,  in  most  locali- 
ties also  pay  all  expenses.  The  increase  in 
the  value  of  the  animals  is  also  about  five-fold. 
I  practice  feeding  cut  straw,  steamed  and 
mixed  with  one  pint  of  corn-meal  to  the 
bushel.  This,  I  find,  makes  better  feed  than 
an  equal  amount  of  timothy.  I  think  one 
man  can  care  for  fifty  cows,  and  milk  ten  of 
them  in  adilition,  if  the  feed  is  close  by.  By 
this  method  I  make  $500  per  year  more  than 
by  the  old  system  of  pasturage.  For  feed  I 
use  roots  till  20th  of  May,  and  then  cut  clover 
until  after  haying.  Have  raised  corn,  and 
consider  it  the  best  fodder  for  the  purpose,  as 
it  comes  nearest  to  grass.  I  have  also  found 
that  butter  made  from  it  will  keep  longer  than 
that  made  from  any  other  feed.  For  winter,  I 
mix  carrots  and  oil-meal  with  cut  straw,  and 
give  three  bushels  per  day  to  each  cow.  Food 
is  steamed  before  it  is  given  out. 

Mr.  Gedxet,  of ,   considered  one  acre 

sown  with  corn  in  June,  equal  as  food  for 
milch  cows  to  ten  acres  of  rowen.  Had  found 
no  advantage  from  using  steamed  provender. 

Mr.  Geddes  made  some  interesting  state- 
mants,  in  which  he  said  that  each  farmer  must 
adapt  his  own  plans  to  his  own  case.  If  I  im- 
prove the  system  of  agriculture,  and  the  pro- 
duct of  my  farm,  under  my  own  management, 
that  is  my  aim  and  end.  If  you,  under  a  dif- 
ferent treatment,  become  successful,  and  im- 


prove your  farm  thereby,  I  am  not  to  point 
out  to  you  a  different  mode. 

Several  others  present  gave  their  views  ; 
which  proved  nothing  more  than  that  each 
one  has  his  own  opinions  in  regard  to  soils 
and  their  management,  and  to  manures  and 
their  application. 

As  the  vote  of  adjournment  was  made,  Solon 
PvOBixsox  rose  and  requested  the  farmers 
present  to  adjourn  to  their  own  homes  and 
school  districts,  establish  a  "Farmer's  C'ub,"» 
and  maintain  the  same  by  active  talk  and  dis- 
cussion upon  topics  regarding  their  avocation. 
In  no  other  way  could  so  much  valuable 
knowledge  be  gathered  up. 


Salt  as  a  Manure. 

The  following  questions  were  addressed 
to  the  editor  of  the  i\^.  JE.  Farmer :  How 
salt  is  to  be  applied  to  the  soil,  whether  it 
should  be  mixed  with  barn  manure  or  sown 
broadcast?  If  mixed  with  manure,  in  what 
proportion  ?  If  sown,  how  much  to  an  acre, 
at  what  season,  and  what  kind  of  soil  is 
most  benefitted  by  it?  Would  it  be  ad- 
vantageous to  use  it  when  barley  is  to  be 
grown  ?  How  would  it  affect  pasture  land? 
And  further,  would  solicit  the  opinion  of 
some  experienced  on  the  profit  likely  to  ac- 
crue from  purchasing  salt  at  twenty  cents  a 
bushel,  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Would  you  consider  it  profitable  to  buy 
air-slacked  lime,  at  eight  cents  a  bushel,  to 
put  on  the  land  ? 

To  these  questions  the  editor  replies : 
We  have  often  used  salt  as  a  fertilizer,  but 
have  not  followed  the  experiments  with  suf- 
ficient accuracy  to  make  them  worthy  of 
note.  So  we  refer  to  others,  and  find  plenty 
of  evidence  that  salt  may  be  used  as  a  ferti- 
lizer where  it  can  be  obtained  at  low  rates, 
where  it  is  dirty  or  in  a  damaged  state  so 
as  to  make  it  unfit  for  common  purposes. 

Salt  renders  dry  loam  more  susceptible  of 
absorbing  moisture  from  the  air,  and  this  is 
of  great  importance,  because  those  soils 
which  absorb  the  greatest  proportion  of  wa- 
ter from  the  atmosphere,  are  always  the 
most  valuable  to  the  cultivator.  On  heavy 
undrained  soils  it  would  not  act  beneficially. 

When  sprinkled  slightly  over  manure 
heaps  it  checks  the  escape  of  the  carbonate 
of  the  ammonia,  and  tends  to  prevent  un- 
due fermentation.  It  not  only  acts  on  vege- 
tation as  a  stimulant,  but  serves  as  a  direct 
constituent  or  food  to  some  kinds  of  plants. 

Applied  to  grain  crops  on  light  soils,  at 
the  rate  of  500  pounds  to  the  acre,  salt  in- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERX    PLANTER. 


27 


creases  the  produce  of  seed,  and  yerv  muchlletic  games,  foot  races  bv  men  being  one. 
improves  its  weight  to  the  bushel,  and  its  ;  It  is  known  for  weeks  beforehand,  that  Tom 
quality.  On  grass  lands  and  clover,  salt  j  Jones  is  going  to  run  Bill  Smith,  and  the 
has  a  good  effect,  rendering  the  herbage  I  discussions  which  ensue  as  to  the  relative 
more  palatable  to  stock.  I  merits  of  the  men  and  the  antici|>ation  of 

Mangold  wurtzel,  manured  with  salt  j  the  good  time  they  will  have  at  the  fair,  no 
mixed  with  farm-yard  dung,  at  the  rate  of  |  doubt  tends  to  lessen  their  toil, 
ten  or  twelve  bushels,  or  even  more,  an  acre, }  Xow  it  so  happens  that  a  man  is  at  pres- 
grows  luxuriantly.  It  would,  undoubtedly, '  ent  doing  some  work  for  me  who  was  re- 
be  useful  on  a  barley  crop,  because  the  soil  markable  in  his  youth  for  his  swiftness  of 
adapted  to  the  crop  is  the  kind  of  soil  most  foot,  and  ran  for  several  prizes.  I  learn 
benefitted  bv  salt.  '  from  him  that  the  runners  had  to  go  through 

We  do  not  doubt  but  that  salt  at  twenty  a  process  of  training  similar  to  that  of  the 
cents,  and  air-slacked  lime  at  eight  cents  prize  fightei-s.  as  reg-ards  exercise  and  diet, 
per  bushel,  would    be  profitable    on   lands  The  chief  food   consisted  of  the  lean  parts 


where  they  are  actually  needed. 


Animal  Food — Vegetable  Food. 

BT   J.    T.    MOrXDYILLE. 


of  legs  of  mutton,  and  their  drink,  tea, 
I  made  of  fresh  lean  beef,  put  into  cold  wa^ 
'  ter  and  simmered  two  or  three  hours,  all 
!  fat  which  floated  on  the  surface  being  eare- 
;  fully  skimmed  ofi":  and  their  vegetable  food 
The  experience  of  prize  fighters  certainly  consisted  of  dry  bread  toasted,  and  but  very 
does  not  favor  the  notion  that  a  purely  veg- ,  little  of  that.  The  evidence  afforded  by 
etable  diet  is  most  favorable  to  the  develop-  the  experience  and  practice  of  these  men, 
ment  of  bodily  vigor.  On  a  day  appointed,  also  goes  to  prove  that  the  use  of  animal 
two  of  these  professors  of  pugilism  agree  to  food  is  favorable  to  the  development  of 
fight  for  a  sum  of  money,  and,  of  course, '  great  bodily  vigor,  of  great  muscular  power, 
he  »vho  can  bear  or  inflict  the  most  punish- ;  activity  and  bottom. 

ment,  or  can  keep  on  his  legs  the  longest,  |  The  men  who  have  made  the  British  rail- 
is  d  eclared  the  winner,  provided  he  has  ways  are  remarkable  among  the  working 
taken  no  unfair  advantage  of  his  opponent.  \  men  of  that  country  for  the  great  amount 
It  is  generally  known  that  long  before  the  j  of  severe  labor  they  are  able  to  accomplish, 
day  of  battle,  these  men  are  subject  to  a 'and  for  the  great  amount  of  animal  food 
system  of  training  as  regards  both  diet  and  ■  they  consume.  They  work  by  the  piece  or 
exercise ;  and  the  diet  which  they,  by  long  job,  and,  of  coui-se,  the  more  wheeling  and 
and  accumulated  experience,  have  found ;  shoveling  they  do,  the  more  wages  they  re- 
most  favorable  to  the  development  of  bodi-  ]  ceive.  A  neighbor  of  mine  belonged  to 
ly  vigor,  consists  juaiuly  of  the  lean  parts!  this  class  in  England,  and  conversing  with 
of  fresh  meat,  chiefly  mutton,  and  not  by  I  him  some  time  ago  about  their  liberty,  and 
any  means  of  vegetables  exclusively.  Xow '  especially  about  their  mode  of  living,  he 
to  win  one  of  these  battles,  a  man  must  have  told  me  it  was  common  for  a  man  to  buy 
sreat  muscular  power,  great  activity,  great  fourteen  or  fifteen  pounds  of  beef  on  a  Sat- 
powers  of  enduranco  and  indomitable  ener-'urday  night  for  his  week's  supply  of  animal 
gy  and  pluck,  and  the  use  of  animal  food  is  food,  and  that  it  not  unfrequently  happened 
proved  by  them  to  be  highly  favorable  to  that  the  beef  had  all  vanished  before  the 
the  development  of  these  important  quali-  week  was  ended,  and  that  they  had  to  apply 
ties,  for  however  brutal  may  be  the  exercise  to  their  grocer  for  a  supplement  of  bacon  to 
of  this  power  by  these  men,  yet  it  must  be  carry  them  through.  But  it  may  be  said, 
admitted  that  these  are  highly  useful  and  if  these  men,  subsisting  largely  on  animal 
desirable  qualities  to  be  posses.sed  by  the ,  food,  were  able  to  accomplish  such  feats  in 
great  mass  of  mankind,  who  have  to  win  fighting,  running  and  digging,  there  is  no 
their  daily  bread  by  bodily  labor.  1  proof  that  other  men  employed  at  the  same 

It  is  customary  in  England  to  hold  fairs  kind  of  work,  but  living  on  purely  vegeta- 
at  stated  times  for  the  sale  of  stock  and  ble  diet,  were  net  able  to  do  as  much  work, 
other  farm  products,  and  at  these  fairs,  farm  j  or  more.  Well,  it  so  happened  that  an 
hands  and  mechanics  assemble  from  the  |  English  contractor  undertook  to  make  a 
country  around,  and  by  way  of  amusing;  French  railway,  and  he  took  with  him  a 
themselves,  usually  get  up  some  sort  of  ath-l  number  of  "  navies,''  and  employed  French 


28 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[January 


laborers  as  well,  but  it  was  soon  found  that 
the  PVenchnien  were  not  capable  of  gettinj];; 
through  anything-  like  the  same  amount  of 
work.     This  coming  to  the  ears  of  a  French 
physician f  who  was  somewhat  incredulous, 
he  proceeded  to  make  personal  inquiries,  to 
ascertain  the  truth  of  the  matter,  and  found 
the  fact  was  so.     He    then   inquired  how 
both   parties    lired,    and    he   admitted    the 
mystery  was  at  once  solved.     The  French- 
man's bread  and  fruit,  and  his  cooked  dishes 
ingeniously  contrived  to  tickle  the  palate, 
and  economize  nutritious  but  costly  food, 
was  considered  but  sorry  fare  for  men  who 
had  to  endure  such  severe  labor,  compared 
to  the  substantial  diet  of  the  English  navy. 
This  reminds  me  of  a  paper  read  before 
the    Horticultural    Society   of    London    in 
1831,   by  its  President,    Andrew    Knight. 
It  is  on  a  peculiar  mode  of  cultivating  the 
patato,    and    in   a    few    prefatory  remarks, 
Mr.   Knight  contends  that  potatoes,  with  a 
small  quantity  of  meat,  will   afford  better 
and  more  healthy  food   than   bread  in  any 
quantity,  and  in  support  of  his  opinion,  re- 
fers  to  the  injurious  eifects  of  "a  purely 
vegetable  diet"  on  the  health  of  the  French 
peasantry.     They  are  a  very  temperate  race 
of  men,  and  they  possess  the  advantage  of 
a  very  dry  climate.     Yet  the  duration  of 
life  amongst  them    is  very  short,  scarcely 
exceeding  two-thirds  of  the  average  dura- 
tion of  life   in  England,  and   in  some  dis- 
tricts much  less.     Dr.  Harkius,  in  his  med- 
ical statistics,   states  upon   the  authority  of 
M.   Villerme,    that   in    the    department   of 
Indre,  one-fourth  of  the   children  born  die 
within  the  first  year,  and  half  between  fif- 
teen and  twenty,  and  three-fourths  are  dead 
within  the  space  of  fifty  years.     Having  in- 
quired of  an  eminent  French  physiologist, 
M.  Dutrochet,  who  is  a  resident  of  the  de- 
partment of  Indre,  the  cause  of  this  extra- 
ordinary mortality,  he  stated  it  to  be  their 
food,  which  consists  chiefly  of  bread ;  and 
of  which  he  calculated  every  adult  peasant 
to_  eat  two  pounds  a   day,  and  he  added, 
without  any  leading  question  from  me,  or  in 
any  way   knowing  my  opinion   on  the  sub- 
ject,  that  if  the  peasantry  of  his  country 
would   substitute   (which   they -could  do)  a 
small  quantity  of  animal  food  with  potatoes, 
instead  of  so  much  bread,  they  would  live 
much  longer  and  with  much  better  health. 
I  am  inclined  to  pay  much  deference  to  M. 
Dutrochet's  opinion,  for   he   combines  the 
regular  medical  education  with  great  acute- 


ness  of  mind  ;  and  I  believe  him  to  be  as 
well  acquainted  with  the  general  laws  of 
organic  life  as  any  person  living ;  and  I 
think  his  opinion  derives  some  support  from 
the  well-known  fact  that  the  dm^ation  of 
human  life  has  been  much  greater  in  Eng- 
land during  the  last  sixty  years  than  in  the 
preceding  period  of  the  same  duration. 

In  the  London  Agricultu  al    Gazette  of 
the   24th   of  January   last,  is  the  report  of 
the  address   delivered  at  a   meeting  of  a 
farmer's  club,  by  one    of    England's  best 
farmers,    Mr.    Grey,    of    Dillston,    in    the 
county  of  Northumberland.     He  took  a  re- 
trospective view  of  the  progress  that  had 
been  made  in  farming  during  the  present 
century,  and  among  other  subjects,  referred 
to  the  improved  condition  of  f^irm  laborers. 
"  Since  I  recollect,"  said  he,  "it  was  hardly 
the  case  that  the  laboring  population  of  this 
country  were  able  to  indulge  themselves  by 
eating  butcher's  meat  at  home.     The  father 
of  a  family  thought  himself  well  off"  if  he 
could  feed  one  or  two  pigs,  and  exceedingly 
well   oft'  if  he  could  maintain   a  cow ;  but 
you   now  see  the  butcher's  shop  in  every 
village,   and  the  butcher's   cart  dispensing 
'joints  of  meat  at  every  cottage  door  as  you 
:  go  along  the  road.     Such  is  the  difference 
I  in  the  way  of  living;"   and  he  adds,  like  a 
[truly  benevolent  and  sensible  man,   "lam 
j  sure  you  will  all  rejoice  with   me   in  think- 
j  ing  that  it  is  so."     But  farm  hands  are  not 
equally  well  cared  for  in   all  parts  of  Eng- 
land.    Some  of  the  southern   counties,   as 
"Wilts  and  Dorset,  have  long  had  notoriously 
bad  reputation  for  the  low  wages  they  pay 
their  hired  men.     A  Wiltshire  parson,  see- 
ing there  was  so  much    difference    in   the 
statement  of  Mr.  tirey  and  the  actual  state 
of  things  in  his  neighborhood,  wrote  to  the 
Times,   requesting    information    as   to    the 
wages  paid   the   Northumberland  workmen, 
which  enabled  them  to  live  in  such  luxuri- 
ous style.     This  elicited  from  Mr.  Grey  ad- 
ditional facts  illustrating   the   influence  of 
diet  in   the   development   of  bodily  vigor. 
He  mentions  a  striking  example  of  the  in- 
efficiency of  southern    laborers,  whose   low 
wages  would  oblige  them   to  live  chiefly  on 
bread  and  the  produce  of  their  gardens.    A 
relation  of  his,  who  had  large  sums  to  pass 
through  his  hands,  superintending  works  of 
land   improvement,   was  brought  into  com- 
munication with    parties    in    the    southern 
counties,   who    complained   of  want  of  em- 
ployment and  low  w;;ges  among  their  nea- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEK>f    PLANTER. 


29 


santry;  which  led  to  his  offering  to  find  Dairy  Management  in  Scotland, 
work  for  one  hundred  of  then:  if  they  were  g^^  j^^^^,  Sinclair  has  .stated  that  "  it 
sent  to  Northumberland  with  tools  for  ig  supposed  that  the  same  quantity  of  her- 
draimng  at  which  men  were  making  from  ^^  /^^^^^  ^,^^,Ij  ^^  ^24  lbs.  to  the  weight 
1/s  to  21s  per  week  ut  piece-work  accord- j  ^f«^^  ^^  ^^^I^  J^^^^  q^q  j,  .^^  °j_ 
ing  to   capacity  and  application.     A  party  .j^,^^  ^^  ^^^  „     ^^        -^  ^^  ^^^^-^  g  ^^  ^^ 


averag-e  weight   obtained 


of  these  men  were  provided  with  money  for  j^^^^^^.  ^^  ^^  ^^^ 

their  journey  and    the    purchase   of   tools,  ^^^^^  ^      ,i^^  ^^  ^jU^    -^  ^^jU^        33^  j^^^ 

and  on   arrivinsi;  at  their  destination,  were     ^  ^   n.     ^        *!,  i-^      i?T,    i. 

,    ,      ,        ,       p  .  11,,,  f.  1    01  butter  irom  the  same  quantity  of  herbage 

odged  and  set  to  work,  but  the  poor  fel-  ^^  ^^^  supposed  to  produce  224  lbs.  of  beef 
lows  proved  to  be  so  wanting  in  methodi  j^  ^j^^  hypothesis  of  Sir  J.  Sinclair  be 
and  mpoiver  that  few  of  them  could  make  |  ^^  ^{^^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^,^^  -^  -^  ^^^ 

more  than  halt  the  wages  the  men  01  the '  •  ^       ^     i-  4.1,     f  *        ^     i.  ^u      i  • 

,1                        •      1  °  i^-,i                    r  ,   interest  01  the  farmer  to  adopt  the   dairy 
north   country  gained.     With  men  so  ted  | i.„.  ,- c i„  j.c, „  p,_  ],•__.   „p  „,i 

and   children  so  reared,    the  race,   as  Mr 


Grey  remarks,  '■'  must  be  physically  and 
mentally  detei'iorated."  On  the  other  hand, 
men  well  fed  and  strong,  like  the  Northum- 
berland workmen,  '■'  apply  themselves  to 
their  work  with  vigor  and  energy;  thei/  re- 
quire the  support  of  meat  as  well  as  bread, 
and  can  afford  to  eat  it."  Like  a  well  fed 
team,  they  feel  well ;  go  to  their  work  with 
light  hearts,  contented  and  happy :  con- 
scious that  their  strength  is  equal  to  the  la- 
bor required  of  them,  and  that  the  wages 


system  in  preference  to  the  feeding  of  cat- 
tle.    But  even  srantinir  that  the  difference 


between  the  production  of  beef  and  butter 
is  not  so  great  as  stated  by  him,  yet  it  is 
generally  admitted  that  there  is  a  considera- 
ble margin  in  favor  of  butter,  particularly 
when  we  take  into  account  the  relative  price 
of  the  two  at  the  present  time. 

The  importance  of  the  subject  being  ad- 
mitted, we  may  inquire  shortly  as  to  what 
kind  of  feeding  is  best  adapted  for  produ- 
cing the  largest  yield  of  butter.     Aiton,  in 


they  receive  will  be  a  fair  compensation 'for  , '"«  Agricuhure  oj  Ayrshire,  published  about 
work  done.  Such  men  are  the  parents  of  ,^^6  b'rSi^ninS  of  this  century,  tells  us  that 
robust  and  healthy  children,  who,  sharing  ^1^^  ^'"t^^fo'^^  of  the  dairy  stock  at  that 
in  their  father's  generous  diet,  without ,  t^^l^  w^^  ^^^  «t^^^  of  oats,  or,  toward  the 
sharing,  in  their  early  years  at  least,  in  his^^^i"^^  parts  of  the  country,  the  hay  of  bog 
arduous  toil,  grow  up  strong  and  healthy,  Tf^o^^'' ^^■^fl^\^'^%  b^^t  i"  P'-eserved.  "For 
and  finally  attain  a  stature  and  proportions  f  ^^^^  ^^^'^^^  ^*\ei' ^^^^  ^^^^f^'^^ey  were  al- 
rarely  met  with  in  districts  where  a  low  rate  :  l^^^^*^  some  weak  corn  and  chaff,  boiled,  with 
of  wages  and  a  consequently  inferior  diet  1  "^f^^'?"^^^  '^^JJ  ^"^  V  "I^^  °^  ^"^'''■^'  ^ 
prevails.  We  need  not,  therefore,  be  sur- 1  °^o^«el  of  rye-grass  or  lea-hay  once  every 
prised  to  read  further,  a  fact  which  vegeta-^^y,^  ^"'^  0^  '^^^  J^^^^  ^^  ^o'f^  farmers,  a 
rians  will  do  well  to  ponder  over,  u  j :  smal  quantity  of  turnips  m  the  early  part 
have  seen  it  stated  that  the  regiment  of  i^f  ^^^  winter,  and  a  few  potatoes  in  the 
Northumberland  Militia  require  more  stand- ^PT^A  v'^  been  added.  The  effect  of 
ing  ground   than   afiy  other  regiment,  he-  ^"^^  ^^^^^^^g  «"   t^«    '^"^"^^^^   ^^  apparent 


cause  the  men  have  hroader  shoulders^ 
Hence  the  force  and  meaning  of  that 
proudly  defiant  taunt'  of  Mrs.  Barbauld, 
who,  as  a  get  off  to  more  luxurious  products 
of  southern  parts,  says  : 

"  But  men  are  ripened  in  our  northern  sky." 

Wisconsin  Farmer. 


when  they  are  turned   out  on  the  grass  in 

summer;  "  many  of  them  are  so  dried  up 

and  emaciated    that   they  appear   like  the 

ghosts  of  cows,  their  milk  vessels  are  dried 

up,  and  it  is  not  till  they  have  been  several 

weeks  on  the  grass  that  they  give   either 

much  milk  or  that  of  a  rich  quality."     The 

summer  feeding  was  generally  pasture  ;  and 

though  a  much  better  system  of  feeding  has 

been  practiced  throughout  the  country  since 

Live  so  that  when   death  comes  you  may  the  introduction  of  turnip  husbandry  yet  an 

embrace    like   friends,    not   encounter  Hke ;  approximation    to    that   described   by   Mr 

enemies  I  ^"^ITON  will  be  found  m  some  of  the  upland 

districts. 


Reform  those  things  in  yourself  that  you 
blame  in  others. 


Farmers  have  now,  however,  a  great  vari- 
ety of  food  from  which  they  can  make  a 


30 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[Jaxlaky 


selection ;  and  the  problem  to  be  solved  now 
is  not  how  a  sufficiency  of  one  particular 
kind  of  food  is  to  be  gathered  together  to 
keep  the  cows  in  life  for  a  considerable  pe- 
riod of  the  year,  but  rather  what  variety  of 
food,  or,  better,  what  mixture  of  varieties, 
how  much,  and  in  what  state  (raw  or  cook- 
ed), will  prove  most  profitable  for  the  pro- 
duction of  butter.  The  mainstay  of  the 
dairy  farmer  now  aa  formerly  in  summer  is 
grass  3  in  winter,  however,  there  has  been  a 
great  improvement  in  the  feeding  of  the 
cows,  from  the  us3  of  turnips  and  other 
roots,  as  well  as  many  other  substances,  such 
as  beans,  draff  or  distillers'  and  brewers' 
grains,  linseed  and  rape  cake.  &c.  Even 
now  in  summer,  in  some  districts,  it  is  found 
advisable  and  profitable,  where  butter  is 
wanted  more  than  milk,  to  give  the  cows 
some  nourishing  food,  in  addition  to  the  pas- 
ture, at  the  very  height  of  the  season.  Draff 
and  bean  meal  are  the  two  substances  more 
generally  used  in  such  circumstances. 

If  the  production  of  butter  is  to  be  the 
main  object  of  keeping  a  dairy,  there  are 
two  things  to  which  the  farmer  should  pay 
particular  attention  :  the  kind  of  cows  he 
keeps,  and  the  feeding.  When  we  speak  of 
the  feeding,  we  mean  not  merely  the  quality 
of  food  the  former  purchases,  but  of  what 
is  grown  on  his  farm.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  grass  and  turnips  on  some  farms  will 
produce  far  more  butter  from  the  same  quan- 
tity of  milk  than  those  grown  on  others. 
We  have  known  cattle  fed  on  turnips  alone 
from  particular  farms  made  fat  in  the  same 
time  as  similar  animals  fed  on  turnips  with 
the  addition  of  two  or  three  pounds  of  lin- 
seed cake  each  per  da}-,  the  treatment  and 
housing  of  the  animals  being  alike  in  both 
cases.  Certain  fields  will  give  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  butter  to  the  milk  than  others  on 
the  same  farm.  A  farmer,  therefore,  should 
be  guided,  not  only  by  the  locality,  but  by 
the  farm,  in  determining  what  department 
of  the  dairy  he  should  turn  his  attention  to. 

Without  referring  at  all,  at  present,  to  the 
kind  of  cow  most  profitable  for  a  butter  dai- 
ry, we  pass  on  to  a  consideration  of  the 
kinds  of  food  that  maybe  used  most  profita- 
bly fur  the  production  of  butter.  The  great 
authority  on  this  subject  is  Mr.  Horsfall, 
who  has  laid  the  public  under  great  obliga- 
tions to  himself  for  the  publication  of  his 
experiments  and  views  on  this  interesting 
question.  His  method  of  feeding  is  the  fol- 
lowing : 


In  May,  his  cows  are  turned  out  on  rich 
pasture  near  the  homestead.  Toward  even- 
ing they  are  housed  for  the  night,  when  they 
are  supplied  with  a  mess  of  a  steamed  mix- 
ture, to  be  afterward  described  and  a  little 
hay  each  morning  and  evening.  During 
June,  mown  grass  is  given  to  them  instead 
of  hay,  and  they  are  also  allowed  two  feeds 
of  steamed  mixture.  This  treatment  is  con- 
tinued till  October,  when  they  are  again 
wholly  housed.  After  this  they  receive 
steamed  food  ad  libitum  three  times  per  day. 
After  each  meal,  cabbages  are  given,  from 
October  till  December ;  kohl-rabi  till  Feb- 
ruary ;  and  mangles  till  grass-time — the 
supply  of  each  of  these  varieties  of  green 
food  being  limited  to  30  or  35  lbs.  per  day 
for  each  cow.  Four  lbs.  of  meadow  hay  are 
also  allowed  after  each  meal,  or  12  lbs.  per 
day  for  each  cow,  and  water  is  placed  be- 
fore them  twice  a  day,  of  which  they  par- 
take as  much  as  they  feel  inclined  for.  The 
steamed  food  spoken  of  above  consists  of 
"  5  lbs.  of  rape-cake,  2  lbs.  of  bran,  for  each 
cow,  mixed  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
bean-straw,  oat-straw,  and  shells  of  oats,  in 
equal  proportions,  to  supply  them  three 
times  a  day  with  as  much  as  they  will  eat. 
The  whole  of  the  materials  are  moistened 
and  blended  together,  and,  after  being  well 
steamed,  are  given  to  the  animal  in  a  warm 
state.  The  attendant  is  allowed  1  lb.  to  \\ 
lbs.  of  bean-meal  per  cow,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, which  he  is  charged  to  give  to 
each  cow  in  proportion  to  the  yield  of  milk, 
those  in  full  milk  getting  2  lbs.  each  per 
day,  others  but  little ;  it  is  dry,  and  mixed 
with  the  steamed  food  on  its  being  dealt  out 
separately."  This  is  certainly  high  feeding, 
but  it  is  amply  repaid  by  the  results ;  for, 
while  cows  fed  in  the  ordinary  way  seldom 
produce  milk  which  yields  more  than  1  oz. 
of  butter  to  every  quart,  Mr.  HoR spall's 
milk  gives  upward  ^  1  i  oz.  for  every  quart. 
It  is  also  an  important  part  of  his  system 
never  to  allow  his  cows  to  fall  off  in  condi- 
tion. He  considers  the  maintenance  of  the 
condition  essential  to  a  large  yield  of  milk. 
There  can  be  noa  doubt  of  the  soundness  of 
this  opinion.  A  cow  low  in  condition  can 
not  give  the  same  quantity  of  milk,  as  much 
of  the  nourishment  of  the  food  is  drawn  off 
to  make  up  the  condition  of  the  animal. 
And  when  a  very  lean  cow  is  put  on  rich 
food,  it  is  some  weeks  before  the  full  benefit 
of  the  food  can  be  obtained  in  milk,  for  the 
reason  stated  above.     Another  useful  deduc- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


31 


tion  made  by  Mr.  Horsfall  for  his  experi-j 
ments  is,  that  albuminous  matter  is  the  most , 
essential  element  in  the  food  of  the  milk 
cow.  and  that  any  deficiencj  in  the  supply 
of  this  will  be  attended  with  loss  of  condi- 
tion, and  a  consequent  diminution  in  thej 
quality  of  the  milk.  j 

In  Scotland,  bran  is  not  very  often  used 
as  an  ingrediefit  in  any  mixture  of  food  for 
milk  cows ;  but  it  will  be  seen  fi-om  the  fore- 
going that  it  forms  an  important  part  of  Mr. ' 
Horsfall's  mixture.  Some  time  ago  we 
came  upon  the  following  extract,  we  believe 
from  the  Irish  F'armers'  Gazette,  which 
gives  some  valuable  hints  as  to  the  use  of 
different  substances  in  the  feeding  of  milk  ^ 
cows : 

"  In    reading    over   the   experiments  on 
feeding  in  Stephens,  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion exists  as  to  the  comparative  fattening 
qualities  of   linseed-cake,    bean    and  other 
meal ;  atd  in  the  Report  of  the  Lame  ^^7^- 
tionaJ  Agricultural   School  for  1853,  1  lb. ! 
of  beans  is  said  to  be   equal  in   fattening 
qualities  to  30   lbs.  of  turnips,  and  nearly 
3  lbs.  of  oat-meal.     I  tried   the  bean-meal 
one  season,   at   the   rate  of  3   lbs.  a  day, 
boiled,  for  each  milk  cow,  with  mangel,  tur- 
nip, and  hay.     By  Febrnary,  one  of  them 
was  fat.  but  I  may  say  dry  ;  and  the  others  \ 
with  about  half  the  quantity  of  milk  they  ^ 
had  when  commencing.      I  tried  oat-meal 
for  two  winters,   the  same  .quantity  in  the ! 
same  way,   and   each   cow  gave  three  times 
the  quantity  of  milk  and  butter,  and  turned 
out  full  better  the    following   summer.     I 
tried  the  same  quantity  of  yellow  Indian ' 
meal  last  winter,  and   I  think  it  good  for 
both  milk    and  butter.     I   tried   bran  for 
three  winters,  at  the  rate  of  4  lbs.  every  ^ 
night  for  each  cow.     It  was  equal  to  the 
oat-meal,  while  using,  and  my  cows  turned 
out  better  the  following   summer  than  on ; 
any   other   feeding.     The    bran    not   only 
keeps    them   healthy,    and    gives   them   a' 
greater  relish   for  their  food,  but  there  is 
some  combination  of  qualities  in  it  beyond 
what    any   writer    I    have    seen  attributes, 
to  it." 

The  .state  in  which  the  food  is  given  has 
also  a  great  effect  in  the  production  of  both 
milk  and  butter.  We  have  observed  more  [ 
than  once  that  the  yield  of  butter  and  milk 
is  never  so  great  when  we  give  cows  boiled 
turnips,  with  beans  boiled  quite  soft  among 
them,  as  when  they  get  the  boiled  turr.ips 
and  the  same  weight  of  beans  made  into 


meal  and  mixed  raw  with  them.  Again, 
there  is  more  milk,  and  no  taste  of  the  tur- 
nip in  it,  when  the  turnips  are  pulped  and 
mixed  with  cut  straw  or  chaff  and  fermented, 
than  if  the  same  weight  of  turnips  are 
given  whdle  and  raw.  In  the  Journal 
d' Agriculture  Pratique  we  read  a  short  no- 
tice on  this  subject,  by  M.  Lejeune,  a 
director  of  the  Agricultural  School  at 
Thourout,  in  Belgium.  The  facts  he  reports 
are  not  to  be  regarded  as  experiments  insti- 
tuted to  test  any  theory,  but  are  merely 
extracted  from  his  accounts,  and  show  the 
importance  of  attending  to  the  mode  in 
which  food  is  given  to  milk  cows.  In 
February,  1855,  the  milk  of  eight  cows  was 
selected  for  experiment.  The  cows  were 
fed  in  the  following  manner :  Each  cow  got 
per  day  4.4  lbs.  of  meadow  hay,  13.2  lbs. 
straw,  4.8  lbs.  linseed-meal,  11.5  lbs.  of 
beet-root,  and  u  cooked  mash  consisting  of 
5.5  lbs.  of  turnips,  2.7  lbs.  of  beet-root,  1.2 
lbs.  linseed-mcal,  3.2  lbs.  of  rape-cake,  1.1 
lb.  of  grain  dust,  1.1  lb.  of  mixed  meal, 
about  I2OZ.  ot  salt,  and  6  gallons  of  water. 
From  this  very  watery  diet  a  large  quantity 
of  milk  was  obtained,  16  quarts  01  which 
gave  1  lb.  of  butter.  In  the  month  of 
Febriiary,  1856,  the  calculation  was  made 
from  the  milk  of  ten  cows,  eight  of  which 
were  those "  with  which  the  observations 
were  made  in  the  previous  year.  The  nu- 
tritive value  of  the  food  detailed  above  was 
calculated  to  be  equivalent  to  upward  of  30 
lbs.  of  good  meadow  hay  per  head.  The 
food  given  in  1856  consisted  of  oat-straw, 
beet-root,  the  meal  of  rye,  oats,  and  buck- 
wheat, linseed-cake,  rape-cake,  and  the  dust 
of  wheat  or  bran,  given  in  such  proportions 
as  to  make  the  equivalent  value  of  the  da3-'3 
feed  equal  to  a  little  more  than  31  lbs.  per 
head  of  hay.  None  of  it  was  cooked,  and 
the  beet-root  was  reduced  to  ^small  pieces 
sprinkled  over  the  meal.  There  was  not 
the  same  quantity  of  milk,  but  the  propor- 
tion of  butter  was  much  larger,  being  2  lbs. 
of  butter  for  every  20  quarts  of  milk.  The 
cows,  with  the  exception  of  the  food,  were 
managed  in  the  same  way  in  both  years, 
and  there  were  more  newly-calved  cows  in 
1855  than  in  1856. —  The  Fanners'  Note- 
Book  i}i  the  Journal  >''/  Agriculture. 


Old  Radish  Seed. — A  correspondent  of  the 
Prairie  Farmer  says  that  radish  seed  that  has 
been  kept  :^ix  years  or  more,  will  produce  rad- 
ishes of  a  belter  quality  than  new  seed. 


32 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[January 


From  ihe  Working  Farmer. 

Experiments— Importance  of. 

Farmers  often  find  fault  with  those  who  ex- 
periment. They  say  of  a  neiglibor  sometimes, 
•'he  is  rather  experimental ;"  but  they  should 
remember  that  every  new  truth  is  an  experi- 
ment, to  all  those  who  liave  not  tried  it. 
Some  one  must  be  the  first  to  vary  from  the 
trodden  path,  or  we  should  still  use  a  crooked 
stick  instead  of  a  plow.  There  is  a  class, 
however,  who,  upon  hearing  of  any  novelty  in 
agriculture,  at  once  try  it,  not  on  a  square 
yard,  but  on  their  whole  crop  ;  such  men  are 
not  worthy  of  being  styled  experimenters. 
But  should  a  farmer,  at  this  day,  call  himself 
practical  and  judicious  in  his  calling,  who, 
after  having  heard  that  in  many  sections  of 
country  corn  is  cultivated  flat,  without  hill- 
ing, and  that  potatoes  are  so  cultivated,  still 
continues  to  hill  both  without  trying  the  ex- 
periment of  flat  cultivation  even  on  a  single 
hill,  can  such  a  man  be  rated  as  judicious? 
Is  such  a  man  to  be  called  a  practical  farmer? 
Is  he  practical,  who  allows  Lima  beans  to 
travel  around  a  pole  fifteen  feet  high,  when 
the  pinching  ofi"  of  the  vine  at  five  and  a  half 
feet  high  will  produce  double  the  crop  of  beans, 
and  particularly  before  frost?  Should  he  not 
try  the  experiment  and  see  how  it  will  an- 
swer? Many  permit  mellons,  cucumbers,  etc., 
to  run  over  the  entire  area  of  their  soil,  in 
long,  single  vines,  while  others,  by  pinching 
off  the  runner-buds,  after  the  third  rough  leaf 
has  formed,  get  their  fi  uit  early  and  of  double 
size.  Why  should  not  this  experiment  be 
tried  and  adopted,  if  found  true  ?  Goose- 
berries mildew  all  over  the  country,  but  some 
have  saved  them  by  cutting  ev^ry  branch  that 
is  within  five  inches  of  another,  and  by  mulch- 
ing the  surface  with  salt  hay,  or  other  cheap 
refuse  material  :  is  this  not  a  fair  experiment 
to  try  ? 

It  has  been  frequently  asserted,  that  pro- 
perly under-drained  sub-soiled  lands  never 
Buffer  from  drought:  who  cannot  name  many 
farmers  who  lose  their  crops  from  drouth, 
at  least  once  in  ten  years,  and  still  have  never 
experimented  to  know  whether  they  can  under- 
drain  and  sub-soil  their  land,  for  one-tenth  the 
value  of  their  crops,  or  whether  such  sub-soil- 
ing and  under  draining  will  save  tliem  from 
drouth  entirely?  And  those  who  doubt  this 
fact,  should  they  rot  make  the  experiment,  or 
visit  the  farms  of  those  who  have,  to  know  of 
its  truth? 

Thousands  of  acres  of  peach  trees  are 
grown  by  those  who  have  never  tried  the 
shortening  in  process,  and  can  never  tell 
whether  they  will  bear  for  a  series  of  years 
longer  for  such  practice,  or  not.  Is  it  not  a 
fair  experiment  to  try  this  on  a  single  tree  at 
least?  Are  there  not  thousands  of  farmers  in 
the  United  States  who  have  never  tried  any 
other  fertilizing  material  than  barn  yard  ma- 


nure? Should  they  not  satisfy  themselves 
by  the  experiment,  whether  or  not  others  may 
not  be  more  cheaply  used,  and  produce  more 
profitable  results  ? 

Continually  we  hear  it  saidj  that  those  who 

surface-plow  five  or  six  inches,  have  another 

farm  under  it  which  they  have  not  developed. 

Sliould  not  such  farmers  experiment  with  the 

sub-soil  plow  to  know  if  this  be  true  or  false? 

A  bushel  of  carrots  and  a  bushel  of  oats,  are 

I  said  to  equal  in  effect,  when  fed  to  a  horse,  two 

I  bushels  of  oats.     Now,   as  sixteen   times  the 

I  number  of  bushels   of  carrots   can  be  raised 

I  on  an  acre,  than  can  possibly  be  grown  of  oats, 

j  should   not   those   farmers,    who    have   never 

raised  carrots,   try  the  experiment,  and  thus 

i ascertain  if  these  assertions  are  true?     Those 

who  use   hoes,  and  forks,  etc.,  for  cleansing 

I  row  crops  of  weeds,  have  heard  that  the  horse 

'  weeder  would  do  the  work  of  forty  men  with 

hoes,  and  that  many  have  repudiated  the  use 

of  the    hoe   altogether   for   root   crops,   why 

I  should  they  not   try  this   experiment?     It  is 

!said    that  one   mowing  machine  will  do  the 

■work  of  twenty  men  with   scythes,  and  that 

one  thrashing  machine  will   do  the  work  of  a 

hundred  men   with  flails;    should   not   those 

I  who  at  present  use  flails,  visit  farms  where 

i  mowing   machines    and    thrashing   machines 

I  are   used,  to  ascertain  if  that  experiment  will 

not  warrant  them   in   the    purchase  of  such 

i  tools? 

Those  who  use  barn-yards  open  and  ex- 
posed to  the  winds  and  rains,  and  who  permit 
the  washings  to  run  off  to  creeks  and  streams, 
have  doubtless  heard  that  with  manure  sheds, 
and  properly  arranged  tanks  retaining  the 
drainage  of  the<nanure  heap,  and  pumps,  ob- 
tain better  results  than  by  the  open  barn-yard 
practice;  should  they  not  carefully  review 
the  operations  of  these  experimenters,  rather 
than  satyrize  that  of  which  they  have  no 
knowledge?  Experience  is  said  to  be  the 
mother  of  wisdtm — experiment  is  the  father 
of  truth. 


!  KiDXET-WoRMS  IX  SwixE. — The  German- 
[  town  Telerjraph  says,  this  disease  may  gene- 
i  rally  be  known  by  the  animal  appearing  weak 
,  across  the  loins,  and  sometimes  by  a  weakness 
i  in  one  or  both  hind  legs.  As  soon  as  these 
!  symptoms  appear,  give  the  animal  corn  that  is 
i  soaked  in  lye  of  wood  ashes,  or  strong  soap- 
suds, and  at  the  same  time  rub  the  loins  with 
I  turpentine.  An  Ohio  farmer  cures  this  dis- 
!  ease  by  giving  one  ounce  of  copperas,  daily, 
for  six  or  eight  days,  dissolved  in  warm  water. 
j  and  mixed  with  two  quart?  of  corn  meal  and 
j  dish-water. 

Heaves  ix  Horses. — It  is  said,  in  a  recent 
j  number  of  an  agricultural  paper,  that  a  quart 
1  of  a  decoction  of  smart-weed,  given  every  day 
!  to  u  heavy  horse,  will  cure  the  heaves.  We 
I  doubt  it;  but  there  is  no  harm  in  trying. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEEX    PLAXTER. 


33 


For  the  Southern  Planter. 


Advice  to  Young  Farmers. 

I  long  ha'e  thought  inj  youthfu'  friends 
A  something  to  have  sent  you. 
The'  it  should  serve  na"e  other  end 
Than'  just  a  kind  memento: 
But  how  the  subject  theme  may  gang 
Let  time  and  chance  determine, 
Perhaps  it  may  turn  out  a  sang. 
Perhaps  turn  out  a  sermon. 


ca  "' — Dcitlier  those  who  are  satisfied  to  do  a 
thing  because  their  "  Faders  did  so  before 
theiu,"  nor  those  who  imagine  they  have 
learned  all  that  can  be  learned.  Let  our 
young  friends  read,  remembering  that  the 
distinguished  Patrick  Henry  once  said,  that 
••  he  had  never  conversed  with  a  sane  man 
■  from  whom  he  could  not  extort  a  new  idea." 
The  young  farmer  must,  in  his  '■  set  out," 
I  be  assured  that  he  is  qualified  to  govera 
j  himself.  Xo  man  can  govern  others,  who 
j  has  never  learned  to  govern  himself.  If  he 
'Tis  the  most  difl&eult  thing  attempted, ;  has  failed  to  learn— -this — emphatically — 
Mr.  Editor,  in  these  days  of  book-making  '  tlie  art  of  the  farmer's  lift — he  had  better 
and  essay-writing,  to  say  anything  which  hire  oat' and  rent  out,  and  go  to  school  to 
will  be  read,  and  read  with  interest,  or  profit  learn  it.  Better  put  himself  on  board  a 
by  the  reader.  man-of-war  and  leam  how   to  obey,   or  in 

There  seems  to  be  a  perfect  mania  per-  other  words,  bring  hi?  will  into  subjection — 
vading  the  people  now-a-days  for  seeing  learn  to  keep  all  his  passions  under.  Let 
themselves  in  print,  and  not  satisfied  with  hira  ponder  the  proverb,  '-Better  is  he  that 
seeing  themselves  in  the  periodicals  of  the  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 
day,  each  one  must  write  a  book.  Tiie  re-  Lnless  our  young  brother  has  learned  this — 
suit  is,  that  having  to  search  so  much  chafi  the  art — we  can  tell  him  on  the  threshold 
for  a  grain  of  wheat,  men  will  not  read  at  of  his  operations,  that  his  business  will  be 
all,  or  if  they  do,  it  is  of  that  sort  which  conducted  with  a  great  outlay  of  time  and 
profiteth  not.  '•  Hence  these  tears,"  hence  money,  and  wear  and  tear  of  health  and 
proceed  our  difiiculties.  One  can  never  be  comfort.  Let  him  first,  himself,  learn  what 
certain  he  has  any  thing  to  say  that  will  at-  obedience  is,  and  then,  and  not  till  then,  is 
tract,  or  satisfied  that  he  has  said  "  that  he  qualified  to  command  it.  AVe  know,  from 
any  thing  "  concisely  enough  !  •  long  experience,  that  this  is  indispensable 

To  have  an  interesting  subject,  and  to, to  good  management,  hence  we  dwell  upon 
treat  that  subject  as  forcibij'  as  is  consistent  it  I 

with  perspicuity,  seems  to  be  the  grand  de-  The  young  farmer  should  be  careful  that 
sideratum  of  the  times.  Brevity  then  shall  the  order  he  issues  is  reasonable — that  it  is 
rule  in  the  suggestions  1  have  to  make  to  given  in  such  manner  as  may  not  be  mis- 
our  young  farmer  friends.  j  understood,  but  when  that  order  is  given — 

Leisure  has  been  wanting  hitherto,  but  although  in  itself  of  minor  importance,  its 
for  some  time  I  have  been  intending  to  ad-  execution  should  be  as  inexorably  fulfilled 
dress  an  article,  or  it  may  be,  a  series  of  as  if  the  fall  or  rise  of  his  whole  estate  de- 
articles  to  this  class  of  our  community,  jpended  on  that  order.  If  an  order  of  this 
which  they  plight,  if  the  papers  proved  kind  be  neglected,  those  of  great  import- 
worthy  of  it,  take  as  a  sort  of  "  vade  7ne-iance  will  be  neglected  also.  Our  friend 
cum."  or  pocket  companion,  and  we  know. will  be  surprised  to  see  with  how  little 
not  a  better  medium  through  which  to  speak  j  trouble — with  what  comfort  to  himself  aad 
to  them  than  your  excellent  '•Planter.'"  As  [to  those  under  him,  his  business  will  be  con- 
the  new  year  is  about  to  commence,  we  had '  ducted  if  this  rule  is  rigidli/  adheared  to. 
quite  as  well  begin  now  and  do  what  we  Let  the  order  be  a  reasonable  one,  but  let 
may  for  the  advancement  of  the  interest  the  want  of  obedience  to  it  be  punished. 
upon  which  depends  the  lawyers,  the  doc-  .though  the  ''Heavens  fall." 
tors,  the  merchants,  and  all  the  interests  of!  A  very  sensible  old  lady  used  to  say,  "  I 
the  land  in  which  we  live.  'make  it  a  rule  to  whip  my  children  and 

And  first  of  the  government  needful  to  servants  for — accidents?  The  consequence 
be  exercised  in  the  successful  conduct  of  a  is,  that  accidents  rarely  happen  at  my 
farm.  i  house."     She  thought,  it  should  rather  be 

In  speaking  of  this  branch  of  our  sub-  written  carelessness ! 
ject,  we  suppose  ourselves  to  be  addressing  i      The  good  managers  will  see  to  it.  how- 
neither  "old  fogies"  nor  ''Young  Ameri-  ever,  that  these  corrections  are  administered 
3 


34 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLAXTEK. 


[January 


cnlmly,  dispassionately.  They  must  govern' 
themselves.  Obedience — prompt  and  im- 
plicit obedience — to  orders,  covers  almost  all 
the  ground  of  a  well  disciplined  household  ! 
The  knowledge  of  the  laborer,  of  the  fact, 
that  no  disobedience,  or  those  things  called 
accidents,  will  be  allowed  to  go  unwhipt  of 
justice,  will  not  only  be  insurance  against 
these  things  occurring,  but  will,  after  a 
few  years  observance  of  the  rule,  render 
the  laborer  habitually  careful,  and  promptly! 
obedient,  and  bring  along  with  it  its  own 
reward  to  the  governor  and  the  governed — 
all  goes  on  pleasantly,  and  with  a  harmony 
that  is  perfectly  delightful. 

The  judicious  manager  will  never  tempt 
those  under  liim  to  depart  from  the  truth, 
by  asking  questions  of  them  as  to  the  exe- 
cution of  orders.  He  should  be  especially 
careful,  in  this  regard,  as  to  the  younkers  of 
the  family.  If  he  sees  that  mischief  has 
been  •done, — orders  disobeyed,  thefts  com- 
mitted, or  anything  wrong,  he  should  never 
accuse  tliem,  indiscriminately,  of  having 
committed  the  wrong,  but  he  should  culti- 
vate and  foster  the  truth  by  every  means  in 
his  power.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  force 
in  that  saying  of  Jerry  Sullivan's,  who, 
when  questioned  by  his  master  as  to  some  of 
his  duties — always  said  to  him,  "Ask  me 
na'  questions  and  I'll  tell  ye  na'  lies."  When, 
however,  by  strict  investigation  the  defaul- 
ter is  found  out,  let  the  falsehood  be  pun- 
ished as  relentlessly,  or  more  so,  than  diso- 
bedience, or  anything  else  pertaining  to  the 
household  delinquencies,  and  in  a  short  time  | 
he  will  perceive  that,  contrary  to  the  re- 
ceived theory,  his  servants  will  be  as  truth- 
ful and  free  from  pilfering  as  white  persons 
can  be.  Ask  no  questions,  kowever,  and 
make  no  accusations,  that  you  are  not  fully 
prepared  to  prove.  We  are  not  told  whether 
Ahvaham  whipped  his  household  for  diso- 
bedience, or  lor  accidents — but  we  do  know 
that  he  vras  called  "  the  friend  of  God"'  be- 
cause he  ''govtrned  his  houseliold," 

FAKM    HOUSES, 

From  stable  to  dwelling  inclusive,  are  most 
important  adjuncts  to  the  farmer's  establish- 
ment, and  should  not  be  pas.?ed  over  in  these 
Busgestioos.  If  we  were  called  upon  to 
Be'ect  any  one  thing,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
others,  ibr  the  improvement  of  a  farm,  it 
would  be  the  arrangement  of  the  dwelling 
and  grounds  immediately  surrounding.  A 
man   jnay   have  improved  his  grounds   at 


large  to  the  capacity  of  fifty  bushels  to  the 
acre — he  may  have  the  fat  cattle  "  upon  a 
thousand  hills"  — he  may  have  everything 
else  apparently  thrifty  about  him,  but  if  he 
lives  in  one  of  those  lung,  tall,  narrow,  dis- 
proportioned  wooden,  or  brick  buildings, 
such  as  our  fathers,  some  of  them,  thought 
were  the  ultimatum  of  architectural  pro- 
portions and  beauty,  and  which  their  chil- 
dren have  been  imitating  ever  since  for  the 
forcible  reason,  that  "  their  Faders  did  so 
before  them" — if  a  man  lives  in  such  a 
house,  with  a  crooked  rail  fence  around  a 
yard  without  grass,  without  trees,  without 
shrubbery  of  any  kind,  and  without  a  neatly 
inclosed  garden,  well  tilled  and  manured — 
we  speak  the  sentiments  of  the  sensible 
and  refined  every  where,  when  we  say,  that 
farmer  friend  of  ours  knows  but  little  of 
the  real  enjoyment  of  life,  and  but  little  of 
the  fact  that,  so  far  as  the  increased  value 
of  his  "  place"  is  considered,  he  is  literallj 
spending  his  labor  in  vain.  A  neat,  taste- 
ful arrangement  of  houses  and  enclosures 
about  the  dwelling,  are,  nine  times  in  ten, 
the  things  which  render  the  farm  valuable 
in  the  sight  of  those  whose  high  estimatioQ 
of  such  property  we  desire.  These  are  the 
things,  the  others  being  not  altogether  neg- 
lected, by  which  the  farmer's  estate  is  in- 
creased greatly  over  that  of  the  man  who 
labors  exclusively  for  the  money  he  puts 
into  his  pocket  each  year. 

If  our  young  friend  has  }  is  farm  alreadj 
.supplied  with  buildings  of  this  kind,  when 
he  takes  possession,  the  best  that  he  can  do 
for  bettering  his  condition  and  renovating 
them,  after  counting  his  means,  should  be 
to  pay  an  architect,  if  he  himself  shoulJ 
not  have  the  skill,  a  hundred  or  more  dollars, 
according  to  the  service  rendered,  to  plan 
such  improvements  as  shall  be  commensu- 
!  rate  with  his  means.  These  architects  are 
j  generally  men  of  acknowledged  taste  and 
judgment;  and  being,  as  they  are,  daily  en- 
gaged in  business  of  this  kind,  they  are  far 
better  fitted  for  the  work  than  those  of  us 
who  build  but  once  in  a  lifetime,  and  who 
see  the  errors  we  make  only  too  late  to 
correct  them.  This  hundred  or  more  dollars 
will  soon  come  back  to  them,  in  comfort  and 
convenience,  and  if  they  should  want  to 
sell,  in  the  increased  value  of  their  farm. 

The  kitchen  should  be  near  to,  but  not 
so  near  the  dwelling  as  to  endanger  their 
burning  each  other.  It  should  be  furnish-.'d 
with  all  the  improved  apparaJ;us  for  cooking. 


I860.] 


THE   SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


35 


A  young  cook,  not  an  old  one,  should  take  I  be  found  too  cold,  it  may  be  remedied  by 
the  position.  The  old  ones  are  -all  "  old  i  nailing  four  or  five  dollars  worth  of  course 
fogies,"  and  can  never  be  taught  to  cook  oznaburgs  over  the  inner  wall  and  painting 
with  a  fire  anything  short  of  that  which  jit.  These  houses  will  last  a  lifetime,  with, 
will  roast  them  while  it  roasts  the  meats,  j  once  covering.  They  are  entirely  substan- 
An  old  cook  can  never  be  taught  the  neat,  |  tial  and  permanent.  The  houses  of  west- 
tidy  ways  which  may  be  practiced,  with  but  crn  Texas,  are,  most  of  them,  constructed 
little  trouble,  under  the  modern  system  of  j  after  this  plan,  and  are  considered  as  per- 
stoves  and  boilers,  and  galvanized  safes,  &c.,  i  mauent  as  any,  and  we  all  know  the  terri- 
&c.  The  kitchen  should  be  sacred  ground  jble  hurricanes  they  are  subjected  to  in  those 
to  every  foot  but  that  of  the  cook  and  mis- 1  southern  climates.  These  cabins  should  be 
tress.  'Tis  said,  that  '•'  every  man  must  eat  raised  a  foot  or  more  from  the  ground,  in 
his  peCk  of  dirt,"  but  we  are  sure,  from  the  i  order  that  the  filth  generated  about  the 
amount  of  filth  that  is  suffered  to  accumu- 1  houses  may  be  carefully  got  up  once  or 
late  about  most  kitchens,  that  we  eat  that  j  twice  a  year.  Every  family  of  negroes 
amount  annuall}'.  Cleanliness  is  more  j  should  have  a  little  enclosure  around  their 
needed  about  that  department  than  any  cabin,  which  they  should  be  diligently  en- 
"other  on  the  premises  of  a  well  regulated :  couraged  to  cultivate  and  manure.  They 
homestead.  This  cannot  be  attained  if  any  ^  should  be  required  to  do  this  as  regularly  as 
other  than  the  cook  is  suffered  to  set  foot  \  to  do  the  work  of  the  master.    It  will  greatly 


there,  and  that,  not  for  sleeping,  or  sitting, 
but  exclusively  for  culinary  purposes. 

The  negro  cabins  should  be  built  on  a 
southern  slope,  as  near  as  possible  to  wood 
and  water,  but  especially  the  latter.  The 
neatest  and  most  ieligible,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  cheapest,  that  we  have  seen,  are 
those  built  after  the  following  manner. 
Sills,  36  by  10,  should  be  framed  together, 


conduce  to  make  them  orderly  and  care- 
taking,  and  followed  up  with  the  master's 
watchful  attention  for  a  series  of  j'ears,  it 
will  profit  both  master  and  man  far  more 
than  on  the  first  blush  will  appear. 

There  is  an  old  adage,  to  the  effect, 
"Keep  a  thing  seven  years,  and  if  you  have 
no  use  for  it  then,  throw  it  away."  This 
adage  the  negroes  pursue  most  literally,  as 

old   coats,    old 


60  that  after  leaving  4  feet  for  a  double  ■  it  regards  their  old  shoes, 
rock  or  brick  chimney,  the  rooms  may  be  |  pants,  shirts,  and  everything  belonging  to 
16  by  14.  Corner  posts  may  be  used  or  not,  i  their  dress;  all  these  are  thoroughly  worn 
according  to  the  pleasure  of  the  builder,  j  and  soiled,  and  then  thrust  into  the  loft — 
The  house  being  only  7  or  8  feet  pitch,  the  j  into  "chists,"  as  they  call  them — boxes, 
weatherboarding  of  perpendicular  plank  1 ,  barrels,  or  corners  of  their  rooms — where 
inch  thick,  with  breakers  of  the  same  thick- j  they  will  lie  until  they  become  almost  a 
ness  4  inches  wide,  nailed  at  the  top  to  a :  putrid  mass,  to  generate  disease  of  every 
plate  2  inches  thick  by  4  wide,  will  be ,  character.  The  most  cleanly  of  them  will 
ample  support  to  the  roof,  which  should  be  \  do  this,  to  the  detriment  of  health  and  com- 
flat  as  po.ssible,  to  turn  the  water  readily.  I  fort,  and  the  enlargement  of  the  master's 
The  weatherboarding,  with  these  strips  or 'doctor's  bill.  The  judicious  master  will 
breakers,  should  be  nailed  carefully  to  the :  go  around,  once  or  twice  a  year,  and  have 
sills  at  bottom,  and  the  plates  at  top,  with '  all  these  things  committed  to  the  fire,  and 
12  penny  nails,  and  the  weatherboarding,  will,  once  a  year,  use  a  band  of  lime  and 
should,  none  of  it,  be  more  than  10  to  12  i  a  icJute-irasJi  brush,  costing  in  all  §2,  upon  • 
inches  wide,  as  wider  than  that  the  sun  will '  the  inside,  and  thus  save  the  visits  of  the 
be  apt  to  warp  and  draw  the  nails  loose. !  doctor  and  the-health  of  his  negroes. 
'^ As  paint,"  'tis  said,  "costs  nothing,"  we 

would  advise  that  the  weatherboarding  be  stables,  cow  houses,  .c. 

rough-dressed  and  painted,  both  of  which  The  e  should  be  most  carefuily  located, 
operations  may  be  performed  by  such  a  on  as  level  a  surface  as  possible.  A  never- 
hand  as  can  be  obtained  for  816  or  SIS  per  j  failing  strcaui  of  pure  water,  either  in  tlie 
month.  Each  room  should  be  ventilated  ;  manger  of  the  horse,  or  in  the  stable-yard,  is 
by  an  opening  of  4  by  4,  filled  with  small  |  indispensable.  The  good  manager  will  have 
glass,  with  strips  nailed  over  it,  to  keep  the '  had  reference  to  this  in  the  location  of  his 
unwary  from  breaking  it.  These  houses  |  dwelling.  Whether  this  arrangement  has 
will  cost  from  875  to  3100.     If  they  should  i  been  made   or   not  beforehand,  when  the 


36 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[January 


stable  or  cow  houses  come  to  be  l)uilt,.  .such 
a  location  should  be  sought  for  them  as  will 
insure  to  the  stock  an  abundance  of  the  best 
of  this  indispensable  requisite  to  their  good 
keeping.  Unless  they  be  placed  where  thev 
ca:i  help  themselves  to  good  clean  water, 
you  nuiy  in  vain  expect  to  have  a  team  in 
good  condition.  Negroes  and  overseers 
cannot  be  made  to  understand  these  things. 
Hence,  interest,  as  well  as  the  convenience 
of  the  master,  demands  that  water  be  placed 
in  connection  with  the  stablas. 

The  construction  of  these  buildings  are  of 
great  moment.    They  may  be  so  constructed 
as  to  be  a  great  convenience,  and   on  the 
other  hand  so  built  as  to  be  a  continual  aii- 
novance.     We  give  our  experience  in  this 
kind    of    building — as    we    speak    experi- 
mentally chiefly — in  all  these  things  which 
we  are  now  writing  for  our  young  brethren. 
Supposing  we  were  going  to  provide  stabling 
for  from  six  to  ten  horses — we  would  have 
the  dimensions  32   by  33   feet  from  out  to 
out — ^this  would  afford  10    stables  12  feet 
long  and  5  feet  wide  in  the  clear,  the  horses 
being  arranged  with  their  heads  on  each 
side  of  a  plank  floor  passage  G  feet  wide,  in 
which  their  chop  is   cut  and  mixed,  and 
transferred  directly  to  their  troughs  without  j 
the  trouble  of  going  out  of  the  stable.     In  j 
this  passage,  also,  maj-  be  placed  boxes  for 
holding  meal,  or  barrels  for  soaking  grain, 
not  one  bushel  of  which  should  be  fed  with- 
out eitlier  grinding  or  soaking.     But  to  the 
building — we  would  have  locust  posts  set  in 
the  ground  (and  white  oak,  if  locust  could 
not  be  procured,)  2j  to  3  feet  deep,  8  feet 
pitch,  with  a  plate  on  top  of  them  6  bj-  8  i 
inches,  upon  which  the  roof  rests.     These , 
posts  should  be  8    feet  apjirt,  and  conse-  j 
quently,  there  being  4  rows  of  tiiem,  the  ^ 
number  thus  set  into  the  ground  will  be  20. 
Besides  the  stables  below,  this  roof  will  af- , 
ford  a  large  and  commodious  receptacle  for 
storing  such  provender  as  the  master  may 
wish  to  cut  for  mixing  with  meal  for  his ' 
stock.     The  sides  should  be  w  atherboarded  , 
perpendicularly  with  inch  plank  10   to   12  j 
inches  in  width,  precisely  in  the  wayindi-' 
cated   in  building  negro  cabins — with  the  . 
addition  of  studding  put  into  the  posts  hori- 1 
sontally,  so  that  the  plank  will  come  flush 
on  the  posts — and  so  that  it  can  be  nailed  : 
every  two  feet  of  its  length.     If  this  wea-  i 
therboarding   were  rough-dressed,  and,  as 
"paint  costs  nothing,''  if  it  were  painted,  iti 
would  be  far  better!  All  these  things  would 


bo  rendered  better  still  by  the  master's 
having  a  good  halter  chain  ^^icrmanenthj  at- 
tached to  each  stable,  and  requiring  that  no 
horse  .should  be  put  into  them  without  be- 
ing fastened  by  them.  If  "  what  is  worth 
doing  at  all,  is  worth  doing  well,"  then  at- 
tention to  these  things  is  decided  economy. 
TTe  hope  our  young  brother  will  take  a 
smoke  at  this  stage  of  our  lecture,  and  wait 
with  patience  for  what  we  have  to  say  fur- 
ther to  him  in  the  next  number  of  our  ex- 
cellent farmer's  book.  L.  M. 


For  the  Southern  Planter. 

Capital  and  Enterprise — the  Bases  of 
Agricultural  Progress. 

FROM  THE   farmers'    CLUB    OF  >OTTOWAT.> 

We  use  the  word  capital  to  embrace  every 
thing  from  the  legitimate  use  of  which,  the 
individual  so  using  it,  may  reasonably  calcu- 
late on  receiving  a  remunerating  return  in 
revenue  or  interest  on  the  amount  vested ; 
and  the  word  enterprise  to  express  what- 
ever constitutes  good  husbandry. 

The  capital  invested  in  agriculture,  in 
our  community,  may  be  divided  into  lands, 
labour  and  money.  The  relative  proportion 
of  these  three  elements,  in  a  judicioui;  in- 
vestment, is,  probably,  one  of  the  most  diflS- 
cult  problems  which  the  agriculturist  has 
to  solve,  and  in  the  practical  adjustment  of 
which,  it  is  believed  many  errors  are  com- 
mitted. With  a  majority  of  farmers,  the 
error  consists  in  too  large  investments  in 
lands ;  arising  heretofore,  from  the  low  esti- 
mate placed  on  them,  in  the  exhausted  con- 
dition in  which  they  were  left  to  us  by  our 
predece.ssors,  their  remoteness  from  markets, 
the  ease  and  cheapness  with  which  they 
were  acquired,  and  the  avaricious  propen- 
sity of  our  nature  to  '•'  add  field  to  field,  and 
house  to  house,  more  from  a  desire  to  occu- 
py, than  an  ability  to  use  them. 

The  relative  proportion  of  real,  personal 
and  chattel  estate,  varies  materially  in  dif- 
ferent countries,  and  even  in  the  same  com- 
munity. In  England,  where  calculation 
and  skill  have  attained  to  nearly  a  perfect 
standard,  it  is  considered,  the  capital  em- 
ployed, (in  which  is  always  included  the 
stock),  should  be  from  seven  to  nine  times 
the  amount  of  the  rents.  This  would  ap- 
pear to  be  a  great  disproportion,  even  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  lands  are  high  and 
labor  cheap ;  but  the  cost  of  stocking  the 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


37 


farm,  draining  the  lands,  the  puvcliase  of 
costly  fertilizers  and  other  incidental  ex- 
penses, consequent  on  a  high  state  of  agri- 
cultural improvement  is  very  great;  and 
that,  probably  a  large  amount  of  the  En- 
glish farmer's  profits  are  derived  from  the 
sale  of  stock,  &c.,  rather  than  from  the 
great  staple  crops  of  the  farm,  may  justify 
this  investment. 

In  Virginia,  where  every  farmer  has  a 
fee  simple  estate  in  the  lauds  which  he  cul- 
tivates, and  that  too  with  his  own  labor, 
where  lands  are  cheap  and  L.bor  dear,  avast 
disproportion  in  the  relative  investHieuts 
exists,  and  the  difference  is  found  adverse 
to  the  English  rule.  From  the  best  infor- 
mation I  have  been  enabled  to  obtain  on  the 
subject,  it  will  be  found  that  there  is  but 
little  difference  between  the  investments  in 
land,  and  all  other  taxable  property,  held  by 
the  Virginia  farmers ;  nearly  one  half  of  his 
capital  being  locked  up  in  land,  while  the 
English  farmer  has  six  eights  or  eight  ninths 
of  his  capital  at  his  own  di.'iposal,  for  stock- 
ing and  improving  his  farm,  or  for  specula- 
tion and  other  profitable  investments. 

Labor  is  an  important  item  under  the 
head  of  capital.  Without  the  application 
of  labor  to  our  lands,  they  would  be  value- 
less, it  is  the  judicious  use  of  labor  that 
renders  them  productive  and  valuable.  The 
'earth  spontaneously  produces  but  few  of  the 
necessaries  and  still  fewer  of  the  luxuries 
of  life ;  and  it  is  wisely  ordained,  that  "man 
in  the  sweat  of  his  face  shall  eat  bread  till 
he  return  to  the  ground."  Now,  as  of  old, 
the  wheat  and  the  tares  grow  together;  the 
thistle  and  the  corn  occupy  the  same  space 
whether  on  the  hill  top  or  in  the  valley  ;  and 
the  vine  and  the  bramble  everywhere  con- 
tend for  the  mastery  ;  all  making  heavy  and 
constant  demands  on  the  labor  and  energy 
of  man,  to  subdue  and  cultivate  the  earth. 
If  the  sentiment  be  true,  as  it  has  been 
beautifully  expressed,  that  "  the  price  of 
liberty  is  eternal  vigilance,"  it  is  no  less 
true,  that  the  price  of  agricultural  success, 
is  ceaseless,  untiring,  well-directed  labor. 

We  do  not  propose  to  discuss  the  mooted 
question,  as  to  the  relative  value  of  free  and 
slave  labor;  with  the  one  we  have  no  ex- 
perience ;  with  the  other,  we  are  familiar, 
and  can  duly  testify  to  its  adaptation  to  our 
wants,  and  appreciate  its  advantages,  social- 
ly and  politically.  In  agricultural  pursuits, 
it  is  admitted  much  depends  on  the  quality 
of  the  labor  employed ;   still  more  on    the 


quantity  and  skill  by  which  it  is  directed, 
for  it  cannot  have  escaped  the  notice  of  the 
most  superficial  observer,  that  the  same  num- 
ber of  laborers  of  equal  physical  ability 
will  accomplish  much  more  work  in  a  given 
time,  under  the  supervision  of  a  judicious 
manager,  than  when  directed  by  one  inexpe- 
rienced or  indifferent  to  the  means  and  ap- 
pliances by  which  the  labor  may  be  perform- 
ed in  the  best  manner  and  at  the  least  ex- 
pense of  muscle  and  sinew. 

The  present  unprecidented  high  price  of 
labor,  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  principal  hin- 
di-ances  to  agricultural  .  progress,  and  is  a 
subject  demanding  the  attention  of  political 
economists.  In  populous  communities,  where 
farming  is  the  principal  pursuit,  there  is 
generally  a  just  relation  between  the  price 
of  land,  labor  and  produce ;  nor  can  this 
relation  be  long  disturbed  from  any  cause, 
whatever,  without  producing  monetary  de- 
rangement and  general  embarrassment.  The 
connection  between  the  three  and  their  mu- 
tual depcndance  is  so  great,  the  one  on  the 
other,  that  one  cannot  suffer  without  in- 
juriously affecting  the  whole. 

The  high  price  of  labor  in  this  commu- 
nity, is  due  to  several  causes,  some  of  them 
favorable,  some  unfiivorable  to  our  local  and 
individual  interests.  Since  the  construction 
of  our  railroads,  the  price  of  lands  has  ad- 
vanced from  thirty  to  fifty  per  cent.,  during 
the  same  period  the  price  of  labor  has  ad- 
vanced one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent,  and 
the  price  of  our  staple  crops,  although  above 
an  average  price,  (and  would  be  considered 
amply  remunerating  under  the  old  order  of 
things),  has  not  advanced  in  the  same  ratio 
with  land  and  labor ;  especially  when  you 
add  to  the  actual  cost  of  that  labor  the  fur- 
ther incidental  charges  of  costly  fertilizers, 
dear  provisions  and  high  taxes.  Hence  the 
farmer,  in  this  section,  cannot  judiciously 
increase  his  labor  as  his  necessities  demand; 
because  his  net  profits  from  that  labor  do 
not  justify  the  investment  and  cover  the 
risk  of  loss  from  death  and  other  casualties. 
Again,  the  price  of  labor  is  not  regulated 
by  the  returns  of  that  labor  as  applied  or 
employed  on  the  worn  out  and  exhausted 
fields  of  Eastern  Virginia,  but  by  the  higher 
and  more  remunerating  returns  of  labor  in 
the  rich  alluvial  valleys  of  the  South  and 
Southwest,  and  in  the  more  valuable  sta- 
ple crops  of  cotton,  sugar  and  rice. 
I  Another  cause  of  the  high  price  of  labor, 
I  is  due  to  the  increase  of  the  precious  metals 


MS 


THE    SOUTHER X    PLANTER, 


[January 


and  an  abundant  circulation.  This  also 
acts  unfavorably  and  unequally  on  us ;  vre 
are  not  so  much  benefitted  by  this  increase 
of  the  circulating  medium  as  our  more  fa- 
vorably situated  neighbors  of  the  south,  be- 
cause their  fertile  lands  and  valuable  sta- 
ples enable  them  to  derive  a  revenue  from 
their  labor  greater  than  any  thing  we  can 
calculate  on;  hence  we  cannot  compete  with 
them  in  the  use  and  application  of  that  la- 
bor, and  are  driven,  by  force  of  circum- 
stances, out  of  the  market ;  for  as  sure  as 
water  seeks  its  level,  so  certainty  will  labor 
seek  its  best  returns,  and  money  its  highest 
profits. 

Another  cause  of  the  high  price  of  labor, 
is  the  heavy  emigration  of  our  citizens  to 
the  South.  This  restless  spirit  of  our  peo- 
ple has  been  very  unfavorable  to  the  pros- 1 
perity  and  progress  of  the  Old  Dominion,! 
by  abstracting  a  large  per  ceutage  of  our 
white  population  and  a  larger  number  of  our  I 
best  laborers ;  by  increasing  the  price  of' 
those  remaining ;  and  at  the  same  time  i 
throwing  large  quantities  of  land  into  mar- 1 
ket,  in  a  community  where  labor  is  dear  and  | 
laud  cheap,  and  population  sparse;  where 
numbers,  capital  and  enterpjise  are  so  much  \ 
wanted  to  develop  the  boundless  re.sources . 
of  national  wealth  so  profusely  lavished  on , 
Virginia  by  nature.  ! 

From  the  records  of  our  oiiice,  the  in-; 
crease  of  the  white  male  population  in  the 
county,  over  sixteen,  during  the  last  decade, ; 
amounts  to  only  sixteen,  (to  say  nothing  of, 
females  of  which  the  returns  give  no  ae-  \ 
count,)  and  the  increase  of  tithes  and  under  i 
tithes,  for  the  same  period  to  only  five  hun- 
dred and  eight,  making,  in  the  aggregate,  j 
only  five  hundred  and  twenty-four. 

In  1848,  the  tax  on  all  property,  other  | 
than   lands,  amounted  to  nineteen  hundred! 
and  sixL3'-six   dollars  and   eighty-four  cents. 
For  the  same  year,  to  wit,  1848,  the  tax  on 
land  amounted  to  twelve  hundredand  forty- 
nine  dollars  and  thirty-seven  cents.  ' 

In  185S,  tax  on  all  property  other  than ' 
land  amounted  to  §8,946,  and  the  land  tax  \ 
amounted  the  same  year  to  87,639  dollars ; 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  §16,585. 
Thus  we  fci.  ■,  that  during  the  last  ten  jears 
our  popular  ;<jn  is  only  a  little  more  than  sta- 
tionary, that  during  that  period,  taxation 
has  increased  betwefeu  six  and  seven  hun- 
dred per  cent.,  and  that  we  have  not  two 
dollars  for  one,  vested  in  all  other  species  of 


property  over  and  above  that  which  is  vest- 
ed in  land. 

This  small  increase  in  population  for  the 
last  ten  years,  a  period  exempt  from  the 
horrors  of  war,  pestilence  and  famine,  and 
under  other  circumstances  higlily  favoura- 
ble to  rearing  and  sustaining  a  dense  pop- 
ulation, can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the 
volunteer  emigration  of  the  white  popula- 
tion and  the  deportation  of  the  slaves. 

Another  cause  of  tlie  advance  in  labour, 
is  the  employment  of  a  large  number  of 
slaves  on  our  rail-roads  and  other  internal 
imprfvements  and  the  mechanical  trades. 
This  is  impolitic;  tney  could  in  a  majority 
of  instances  be  more  profitiibly  employed 
on  the  farm ;  besides  they  are  occupying 
situations  more  appropriately  belonging  to 
that  class  of  citizens  who  are  dependant  on 
their  labour  for  theirs  and  their  family's  sup- 
port ;  thus  compelling  them  to  seek  employ- 
ment in  other  communities. 

Experience,  it  may  be  said,  is  the  basis 
of  good  husbandry ;  but  that  man  will  be 
most  likely  to  succeed  in  his  vocation,  what- 
ever it  may  be,  whose  mind  is  well  stored 
with  the  kindred  and  necessary  sciences,  by 
which  he  will  be  enabled,  from  the  deduc- 
tions of  reason,  to  arrive  at  correct  conclu- 
sions, and  who  possesses  the  energy  of  body 
and  mind  to  execute  what  his  judgment  as- 
sures him  is  right ;  he  will  adopt  the  best 
means  to  attain  his  object,  and  apply  them 
in  the  most  economical  was'. 

We  would,  in  the  first  place,  recommend 
a  judicious  division  and  investment  of  the 
capital  employed :  believing  that  too  large 
a  portion  thereof  is  vested  .in  land,  and  is 
idle  and  unproductive,  whereby  the  farmer  is 
crippled  in  his  operations.  The  surface 
cultivated  is  disproportionate  to  the  labour 
employed,  which  necessarily  leads  to  a  hur- 
ried, slovenly  cultivation,  the  bane  of  good 
husbandry,  having  respect  to  the  quantity 
rather  than  quality  of  work  done.  We 
would'  suggest  the  propriety  of  reducing  the 
area  of  our  fields,  extending  our  rotation, 
the  liberal  cultivation  of  clover  and  other 
grasses  and  ameliorating  crops,  by  which 
our  stock  will  be  improved  in  quality  and 
increased  in  number,  and  be  made  auxili- 
aries in  the  improvement  of  our  lands. 

We  have  no  means  to  suggest  by  which 
the  nnmber  of  our  labourers  may  be  in- 
creased, and  labour  cheapened ;  but  they 
may  be  rendered  more  efficient,  by  a  more 
systematic  application  of  their  labour  in  all 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


39 


our  operations,  and  by  the  substitution  of 
machinery  and  animal  labour  when  appli- 
cable. Every  farmer  should  be  a  good 
financier  and  practical  economist,  husband- 
ing all  his  resources  and  personally  direct- 
ing the  operations  of  his  farm.  This  im- 
plies a  practical  if  not  scientific  knowledge 
of  his  business,  without  wdiich  he  is  ever 
liable  to  imposition.  How  can  he  without 
this  knowledge  ascertain  whether  a  sufiicient 
amount  of  work  has  been  performed,  or 
whether  it  has  been  faithfully  executed  ? 
It  is  by  personal  effort,  directed  by  scien- 
tific knowledge,  that  the  greatest  achieve- 
ments have  been  made  in. all  the  industrial 
pursuits  of  man,  and  agriculture  is  no  ex- 
ception to  the  rule.  Here  we  would  ad- 
vocate the  establishment  of  agricultural 
schools,  colleges,  societies  and  clubs,  as  the 
best  means  of  enlisting  the  united  effort  and 
influence  of  practical  and  scientific  men  in 
the  advancement  of  our  cause,  for  without 
concert  of  action  no  great  progress  can  be 
expected  in  this  or  any  other  human  en- 
terprize. 

Fertile  lands  and  valuable  money  staples 
are  the  inducements  to  emigration  and  de- 
portation ;  to  counteracl,  these  tendencies  we 
must  increase  the  productiveness  of  our 
lands,  and  improve  the  quality  of  our  sta- 
ples ;  give  employment  to  our  floating  pop- 
ulation, so  as  to  keep  them  at  home,  and 
more  thoroughly  identify  them  in  their 
feelings,  associations,  and  interests,  with  the 
land  and  home  of  their  fathers.  Our  ob- 
ject should  be  to  retain  our  present  number, 
and,  for  the  future,  to^guard  as  much  as 
possible  against  the  operation  of  these 
causes  which  have  favoured  emigration. 

The  letter  of  our  constitution  ignores 
whatever  savors  of  politics ;  we  can  no  more 
than  allude  to  the  African  slave  trade. 
The  introduction  of  the  Chinese  coolies,  if 
practicable,  would  be  impolitic.  The  in- 
troduction of  a  third  order  would  be  inju- 
rious, if  not  hazardous,  to  our  domestic  in- 
stitutions, and  we  have  seen  nothing  but 
evil  resulting  from  the  employment  of  the 
lower  order  of  European  labourers  on  our 
farms,  and  a.ssociating  with  our  slaves.  Vir- 
ginia must  be  her  own  nursery;  she  can 
and  will  annually  send  forth  labourers  into 
her  harvest  fields,  equal  to  her  greatest  ne- 
cessities, in  defiance  of  Northern  abolition- 
ists and  underground  rail-roads. 

A.  A.  Campbell. 


For  the  Southern  Planter. 

On  Tobacco  Culture. 

FROM  THE  farmers'  CLUB    OF    NOTTOWAY. 

In  discharge  of  my  annual  obligation,  I 
propose  to  discuss  a  question  which  has  en- 
gaged my  consideration  for  some  years. 
Viz  :  How  ?s  it  that  so  vimiy  persons,  uith 
/he  same  or  inferior  facHities,  have  mode  so 
much  more  tobacco  than  myself?  After 
due  allowance  for  deficiency  in  judgment, 
management  and  attention,  there  remained 
much  which  defied  solution.  I  was  inclined 
to  ascribe  it  somewhat  to  a  degree  of  hard- 
driving,  barbarity,  &c.,  which  I  did  not  de- 
sire to  know.  But  there  were  persons  sim- 
ilarly successful,  whose  judgment,  human- 
ity and  propriety  precluded  such  a  belief, 
and  induced  the  conclusion  that  some  skill 
and  management  not  formerly  exerted  were 
auxiliary  to  such  results. 

I  heard  a  gentleman  possessing  the  above 
attributes,  with  thankfulness,  piety,  &c.,  de- 
clare that  he  did  not  believe  his  hands 
worked  any  harder  in  making  his  increa.sed 
crops,  than  they  d  d  to  produce  his  previ- 
ously deficient  ones,  and  any  new  systems 
or  aids  become  objects  of  interesting  con- 
sideration, which  I  propose  to  discuss,  not 
JO  much  from  my  own  experience,  as  from 
the  materials  I  have  collected  from  others. 
It  must  be  admitted  in  the  commencement, 
that  a  proper  use  of  guano  and  other  fer- 
tilizers for  tobacco  is  the  chief  foundation 
of  this  increase,  commencing  even  in  the 
plant  beds.  Formerly  we  were  restricted 
to  the  land ;  we  would  clear  our  second 
year's  ground,  and  what  we  could  manure 
from  farm  yards  not  exceeding  40,000  to 
50,000  hills  per  each  department,  or  120 
to  150,000,  per  15  to  20  hands,  leaving  a 
small  space  for  wheat,  except  by  using  the 
entire  corn  shift. 

According  to  the  present  plan  of  using 
the  old  land  with  fertilizers  you  can  pre- 
pare in  hills  or  beds  with  the  plow  for 
200,000  tobacco  plants  more  easily  than 
you  could  clear  the  40,000  new  ground 
hills  and  make  them  up.  Here,  with  the 
increased  quantity  and  forwardness  of  the 
plants,  you  have  a  wonderfully  increased 
facility  in  the  commencement.  The  difla- 
culty  has  generally  been  in  the  worming 
and  suckering.  I  don't  see  well  how  the 
impediment  of  suckering  can  be'  much  di- 
minished, except  in  a  way  I  would  not  de- 


40 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[January 


Bire  to  imitate.  But  in  the  worming  skill 
and  system  may  afford  assistance. 

Formerly  it  was  the  practice  in  worming 
to  turn  over  and  examine  each  leaf, 
whether  there  were  indications  of  injury 
or  not,  which  required  so  much  time  and 
delay  as  to  expose  the  latter  portion  of  the 
crop  to  very  great  depredation.  It  is  said 
that  by  passing  over  the  crop,  only  noticing 
the  evidences  of  the  worm,  you  can  get 
over  the  crop  so  much  more  frequently  as 
to  place  a  larger  surface  under  much  better 
control. 

In  the  housing  of  a  large  crop  to  the 
hands,  there  must  necessarily  be  much  la- 
bour and  attention,  employing  a  portion  of 
the  night.  The  number  and  convenience 
of  barns,  afford  assistance  here.  In  the 
curing  of  the  crop,  I  believe  much  labour 
can  be  saved,  as  the  use  of  fires  can  be 
dispensed  with  to  some  extent,  except  when 
likely  to  injure.  In  the  stripping  of  the 
crop,  a  good,  comfortable  room  with  a  stove 
and  glass  windows  convenient  to  dwellings 
is  particularly  useful,  especially  in  bad 
weather. 

In  the  hanging  up  and  striking  down  of 
the  crop,  small  sticks,  not  much  larger  than 
the  little  finger,  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
and  hung  up  in  the  direction  of  the  tier- 
poles,  on  two  of  the  usual  sticks  across  the 
poles,  are  very  useful.  When  the  bundles 
have  been   straiahtened  and  pressed    hard, 


It  may  be  also  observed,  that  this  largely 
increased  surface  in  tobacco  is  sufficient  for 
a  respectable  wheat  crop,  without  the  use 
of  corn  land,  which,  devoted  to  oats,  allows 
a  diminution  of  the.  surface  for  corn,  and 
leaves  more  labour  for  tobacco. 

The  use  of  oil  in  the  preparation  of  the 
tobacco  crop,  is  of  somewhat  modern  origin. 
Some  doubted  the  propriety  of  thus  impart- 
ing a  fictitious  appearance  of  richness,  un- 
til it  was  said  to  be  recommended  by  the 
tobacco  buyers  themselves.  I  have  never 
used  it  but  once  to  the  extent  of  keeping 
the  hands  sleek,  instead  of  gummed  up  while 
handling  it, — and  it  is  thus  certainly  use- 
ful. 

My  object  has  been  to  point  out  and  pro- 
pose for  discussion  these  modern  improve- 
ments in  the  production  of  this  crop,  the 
increase  of  which  may  have  been  errone- 
ously to  some  extent,  ascribed  to  over-work- 
ing of  the  hands  employed.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  if  this  increased  product 
should  be  the  means  of  increased  comfort 
to  the  labourers,  as  both  interest  and  hu- 
manity should  prompt,  it  may  prove  a  de- 
velopment of  the  resources  of  our  country, 
enhancing  to  its  value,  and  promotive  of 
other  beneficial   consequences. 

E.  Gr.  Booth. 


The  Use  of  Quails. 

Wm.  Norton,  an  intelligent,  observing 
they  can  be  hung  up  by  passing  these  little  j  farmer  boy,  who  makes  his  home  in  the 
sticks  under  the  head  without  opening  the  southern  part  of  Illinois,,  has  recently  been 
leaves,  which  is  otherwise    very   tedious ;!  studying  the  habits  of  the   quail,   or,   incor- 


and  in  striking  down,  these  little  sticks 
need  not  be  removed  during  that  operation, 
at  least  when  expedition  is  important  to 
secure  the  order. 

As  another  facility,  it  is  important  that 
the  hands  should  be  well  fed  and  clothed, 
and  their  food  prepared  for  them  without 
interruption,  and  the  increased  crop  justi- 
fies and  affords  the  observance,  apart  from 
humanity  and  interest,  for  there,  can  be  no 
greater  extravagance  and  wastefulness  than 
a  restriction  in  the  food  and  clothing  es- 
sential to  the  performance  of  proper  service. 

In  the  prizing  of  a  large  crop  of  to- 
bacco, a  screw  would  no  doubt  justify  its 
cost,  and  afford  a  facility.  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  the  convenience  of  rail-roads 
in  conveying  oft"  our  crops,  rather  than  the 


rectly  "  partridge,"    and   gives  the  follow- 
ing testimony  to  the  Cincinnati  Artisan  : 

"  He  observed  a  small  flock  commencing 
at  one  side  of  the  field,  taking  about  five 
rows,  following  them  regularly  through  the 
field,  scratching  and  picking  about  every 
hill,  till  they  came  to  the  other  side  of  the 
field ;  then  taking  another  five  rows  on  their 
return,  thus  continuing,  till  he  thought  they 
were  certainly  pulling  up  the  corn.  He  shot 
one,  and  then  proceeded  to  examine  the  corn 
ground.  On  all  the  ground  that  tney  had 
been  over,  he  found  but  one  stalk  of  corn 
disturbed;  that  was  scratched  nearly  out  of 
the  ground,  but  the  kernel  was  still  attach- 
ed to  the  stalk.  In  the  craw  of  the  quail 
he  found  but  one  cut  worm,  21  striped  vine 
buKS,   100  chinch  bugs,  that  still  retained 


former  plan  of  injuring  the  plantation!  their  individuality,  a  mass  apparently  con- 
teams  in  that  operation,  may  be  enumerated  sisting  of  hundreds  of  chinch  bugs,  but  not 
in  the  elements  of  increased  products.  )  one  kernel  of  corn. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLAMTER. 


41 


VIRGINIA  STATE  AGRICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 

The  eighth  annual  meeting  of  the  Virgi- 
nia State  Agricultural  Society,  was  held  at 
Temperance"  Hall,  in  the  City  of  Petersburg, 
on  Tuesday  evening,  the  1st  of  November, 
1859. 

The  President,  Edmund  Ruffin,  Esq., 
called  the  meeting  to  order,  when  the  annu- 
al address  "  on  the  Rise,  Progress,  Present 
Condition  and  Future  Prospects  of  the  So- 
ciety," was  delivered, 

BY  THE  HON.  WILLOTJGHBY  NEWTOX. 
Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : 

Nothing  but  an  imperious  sense  of  duty 
could  constrain  me  to  appear  before  you  this 
evening. 

The  Executive  Committee  having  failed, 
after  repeated  efforts,  to  obtain  a  speaker  for 
the  occasion,  have,  at  the  eleventh  hour, 
pre.«scd  lue  into  the  service. 

I  am  required  to  perform  the  delicate  and 
responsible  task  of  addressing  this  large  and 
enlightened  audience  with  such  huiTied  and 
imperfect  preparation  as  could  be  made,  in 
the  short  intervals  of  leisure  which  a  prac- 
tical farmer  may  command  in  the  midst  of 
seed  time,  with  all  its  engrossing  cares. 

Respect  for  myself,  as  well  as  for  you, 
would  compel  me  tcf  decline  this  call,  how- 
ever urgent,  if  I  could  do  so  with  propriety. 
But  when  I  remember  how  intimately  I 
have  been  connected  with  the  Society,  from 
the  first  moment  of  its  existence ;  that  I 
presided  with  the  anxiety  of  a  parent  at  its 
birth,  and  have  watched  with  the  deepest 
solicitude  its  progress  to  the  present  day ; 
when  I  reflect  that,  though,  from  my  local 
position,  it  has  been  in  my  power  to  render 
very  little  service,  I  have  yet  been  constant- 
ly honored  with  one  of  its  chief  offices,  and 
am  justly  responsible,  with  my  colleagues, 
for  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  1  feel 
that  the  task,  however  onerous,  cannot  be 
declined.  For,  if  I,  upon  whom  it  has  so 
many  claims,  should,  in  this  hour  of  its  ex- 
tremity, falter  in  its  support,  who  could  be 
expected  to  stand  forth  as  its  champion  and 
defender  ? 

Impressed  with  the  belief  that  this  is  a 
crisis  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Agricultural 
Society  of  Virginia,  I  shall  not,- as  is  usual 
on  such  occasions,  occupy  your  attention  with 
a  dissertation  on  practical  or  scientific  agri- 
culture, or  with  speculations  on  any  of  those 
political  or  philosophical  questions,  which 
may  be  regarded  .as  intimately  connected 


with  the  interests  of  our  profession.  How- 
ever important  and  interesting  such  themes, 
the  period  requires  the  consideration  of 
other  subjects  of  more  urgent  and  vital  con- 
cern. 

The  occasion  naturally  invites  us  to  re- 
view the  history  of  the  Society,  including 
its  rise  and  progress,  present  condition  and 
future  prospects. 

In  mariner's  phrase,  we  should  "  take  an 
observation,"  and  endeavor  to  ascertain 
whether  we  have  departed  from  our  true 
course,  and  what  storms  and  shoals  and 
breakers  now  threaten  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  voyage  of  our  noble  ship. 

I  hope  to  be  pardoned  by  our  friends  of 
the  Union  Society,  for  speaking  on  a  subject 
in  which  they  may  seem  to  have  no  peculiar 
interest,  for  I  flatter  myself  that  even  those 
among  them  who  are  citizens  of  a  sister 
State  are  not  indifferent  to  whatever  con- 
cerns the  wetfare  of  Virginia.  And  I  know 
full  well,  tbSt  those  who  owe  allegiance  to 
our  good  old  Commonwealth,  are  keenly 
alive  to  the  interests  of  that  noble  institu- 
tion, which  has  not  only  greatly  advanced 
the  material  prosperity  of  her  people,  but 
has  reflected  on  the  State  the  highest  honor 
and  renown. 

The  events  to  be  passed  in  review  are  too 
recent  to  form  the  subject  of  impartial  his- 
tory, and  delicacy  would  forbid  the  detail  of 
transactions,  many  of  the  principal  actors  in 
which  are  still  living,  and  here  present,  if  it 
were  i>ot  necessary,  in  order  to  remove  mis- 
conceptions and  prejudices,  which  not  only 
greatly  impair  the  usefulness  of  the  Society, 
but  which,  if  permitted  to  continue  and  in- 
crease, may  be  fatal  to  its  very  existence. 

In  the  remarks  which  I  shall  make,  I 
shall  avoid,  as  far  as  maybe  consistent  with 
a  proper  defence  of  the  Society,  all  those 
points  of  controversy  in  which  there  has 
been  division  in  our  councils,  and  shall  en- 
deavor to  do  ample  justice  to  the  disinter- 
ested zeal  of4he  noble  spirits  who  have  con- 
tributed, by  their  efforts,  to  the  success  of 
this  glorious  enterprise.  And  I  shall  be 
particularly  careful  not  to  imitate  the  exam- 
ple of  some  military  leaders,  who,  having 
by  their  united  efforts  achieved  a  splendid 
victory,  disgrace  the  arms  of  their  counti-y 
by  an  ungenerous  contest  among  themselves 
for  preeminence  in  skill  or  valor  in  the 
battle. 

The  Virginia  State  Agricultural  Society 
is  now  in  the  eighth  year  of  its  existence, 


42 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[January 


and  the  history  of  similar  institutions, 
throughout  the  world,  presents  no  instance 
of  a  success  at  once  so  rapid,  complete  and 
brilltant.  Its  true  history  is  almost  as  mar- 
vellous as  an  Eastern  tale. 

On  the  dark  and  gloomy  night  of  the  19th 
of  February,  1852,  there  assembled  in  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  in  the  cap- 
ital of  Virginia,  a  small  body  of  zealous  and 
enlightened  farmers,  to  make  a  last  efFo.t  to 
form  a  State  Agricultural  Society. 

The  humble  individual  now  before  you 
had  the  honor,  by  previous  invitation,  to  ad- 
dress that  enlightened  and  patriotic  assem- 
bly. In  the  course  of  his  address,  which 
will  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
transactions  of  the  Society,  he  urged  such 
arguments  as  occurred  to  him  in  favor  of  its 
establishment,  and  foreshadowed  its  charac- 
ter in  the  following  words  : 

"  The  society  which  we  propose  to  estab- 
lish, is  to  be  as  broad  and  comprehensive  as 
the  Commonwealth  itself.  Elvery  .section 
and  interest  of  the  State  will  here  be  repre- 
sented. The  grower  of  wheat,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Potomac,  will  here  meet  the  planter 
of  tobacco  from  the  distant  Roanoke  ;  and 
the  tiller  of  corn,  who  greets  the  first  beams 
of  the  morning  sun  from  the  golden  waves 
of  the  Atlantic,  will  hail  his  brother,  who 
catches  its  parting  ray  as  it  is  reflected  from 
the  glassy  bosom  of  the  beautiful  Ohio." 

The  meeting  entered  fully  into  the  spirit 
of  the  speaker,  and  the  convention,  num- 
bering only  seventy  on  the  first  day,  contin- 
ued its  sessions  from  day  to  day  until  the 
society  was  organized,  the  principles  of  its 
constitution  settled,  and  its  Executive  Offi- 
cers elected.  The  venerable  man  who  now 
presides  over  the  society,  and  who,  for  so 
many  years,  has  devoted  his  talents  and 
learning  and  energy  to  the  service  of  the 
farmers  of  Virginia,  was  elected,  by  accla- 
•  mation,  its  first  President.  He  entered  at 
once  upon  the  active  discharge  of  his  du- 
ties, and  has  continued  to  devote  himself  to 
the  service  of  the  society  with  a  laborious 
industry,  an  ardent,  enlightened  and  disin- 
terested zeal  which  has  no  parallel,  except 
in  the  devoted  service  to  British  agriculture, 
of  his  great  prototype  Sir  John  Sinclair.  I 
have  no  record  of  the  names  of  the  gentle- 
men who  participated  in  this  first  meeting, 
all  of  whom  are  entitled  to  honorable  men- 
tion. 

Of  those  who  took  an  active  part  in  its 
proceedings  my  memory  recalls  the  names  of 


Randolph,  Minor, Noland,  Gilmer  and  Frank 

(1.  Ruffin,  of  Albemarle  ;  Seddon,  Morson, 
and  Sampson,  of  Goochland ;  Booth  and 
Irby,  of  Nottoway;  Peyton,  Richa  rdson 
and  our  worthy  Secretary  of  the  city  of 
Richmond  ;  Morriss,  of  Amherst ;  Dew  and 
Boulware,  of  King  and  Queen  ;  Grattan,  of 
Rockingham  ;  Nelson,  Ruffin  and  Brocken- 
brough,  of  Hanover.  As  a  part  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  times  I  think  it  highly  desirable 
that  the  names  of  all  the  members  of  this 
convention  should  be  preserved  in  the  jxr- 
chives  of  the  society,  and  I  trust  it  will  be 
in  the  power -of  the  Secretary  to  procure  a 
record  of  them. 

Few  in  numbers  and  with  very  inadequate 
means,  the  society  proceeded  in  a  hopeful 
spirit,  to  fulfil  its  mission,  which  was  declar- 
ed, in  its  constitution,  to  be  "to  improve  and 
advance  the  condition  of  agriculture,  horti- 
culture, and  the  auxiliary  mechanic  arts." 
The  Executive  Committee  met  from  time  to 
time,  and  were  diligently  employed  in  col- 
lecting information  for  publication  in  the 
transactions,  and  in  doing  all,  within  their 
power,  to  secure  the  permanency,  and  use- 
fulness of  the  society. 

In  the  course  of  a  short  time  they  had  pre- 
pared and  reported  a  constitution  for  the 
society,  remarkable  for  its  clearness  and  com- 
prehensive brevity;  and  a  scheme  of  premi- 
ums which  has  been  the  basis  of  all  our 
Fairs.  A  large  amount  of  valuable  matter 
had  been  contributed,  chiefly  by  the  Presi- 
dent himself,  to  our  annals,  and  on  the  16th 
day  of  December,  the  society  again  assem- 
bled in  general  meeting,  at  the  Capitol.  In- 
teresting and  instructive  addresses  were  de- 
livered by  the  President,  and  Mr.  F.  G- 
Ruffin. 

The  members  had  in  this  time  increased 
to  339,  and  the  funds  in  the  treasurer's 
hands  amounted  only  to  $268.00.  The  Pres- 
ident, admonished,  as  he  supposed  by  de- 
clining health,  and  approaching  infirmity, 
resolved,  to  the  great  regret  of  the  Society, 
to  resign  his  office,  and  was  cho.^en  first 
Vice  President.  Philip  St.  Gofirge  Cocke, 
Esq.,  was  unanimously  elected  President. — 
In  the  prime  of  manhood,  with  a  princely 
fortune  and  a  large  heart,  which  makes 
wealth  a  blessing,  by  the  generous  liberality 
with  which  it  is  dispensed  for  noble  objects, 
he  was  just  the  man  for  the  crisis. 

He  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  du- 
ties of  his  office  with  ardent  and  enlight- 
ened zeal,  and  in  a  neat  and   highly  appro- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


43 


priate  address  on  taking  the  chair  for  the 
first  time,  in  the  meeting  of  the  Society  on 
the  10th  day  of  March,  1853-,  pledged  his 
best  efforts  to  the  cause. 

This  pledge  was  most  faithfully  redeemed, 
by  the  devotion  of  his  time,  his  talents  and 
his  means,  •without  stint  or  grudging,  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  great  objects  of  the  So- 
ciety. 

It  affords  me  the  more  pleasure  to  pay 
this  merited  tribute  to  our  former  President, 
because  whilst  he  "yeas  in  office,  it  was  my 
misfortune  to  differ  with  him  in  opinic  n  in 
regard  to  measures  which  he  deemed  im- 
portant, and  pressed  upon  the  adoption  of 
the  Society  with  his  characteristic  ardour 
and  perseverance. 

It'niay  be  said  of  him  with  entire  truth, 
that  in  or  out  of  office,  he  is  a  gentleman, 
without  fear  and  without  reproach. 

The  meeting  of  the  10th  of  March  was 
deeply  interesting.  Mr.  B.  Johnson  Bar- 
bour made  an  eloquent  and  most  felicitous 
address.  Mr.  Harvie,  of  Amelia,  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  Executive  Committee,  offered 
a  series  of  resolutions,  in  w'hich  it  was  re- 
commended that  a  Fair  should  be  held  in 
the  ensuing  fall,  and  calling  upon  the  mem- 
bers to  guarantee  such  amount,  as  might  be 
indispensable  to  hold  the  first  exhibition. 

This  appeal  was  promptly  answered  by 
J.  Ravenscroft  Jones,  of  Brunswick,  an 
early,  constant,  and  most  judicious  friend 
of  the  Society,  who  came  forward  and 
pledged  his  county  for  a  liberal  sum,  and 
invited  other  gentlemen  to  do  likewise. 
His  example  was  speedily  followed.  Mr. 
Harvie  pledged  himself  to  be  one  of  twen- 
ty who  would  become  life  members ;  his 
proposition  was  accepted,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  evening  SI, 800  were  secured  for  the 
object  contemplated.  Thus  encouraged, 
the  Executive  Committee  proceeded  to 
make  all  necessary  ai'rangements  for  the 
Fair.  The  President,  carrying  out  the 
spirit  of  a  resolution  adopted  at  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Society,  on  the  motion  of 
Mr.  Minor,  of  Albemarle,  appointed  with 
the  approbation  of  the  Committee,  General 
Wm.  H.  Richardson,  and  his  son,  agents  to 
canvass  the  State,  procure  new  members, 
and  to  excite  an  interest  in  behalf  of  the 
Society  and  the  approaching  Fair.  i  hcse 
gentlemen  performed  their  duties  with  fidel- 
ity and  zeal,  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  President  and  the  Committee.  By 
their  exertions,  a  number  of  new  members 


were  added  to  the  Society,  its  finances  im- 
proved, and  a  general  interest  awakened 
throughout  the  Commonwealth,  which  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  success  of  the  grand 
exhibition.  The  Councils  of  the  city  of 
Richmond  were  appealed  to  for  aid  and  co- 
operation, and  they  promptly  came  forward, 
and  with  a  liberality  and  public  spirit  which 
does  them  immortal  honor,  tendered  to  the 
Society  the  beautiful  and  commodious 
grounds  which  (hey  occupied,  embracing 
every  accommodation,  and  which  had  been 
improved  and  adorned  at  the  expense  of 
the  city,  with  all  the  embellishments  which 
the  highest  art,  or  the  most  cultivated  taste, 
could  suggest. 

The  Railroad  and  other  transportation 
companies  met  the  wishes  of  the  Society, 
with  a  promptness  and  liberality  which  de- 
monstrates that  corporations  are  not  always 
soulless. 

It  was  obvious  that  the  public  sympathies 
were  enlisted,  and  that  the  farmers  of  Vir- 
ginia were  at  length  aroused  to  their  true 
interests. 

Under  the  happiest  auspices,  the  glorious 
morning  was  ushered  in,  that  was  to  reward, 
with  brilliant  success,  the  long  and  disinter- 
ested labors  of  their  friends. 

As  if  moved  by  one  impulse,  the  whole 
people  of  the  State  seemed  to  be  crowding 
to  the  capital.  Each  successive  train  came 
freighted  with  peaceful  farmers,  and  poured 
them  in  masses  on  the  city,  like  the  armed 
hosts  of  r^apolean  on  the  plains  of  Italy. 
Steamboats  and  stages,  omnibuses  and 
hacks,  private  carriages,  buggies,  sulkies, 
and  neighing  steeds,  with  their  gallant 
riders,  all  served  to  swell  the  anxious  throng. 
The  day  was  bright  and  beautiful,  and  the 
sun  shone  as  if  from  an  Italian  sky. 

The  long  streets  and  broad  avenues  of 
the  city  were  early  filled  with  the  interested 
multitude  of  every  age,  and  sex,  and  call- 
ing, pressing  to  the  Fair. 

And  the  n#on  of  that  day  witnessed  a 
spectacle  Avhich,  in  moral  sublimity  and 
simple  grandeur,  far  surpassed  the  most 
brilliant  pageants  of  the  old  world.  The 
great  heart  of  Virginia  exulted  that  day. 
Not  over  the  exhibition  of  her  material 
wealth,  as  displayed  in  the  extent  and  va- 
riety of  implements  and  machinery,  the 
products  of  the  workshops  of  her  own  arti- 
zuns ;  not  in  the  rich  products  of  her  gardens, 
orchards  and  fields,  nor  in  hsr  fine  cattle,  and 
sheep,  and  swine,  and  horses  unsurpassed — 


<'^ 


44 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[January 


the^e  were  all  worthy  of  the  highest  admira- 
tion. But  it  was  not  these  that  caused  a  thrill 
of  joy  to  pass  through  every  heart.  It  was, 
that  Virginia,  the  glorious  mother  of  us  all, 
had  that  day,  for  the  first  time  in  her  his- 
tory, called  together,  around  the  family 
altar,  her  children  from  the  remotest  boun-' 
daries  of  her  territory,  to  recognize  the  ties 
'  of  kindred  and  affection,  and  to  pour  forth 
with  one  heart,  their  gratitude  to  God  for 
the  goodly  heritage  he  has  given  us.  Who 
that  had  the  privilege  to  witness  that  bril- 
liant scene,  can  ever  blot  it  from  his  mem- 
ory ?  My  pulse,  even  now,  beats  quicker, 
as  in  memory  I  recall  the  cordial  grasp  with 
which  I  greeted  old  friends,  whom  distance 
had  severed  for  years,  and  the  greeting, 
scarcely  less  cordial,  with  which  I  met  for 
the  fir.?t  time,  hundreds  as  strangers,  whom 
I  now  recognize  as  friends. 

I  survey  again,  in  my  mind's  eye,  the 
moving  panorama.  The  brave  men  and  fair 
women  of  Virginia,  mingling  in  free,  refined 
and  unrestrained  intercourse.  The  chivalry 
and  the  beauty  of  the  State  met  together. 
The  spacious  avenues  crowded  with  moving 
processions  of  both  sexes,  with  joy  beaming 
from  their  countenances,  and  exchanging  a 
nod  of  recognition,  a  kind  word  or  a  smile 
of  welcome.  I  see  again  the  seats  of  the 
spacious  amphitheatres,  one  above  another, 
filled  with  every  form  of  female  loveliness 
and  beauty,  resembling  the  rich  profusion 
and  variety  of  choice  flowers  in  a  well-ar- 
ranged conservatory.  Again.  I  behold  around 
the  course  the  impenetrable  wall  of  human 
beings,  who  watch  with  excited  interest  the 
eager  contests  of  the  high-mettled  steeds, 
and  ever  and  anon  rend  the  air  with  shouts 
of  triumph,  .such  as  may  be  supposed  to  have 
been  heard  of  yore  at  the  Olympian  games, 
when  some  dexterous  wrestler  tripped  his  ad- 
versary or  some  gallant  horseman  or  dashing 
charioteer  passed  his  rival  in  the  race. 

These  are  scenes  which,  in  all  their  fresh- 
ness, can  never  be  repeated.  It  was  our 
first  great  State  exhibition,  and  added  the 
charm  cff  novelty  to  all  its  other  attractions. 
It  was  acknowledged  on  all  hands  to  be  a 
brilliant  success.  It  gave  unalloyed  satis- 
faction to  our  own  people,  and  intelligent 
observers  pronounced  it  unequalled  in  this 
country  and  unsurpassed  in  the  world. 

Our  own  President  justly  pronounced  it 
"a  pageant  and  a  triumph,  such  as   Rome 


herself,  in  all  her  glory,  would  have  been 
proud  to  have  witnessed." 

The  night  of  the  1st  of  November  pre- 
sented, if  possible,  a  scene  of  more  thrilling 
interest  than  the  brilliant  spectacle  of  the 
day.  The  vast  crowd  had  quietly  retired 
from  the  grounds,  and  the  young  and  the 
old,  the  grave  and  the  gay,  returned  to  the 
city  to  indulge,  according  to  their  rcspjective 
tastes,  their  feelings  of  gratulation  in  the 
merry  dance,  or  social  party,  or  animating 
conversation.  At  night  the  .Society  assem- 
bled in  Metropolitan  Hall,  which  was  pro- 
cured and  brilliantly  lighted  for  the  occasion. 
The  worth,  and  wealth,  and  intellect  of  Vir- 
ginia were  there.  Mr.  Harvie,  of  Amelia, 
came  forward  and  offered  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions calling  for  individual  subscriptions  for 
the  permanent  endowment  of  the  Society. 
These  resolutions  were  advocated  in  a  few 
earnest  remarks  by  the  mover  and  another 
member,  and  were  responded  to  by  the  as- 
sembly with  the  utmost  enthusiasm.  Far- 
mers and  merchants,  mechanics  and  profes- 
sional men — all  vied  with  each  other  in  the 
liberality  of  their  contributions,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  evening  more  than  $40,000 
were  subscribed.  The  scene  was  repeated 
the  following  night,  and  the  contributions 
swelled  to  about  850,000. 

Up  to  thi-  period,  all  went  merry  as  a 
marriage  bell.  But  the  Society  was  now 
rich,  and  we  had  to  encounter  the  danj^ers 
:  of  pjrosperity. 

Heretofore  all  services  had  been  gratui- 
j  tously  performed,  and  there  was  no  compe- 
tition for  place.  Now  we  had  a  lucrative 
office  to  bestow;  we  were  cursed  for  the  first 
jtime  with  patronage,  and  patronage  always 
'engenders  parties,  and  parties  engender 
strife. 

The  appointment  of  Secretary  was  made 
by  the  Executive  Committee,  and  as  hap- 
pens in  all  such  cases,  one  party  and  his 
friends  were  well  pleased  with  the  result, 
whilst  another  party  and  his  friends  were 
equally  dissatisfied.  The  wound,  though 
seeming  slight  at  first,  continued  to  rankle 
and  fester,  until  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Society  it  threatened  its  dissolution. 

The  Executive  Committee  in  the  mean- 
time proceeded  quietly  in  the  discharge  of 
its  duties,  collecting  interesting  materials 
for  its  transactions,  and  making  provision 
for  the  next  annual  exhibition.  The  second 
Fair,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  was  a  more 
magnificent  pageant  than  the  first;  larger 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


45 


numbers  were  in  attendance ;  the  exhibi- 
tion in  every  department  was  more  exten- 
sive, and  pronounced  superior ;  and  the 
officers  of  the  Society  had  again  the  satis- 
foction  of  seeing  their  labours  crowned  with 
complete  success. 

The  public  pi'ess  had  undertaken  to 
avenge  the  wrongs  of  the  gentleman  whose 
high  claims  to  the  office  of  Secretary  had 
been  reluctantly  passed  over,  b3'  the  P^xecu- 
tive  Committee,  for  reasons  entirely  satisfac- 
tory to  them,  in  favour  of  another.  The 
Committee  was  denounced  as  an  odious  oli- 
garchy, and  excited  appeals  made  to  the 
members  to  reform  the  government  of  the 
Society.  In  the  midst  of  this  excitement, 
the  night  arrived  for  the  annual  election  of 
officers.  The  African  church  was  crowded 
to  its  utmost  capacity — every  seat  and  aisle 
was  jammed  with  excited  human  beings, 
and  hundreds  failed  to  gain  admittance. 

It  was  obvious,  that  in  sich  a  body  there 
could  be  no  deliberation  ;  there  was  no  pos- 
sibility of  taking  a  vote,  and  a  scene  of 
wild  excitement  ensued  which  beggars  all 
description.  The  fierce  Democracy  of  Bal- 
timore, yiew  York,  or  even  Paris  in  revo- 
lutionary times,  have  rarely  been  more  ex- 
cited on  questions  of  the  deepest  interest. 

The  election,  which  could  not  be  made 
in  the  usual  manner,  was  carried  by  a  sort 
of  C01/J3  d'etat,  which  could  only  be  justified 
by  the  extreme  necessity  of  the  case,  and 
the  old  offici^rs  were  proclaimed  duly  elect- 
ed. Delicacy  would  have  constrained  the 
gentlemen  elected  to  decline  these  irregu- 
lar appointments,  but  they  had  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  accept,  or  to  dissolve  the  Society. 
It  was  now  conceded  on  all  hands  that 
something  must  be  done  to  avoid  the  re- 
currence of  such  scenes,  and  to  provide  for 
the  orderly  election  of  the  Executive  Offi- 
cers. Provision  for  an  electoral  college, 
or  for  conducting  the  election  by  ballot  on 
the  Fair  Grounds,  would  have  met  the  dif- 
ficulty. 

But  the  success  of  the  Society  had  been 
so  astonishing,  numbering  now  ten  thousand 
members,  and  having  a  permanent  en- 
dowment of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  that 
over-sanguine  gentlemen  began  to  indulge 
most  extravagant  ideas  as  to  its  true  mis- 
sion. 

If  not  the  State  itself,  it  was  at  least  an 
important  power  in  the  State,  and  only  re- 
quired proper  organization   to  direct  public 


sentiment  and  control  the  legislation  of  the 
Commonwealth. 

The  idea  of  a  Farmers'  Assembly  was 
suggested,  not  only  to  act  as  an  electoral 
college,  but  as  a  sort  of  iinperium  in  im- 
perio,  to  legislate  for  the  interest  of  agri- 
culture, and  by  its  dignity  and  influence  to 
prescribe  terms  to  the  law-making  power. 

In  vain  it  was  urged  in  opposition  to  this 
scheme,  that  it  was  visionar}-  and  impractica- 
ble— that  there  could  be  no  regular  elections 
where  there  was  no  organized  constituency, 
and  that  the  Farmers'  Assembly  would  ex- 
pire by  the  default  of  the  farmers  to  make 
elections.  No,  it  was  replied,  '  it  cannot 
fail,  and  the  success  of  political  conven- 
tions and  ecclesiastical  a.ssemblies  was  ap- 
pealed to  as  a  conclusive  argument  by  the 
friends  of  the  measure — forgetting  that  po- 
litical parties  have  immense  patronage  to 
bestow,  and  that  each  separate  church  con- 
gregation is  an  organized  constituency  that 
can  at  any  moment  appoint  deputies  to  ec- 
clesiastical assemblies. 

A  very  intelligent  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  reform  the  government,  and  at 
the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Society 
made  a  report  of  the  present  constitution  ; 
which,  after  protracted  debate,  was  adopted. 
The  Select  Committee,  foreseeing  the  prob- 
ability of  the  failure  of  the  Farmers'  As- 
sembly, very  wisely  made  provision  in  the 
constitution  for  remitting  all  its  powers  to 
the  Executive  Committee,  with  power  to 
perpetuate  itself  by  filling  vacancies  in  its 
own  body. 

Notwithstanding  the  unpleasant  excite- 
ment at  the  last  annual  ipeeting,  the  suc- 
cess of  the  third  exhibition  of  the  Society 
was  scarcely  less  complete  than  of  the  two 
which  had  preceded  it.  The  fourth  annual 
meeeting  was  to  test  the  untried  experiment 
of  a  Farmers'  Assembly.  The  Executive 
Committee  had  made  eveiy  arrangement 
deemed  nece.?sary  to  its  success.  The  State 
was  divided  into  districts,  and  Commission- 
ers of  election  .appointed  pursuant  to  the 
constitution,  and  the  farmers  urged  to  send 
their  representatives  to  the  Assembly.  The 
novelty  of  the  scheme  attracted  some  at- 
tention, and  few  of  the  elections  went  by 
default. 

On  the  28th  of  October,  1S56,  at  10 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Farmers'  As- 
sembly met  for  the  first  time  in  the  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Delegates.  The  body  wa.? 
respectable  in  numbers,  and  more  than   re- 


46 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[January 


qiectable  in  talents  and  character.     Among  !  these  exhibitions  should  be  held   at  much 


its  members  were  some  of  the  foremost 
men  in  the  Commonwealth — statesmen,  kw- 
jere,  farmers,  men  of  the  latgest  experience, 
of  the  highest  intellectual  endowments,  and 
of  incorruptible  int^rity.  It  was  organis- 
ed by  the  unanimous  election  of  a  dtstin- 
gnished  statcssman  to  the  Chair.  The  Pres- 
ident of  the  Society  delivered  his  first  an 


longer  intervals. 

The  improvements  in  agriculture  during 
a  single  year  are  scarcely  appreciable,  and 
the  annual  exhibitions  jtresent  little  that  is 
new,  to  interest.  The  Olympian  games  were, 
in  some  respects,  not  altogether  unlike  our 
agricultural  shows.  They  were  held  every 
fifth  year,  and  so  great   were   their  attrae- 


nual  message,  embracing  as  many  and  im-  tions,  that  they  continued  for  centuries  to 
portant  recommendations  as  are  usually  draw  not  only  from  all  Greece,  but  from  the 
contained  in  a  message  of  the  President  of  neighboring    countries    and    islands,    vast 


the  United  States. 

It  was  obvious  at  a  glance  to  the  most 
careless  observer,  that  an  Assembly  thus 
called  together  for  a  very  limited  time  how- 
ever enlightened,  was  entirely  incompetent 


crowds  of  admiring  spectators. 

Complaints  began  to  be  made  of  the  fail- 
ing interest  of  the  Society,  or  of  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  the  executive  government.  Cavil- 
lers who  had  never  taken  the  trouble  to  look 


to  consider  the  grave  and  important  sub-  into  the  transactions,  and  to  see  what  a  vast 
jects  referred  to  them.  amount  of  valuable  and  interesting  informa- 

A  few  unimportant  resolutions  were  of-  tion  had  been  collected  and  diffused,  asked, 
ferred  and  adopted,  and  every  subject  re- j  are  these  annual  pageants  to  be  the  only  re- 
quiring deliberate  consideration,  was  referred  suits  of  the  liberality  of  the  farmers  of  Vir- 
to  the  ExecutiTe  Committee.  The  mem-'ginia,  in  the  endowment  of  the  Society? 
bers  proceeded  quietly  to  discharge  their  I  Like  Naaman,  the  Syrian,  they  required 
duty  as  an  electoral  college ;  the  speaker  some  great  thing  to  be  done. 
delivered  a  short  valedictory,  the  Farmers'  Why,  they  asked,  does  not  the  Society 
Assembly  adjourned  and  its  high  pr^tige  employ  its  vast  funds  to  establish  an  agricul- 
iras  gone.  tnral  school,  or  endow  a  professorship  at  the 


At  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  So- 
ciety, the  Farmers'  Assembly  convened  for 
the  second  time,  with  its  number  somewhat 
reduced — elected   the    same    distinguished 


University  ?  In  a  word,  why  does  it  not  do 
something  worthy  of  itself,  and  of  the  farm- 
ers of  Tirginia. 

The  invested  funds  of  the  Society  repre.- 
gentleman  speaker — passed  through  the  [sent  an  annual  income  of  abaut  $.3,000; 'a 
same  round  of  abortive  resolutions — elected  sum,  which  any  man  of  the  least  practical 
the  Executive  officer^  and  quietly  adjourn-  intelligence  will  see,  is  barely  sufficient  to 
ed,  perhaps  for  the  last  time.     At  the  next  ^  keep  up  the  organization  of  the  Society,  and 


meeting,  it  &iled  for  the  want  of  a  quorum, 
and  I   think  it  now  quite  certain,  that  it 


to  defray  such   contingent  expenses  of  the 
annual  Fairs  as  may  not  be  provided  for  by 


will  never  meet  again,  except,  perhaps,  as  receipts  from  other  sources.     But  has  the 

an  electoral  body.  Society  not  accomplished  something  ?     Is  it 

PresidentCocke,  at  this  meeting,  declined  "nothing  to  have  added  to  the  agricultural 


a.  re-election,  and  the  veteran,  who  had  so 
long  and  so  efficiently  served  the  Society, 
was  again  placed  at  its  head  by  the  unani- 
mous vote  of  the  Farmers  Assembly ;  and  I 
am  most  happy  to  see  him.  here  to-night, 
ready  and  willing,  like  the  iUastrious  Scotch 
man  already  referred  to,  to  devote,  as  I  trust 
the  long  remnant  of  a  green  old  age,  to  the 
disinterested  service  of  his  country. 

The  fourth  and  fifth  annual  exhibitions 
were  held  at  Richmond  with  gratifying  sue- 
oe^.     Yet  it  was  obvious  that  these  specta- 


their  intere^L 


literature  of  the  country  contri.utions  of 
great  learning  and  ability,  and  in  practical 
usefulness  unsurpassed  ?  Is  it  nothing  to 
have  infused  new  hope,  energy,  power  and 
intelligence  into  the  whole  farming  class  ? 
Is  it  nothing  to  have  more  than  doubled  the 
value  of  the  lands  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  the  revenues  of  both  State  and  people  ? 
And  by  the  profits  of  improved  agriculture, 
to  have  added  vastly  to  the  value  of  her 
slaves  and  of  ail  other  property  ?  Is  there 
nothiDir  in  the  impulse  given  by  its  influence 


cles,  from  their  frequency,  had  lost  much  of  to  education,  both  private  and   public,  by 


diffusing  amonz  the  schools  and  colleges, and 


Indeed,   it  may  be  g^vely  questioned,!  among  the  people  themselves,  larger  views 
whether  sound  policy  does  not  require  thatj  and  higher  aspirations  ?     Is  there  nothing 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


47 


in  the  high  moral  and  social  influences  of 
the  frequent  re-unions  of  our  people  from 
distant  quarters  of  the  Coumionwcalth,  at 
the  annual  exhibitions  ?  Macaulay,  in  the 
celebrated  third  chapter  of  his  history,  con- 
trasts, in  a  philosophical  spirit,  England  at 
the  close  of  the  reign  of  Charles  the  second 
with  England  in  his  own  times.  The  state 
of  the  arts,  sciences,  government,  society, 
commerce,  manufactures  and  agriculture,  all 
pass  in  review.  The  improvements  in  agri- 
culture had  been  such,  he  represents,  that 
in  little  more  than  a  century  a  fourth  part  of 
England  had  been  turned  from  a  wild  into  a 
garden.  If  the  Virginia  State  Agricultural 
Society  were,  this  day,  to  cease  to  exist,  the  j 
future  historian,  although  he  might  not  say 
with  Macaulay,  that  during  its  brief  exist- 
ence it  had  converted  one  fourth  of  the  State  j 
from  a  wild  to  a  garden,  he  would  want  the 
philosophical  spirit  of  that  distinguished 
writer,  if  he  did  not  refer  to  its  establish- 
ment as  an  important  epoch  in  her  history. 
Truth  would  compel  him  to  say,  it  found  her 
agriculture  languishing  and  depressed,  and 
left  it  flourishing  and  profitable.  It  found 
her  farmei-s  dispirited  and  restless — it  left 
them  hopeful,  buoyant  and  content.  It  found 
agricultural  science  a  sealed  book,  except  to 
the  educated  and  learned ;  it  left  its  great 
principles  familiar  as  household  words  to  the 
,  masses.  It  found  her  implements  of  agri- 
culture, and  her  domestic  animals,  so  mean 
and  wretched  as  to  be  a  bj'-word  and  re- 
proach ;  it  left  them  so  excellent  as  to  ex- 
cite universal  admiration.  It  found  impro- 
ved culture  confined  to  a  few  individuals  and 
localities  ;  it  left  it  universally  diff"used. 

It  found  her  farmers  dispersed  and  isola- 
ted— it  left  them  united  as  a  band  of  bro- 
thers. It  found  her  people  of  all  classes 
separated  by  local  divisions  and  prejudices, 
and  strangers  and  aliens  to  each  other ;  it 
gathered  them  like  an  ancient  patriarch, 
under  the  family  tent,  henceforth  to  be  kin- 
dred and  friends. 

These  are  some  of  the  beneficent  results 
that  the  impartial  historian  must  attribute  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety of  Virginia. 

Whether  it  shall  continue  to  dispense 
similar  blessings  to  our  posterity,  depends 
upon  llie  spirit  with  which  it  shall  be  sus- 
tained by  the  united  agricultural  interests  of 
this  great  Commonwealth.  It  represents  no 
local  interet'ts — it  makes  no  sectional  appeal 
— ^it  is  the  Agricultural  Society  of  the  State, 


and  rests  upon  the  broad  foundation  of  the 
entire  Commonwealth.  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  it  is  noic  encompassed  with  many  difli- 
culties. 

The  Executive  Committee  have  thought 
that  the  Capital  of  the  State  is  the  proper 
place  for  holding  the  meetings  of  a  State 
Society,  and  have  been  sincerely  desirous  to 
continue  them  in  Richmond.  Owing  to 
some  misunderstanding  between  the  city 
council  and  the  executive  committee,  the  de- 
tails of  which  need  not  here  be  examined, 
they  found  it  impossible,  consistently  with  a 
sense  of  duty,  to  hold  the  last  annual  exhi- 
bition in  Kichmond.  and  as  you  are  aware, 
it  was  held  in  this  city  with  entire  satisfac- 
tion to  all  parties. 

The  event  is  too  recent  to  require  any 
very  extended  notice,  but  it  would  be  un- 
pardonable not  to  refer  with  grateful  emo- 
tions, to  the  cordial  courtesy  with  which  we 
were  received  by  the  officers  of  the  Union 
Society,  and  to  the  generous,  refined  and  ele- 
gant hospitality,  extended  to  us  by  the  warm 
hearted  people  of  the  city  of  Petersburg. 

The  citizens  of  Richmond,  as  was  perhaps 
natural,  took  umbrage  at  the  action  of  the 
Executive  Committee  in  removing  the  ex- 
hibition, and  there  were  found  among  them 
a  sufficient  number  ready  to  fan  the  flame, 
until  the  city  was  wrought  into  high  excite- 
ment. 

In  this  state  of  feeling,  it  was  determined 
to  establish  a  rival  Society  ;  I  say  rival,  be- 
cause the  organization  of  the  Central  So- 
ciety, confined  to  no  locality,  stretches  from 
the  mountains  to  the  sea,  and  it  cannot  be 
disguised,  it  aspires  to  the  character  of  a 
State  institution. 

It  is  impossible  for  two.  State  Agricultu- 
ral Societies  to  exist  in  the  same  Common- 
wealth, as  it  is  for  two  kings  to  reign  in  the 
same  kingdom.  King  Monmouth  and  King 
James  could  not  both  exist  in  England. 
The  Pretender  was  put  down,  though  the 
Prince  of  Orange  soon  stepped  in,  and 
founded  on  the  ruins  of  both  factions,  more 
stable  and  beneficent  institutions. 

A  lesson  of  wisdom  may  be  learned  from 
these  historical  incidents. 

Let  there  be  an  end  of  strife — let  Rich- 
mond be  again  generous  and  magnanimous, 
forgetting  her  mere  local  interests  in  the 
larger  and  moi'e  comprehensive  interests  of 
this  glorious  Commonwealth,  the  prosperity 
of  which  must  advance  her  own  glory  as 
the  capital  of  the  State.     Let  the  Central 


48 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[January 


Society  confine  itself  to  some  locality,  and 
instead  of  aspiring  to  be  the  rival  of  the 
State  Society,  and  seeking  to  expel  it  as  a 
stranger  and  an  alien,  let  it  be  subsidiary  to 
it,  in  the  accomplishment  of  its  beneficent 
objects.  The  State  Society  has  all  the  ele- 
ments of  its  usefulness  still  unimpaired  ;  its 
organization  is  complete,  its  funds  intact, 
and  although  the  Farmers'  Assembly,  as 
was  anticipated,  has  proved  a  splendid  fail- 
ure, its  old  constitution,  under  which  it 
achieved  all  its  triumphs,  is  in  full  force, 
and  nothing  is  wanted  but  the  cordial  co- 
operation of  the  farmers  of  Virginia,  to  ena- 
ble it  to  advance  steadily  in  its  course  of 
usefulness  and  distinction. 

It  would  have  afi'orded  me  great  pleasure, 
in  this  hasty  and  imperfect  sketch,  to  in- 
clude the  names  of  those  who,  by  their  la- 
bors or  their  means,  have  contributed  to  ad- 
vance the  objects  of  the  Society.  But  this 
was  impossible.  The  orators  who  at  our  an- 
nual exhibitions  have  delighted  and  instruct- 
ed us  by  their  learned  and  eloquent  dis- 
courses, and  the  members  of  the  Executive 
Committee,  now  no  longer  in  office,  who 
have  rendered  most  laborious  and  efficient 
service,  are  entitled  to  our  lasting  gratitude. 
Their  labors  are  recorded  in  the  imperisha- 
ble annals  of  the  Society,  and  their  names 
will  go  down  to  posterity  among  the  bene 
factors  of  their  race. 

I  have  now,  Mr.  President,  given  a  brief 
outline  of  the  history  of  the  Society,  of  its 
past  achievements,  and  present  condition. 

Its  future,  farmers  of  Virginia  !  rests  with 
you.  To  you,  and  to  the  enlightened  friends 
of  Agriculture  throughout  the  Common- 
wealth, the  Executive  Committee  now  luake 
their  appeal.  If  the  arduous  labors  of  con- 
ducting the  administration  of  its  affairs 
shall  again  devolve  upon  them,  they  ask  the 
support  of  your  generous  confidence.  They 
liave  no  personal  feelings  to  gratify,  and  no 
private  interests  to  serve. 

I  might  appeal  without  arrogance  to 
their  past  services  and  personal  characters, 
as  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  their  fidelity, 
but  the  absence  of  all  unworthy  motives 
gives  assurance  that  their  trust  will  not  be 
betrayed. 

Let  no  local  interest,  or  personal  feeling, 
or  idle  clamor,  disturb  your  judgment.  Let 
that  noble  State  pride  which  gave  birth  to 
the  Society,  still  animate  your  actions. 

Remember  that  this  is  the  Society  of  no! 


clique,  or  party,  or  section,  or  city,  but  of 
the  great  Commonwealth  of  Virginia. 

Banish  your  apathy  aiid  indifference,  and 
come,  with  generous  aspirations,  to  the  cor- 
dial support  of  those  who  will  continue  to 
devote  with  energy  and  zeal,  their  time  and 
talents  to  your  service. 

Thus  sustained,  the  Virginia  State  Agri- 
cultural Society  will  continue  to  advance  in 
its  career  of  usefulness,  and  will  dispense 
its  blessings  to  our  children's  children,  and 
remain  to  our  latest  posterity,  a  monument 
of  the  wisdom  and  munificence  of"  its 
founders. 


PREMIUMS  AWARDED 

AT    THE 

SEVENTH  ANNUAL  EXHIBITION  . 

OF    THE 

Virginia  State  Agricultural  Society, 

HELD  AT  PETERSBURG, 

ON    THE 

1st,  2nd,  3rd  and  4th  November.  1859. 

Experiments,  Brancu  I.  and 
^yRlTTEN  Communications,  Branch  II. 
By  the  rules  of  the  society,  have  been  refer- 
red to  the  Executive  Conunittee,  to  he  reported 
on  at  their  quarterly  meeting  in  January. 

Branch  III.     Class  1st. 
Thoroughbred  Morses. 

73.  To  J.  M.  Garland,  for  the  best 
Stallion,  "  Deucalion,"  .$50  00 

74.  To  Tnoinas  D.  "Walton,  for  the  2d 

best,  "Mohican,"  25  00 

76.  R.  R.  Beazlev,  for  the  best  Brood 
Mare,  '  25  00 

77.  Wm.  C.  Scott,  for  the  second  best, 

"  Pauline,"  12  50 

78.  R.  R.  Beazley,  for  the  third  best, 
"Lady  Merrilt,"  Certificate  of  Merit. 

83. 'John  Eubank,  for  the  best  filly, 
2  years  old,  "  Ellen  Perry," 

84.  John  Eubank,  for  the  best  filly, 
1  year  old, 

85.  To  R.  R.  Beazley,  for  best  Foal 
droped  since  1st  January,  1859, 

Branch  III.     Class  2nd. 

Horses  of  General    JJtilitij,  or  for   Useful  and 
Ornamental  purposes  combined. 

80.  To  J.  A.  Dyer,  for  best  Stallion, 
"Washington  Bay,"  $50  00 

87.  To  T.  F.  Epes,  for  2nd  best  Stal- 
lion, "  Mark,"  25  00 


10  00 
7  50 
5  00 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


49 


89.  To  John    Dyer,    for   best   Brood 
Mare,  "  Sallv,"  25  00 

90.  To  L.  G.  Simonsnn,  for  2nd  best 
Brood  Mare.  "Gold-pin,"  12  50 

91.  To  Wm.  C.  Archer,  for  3rd  l^est 
Brood  Mare,  "Molly,"  Certificate  of  Merit. 

92.  To  Wm.  B.  Irbv,  for  best  3  year 

old  colt,  "  Floyd,"      "^  15  00 

93.  To  John  W.  Dver,  for  best  2  year 

old  colt,  "  Yellow  Jacket,"  10  00 

94.  To  H.  M.  Fowlkes,  for  liest  1  year 

old  colt,  "Hampton,"  7  50 

95.  To  John  Eubank,  for  best  3  year 

old  filly,  "  Ellen  Carter,"  15  00 

96.  To  Kobert  Berrv,  for  best  2  year 

old  filly,  "  Nina,"       "  "         10  00 

97.  To  D.  Dyson,  for  best  1  year  old 

filly,  <'  Fanny  Fly,"  7  50 

98.  To  John  R.  Woods,  for  best  Foal 
dropt  in  1859.  5  00 

99.  To  G,  W.  Mowry,  for  best  pair 
Matched  Horses,  25  00 

100.  To   Abraham  Johnson,  for  2nd 

best  pair  Matched  Horses,  10  00 

101.  To  D'Arcy  W.  Paul,  for  best  sin- 
gle harness  horse,  "  Black  Bill,"  15  00 

102.  To  J.  T.  Stover,  for  second  best 
single  harness  horse,  "  Champion,"         10  00 


Branch  III.     Class  3rd. 
Quick  Br au gilt  Horses. 

103.  To  H.  J.  Smith,  for  best  stallion 
"Kossuth,"  certifioate  of  continued  su- 
jperiority,  having  taken  the  first  Premi- 
um at  four  difierent  Exhibitions. 

104.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  second  best 
"Black  Hawk,"  $25  00 

105.  Wm.  Watts,  for  third  best,  "De- 
fiance," Certificate  of  Merit. 

106.  To  J.  R.  Allen,  for  best  Brood 
Mare,  "  Lady  Clifford,"  25  00 

107.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  second  best 
"Dun  Mare,"  12  50 

109.  To  John  Rowlett,  for  best  3  year 
old  colt,  "  Upright,"  15  00 

110  To Howlett,  for  best  2  year 

old  colt,  "  Jack  Clifton,"  10  00 

111.  To  E.  T.  Dillard,  for  best  lyear 

old  colt,  "  Sigourney,"  7  50 

112.  To  John  R.  Woods*  for  best  3 

year  old  filly,  15  00 

113.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin.  for  best  2  year 

old  filly,  "  Lady  of  the  Lake,"  10  00 

115,  To  Virgiuius  Archer,   for  best 

Foal  dropped  in  1859,  5  00 

116.  To  D.  T.  Harvey,  for  best  pair 
Matched  Horses,  25  00 

118.  To  J.  H.  Norton,  for  best  single 
harness  Mare,  "  Nannie  Bell,"  15  00 

119.  To  T.  Tench,  for  second  best, 

"  Lady  Suffolk,"  10  00 


Branch  III.     Class  5Tn. 
Hcavij  Drmiglit  Horses. 

120.  To  R.  W.  N.  Noland,  for  best 
Stallion,  "  Welbourne,"  $50  Ou 

121.  To  .J.  A.  Weston,  for  second  best 
Stallion,  "  Norman  Messenger," 

122.  To  G.  S.  Ayre,  for  best  Brood 
Mare,  "  Betty," 

124.  To  Wm.  B.  Irby,  for  second  best, 
"  Sally  Eubank," 

128.  To  T.  E.  Dillard,  for  best  1  year 
old  colt, 

129.  To  Charles  L.  Peyton,  for  best 
3  year  old  filly,  "  Georgeanna," 

131.  Thomas  Perkinson,  for  best  one 
year  old  filly,  "Rose," 

132.  To  G.  S.  Ayre,  for  best  Foal 
dropped  1859, 

133.  To  J.  Carrington,  for  best  pair 
Horses, 

Branch  III.     Class  Sth. 
Saddle  Horses. 

135.  To  B.  W.  L.  Blanton,  for  best 
Stallion,  "  Young  Red  Eye,"  50  00 

138.  To  Thos.  E.  Friend,  for  best 
Brood  Mare  "  Lady,"  25  00 

143.  To  Henry  F.  Davis,  for  best  one 

year  old  colt,  "  Thom  Telegraph,"  7  50 

144.  To  Henry  F.  Davis,  for  best  3 

year  old  filly,  "  Annettee  Thorn,"  15  00 

148.  To  B.  W.  L.  Blanton,  for  best 
saddle  hose,  "  Grey  Sanford,"  20  00 

149.  To  D.  Newton  Van  Lear  for  2nd 

best,  "Billy,"  10  00 

150.  To  xVlbert  A.iken,  for  best  Poney, 

"  Grey  Bill,"  5  00 


25  00 

25  00 

12  50 

7  50 

15  00 

# 

7  50 

5  00 

20  m 

Branch  III.     Class  Oth. 
Mules  and  Jacks, 

151.  To  R.  A.  Young,  (agent  for  Pur- 
ser Johnson,)  for  the  best  Jack  "  Mal- 
tese," 50  00 

152.  To  T.  E.  Dillard,  for  second  best, 

"  Red  Eye,"  25'  90 

153.  To  Wm.  H.  Griffith,  for  best 
Jennet,  "Mary,"  25  00 

154.  To  Sharpe  Carter,  second  best,     10  00 

155.  To  C.B.  Turner,  for  best  pair  of 
Mules  owned  and  worked  one  year  by 
exhibitor,  15  00 

156.  C.  B.  Turner,  for  best  team  of  4 
Mules  owned  and  worked  1  year  by  ex- 
hibitor, *  25- 00 


Branch  III.     Class  1st.. 
BurJiam  Cattle. 

161.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  for  best  bull; 
over  3  years  old,  "  Highlander,"  $50  00 


50 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[January 


162.  To  A.  M.  Young,  for  second  best, 
"Gambler,"  §25  00 

163.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  third  best, 

Certificate  of  Merit. 

164.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  best  cow, 
"Victoria  2d,"  50  00 

105.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  second  best, 
"Hawthorn,"  25  00 

166.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  third  best, 

"  Clarissa  Brown,"         Certificate  of  Merit. 

167.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  best  bull,  be- 
tween 2  and  3  years  old,  "Valentine,"     40  00 

170.  To  A.  M.  Young,  for  best  bull, 
b.etween  1  and  2  years  old,  "Judge 
Douglas,"  25  00 

*71.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  for  2nd  best, 
"VanThromp,"  12  50 

1''2.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  for  best  heifer, 
between  2  and  3  years  old,  "Marion 
Ilarland,"  25  00 

173.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  for  2nd  best, 
"Alverda,"  _         12  50 

174.  To  D.  B.  Sanders,  for  best  heifer, 
between  1  and  2  years  old,  "  Molly 
May,"  25  00 

175.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  second  best, 
"Red  Rose,"  12  50 

Branch  III.     Class  2nd. 
*  Devon  Cattle. 

177.  To  S.  T.  C.  Brown,  for  best  bull, 

3  years  old  and  upwards,  "Defiance,"    $50  00 

178.  To  H.  J.  Strandberg,  for  second 

best,  "Richmond,"  25  00 

180.  To  11.  J.  Strandberg,  for  best  cow, 

3  years  old  and  upwards,  "  Matilda,"  50  00 
"182.  To  S.  T.  C.  Brown,  for  3rd  best, 

"  Cherry,"  Certificate  of  Merit. 

183.  To  II.  F.  Davis,  for  best  bull, 
between  2  and  3  years  old,  "Billy,"        40  00 

184.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  2nd  best, 
"Ilenrv  Clay,"  20  00 

186.  To  H.  F.  Davis,  for  best  bull, 
between  1  and  2  years  old,  "  Thorn,"       25  00 

187.  To  II.  J.  Strandberg,  for  second 

best,  "Enterprise,"  12  50 

188.  To  S.  T.  C.  Brown,  for  best  heifer, 
between  2  and  3  years  old,  "  Blossom,"  25  00 

189.  To  Dr.  T.  J.  Wooldridge,  for  2d 

best,  "Rena,"  12  50 

190.  To  S.  T.  C.  Brown,  for  best  heifer, 
between  1  and  2  years  old,  "  Mole,"        25  00 

191.  To  H.  F.  Davis,  for  second  best, 
"Nelly,"  12  50 

192.  To  J.  M.  Venable,  for  best 

calf,  under  1  year  old,  "  Pinkey,"  10  00 

1,^0.}.  To  F.  J.  Carson,  for  best  im- 
ported cow,  3  years  old  and  upward, 
"Penelope,"  50  00 

188 J.  To  F.  J.  Carson,  for  best  im- 
ported" heifer,  between  2  and  3  years 
old,  "  Lady,"  ■"  25  00 


Branch   III,     Class  3rd. 
Ayrshire  and  Alderney  Cattle. 

193.  To  J.  B.  Crensliaw,  for  best  Ayr- 
shire bull,  3  years  old  and  upwards, 
"Lord  Mar,"  S40  00 

i04.  To  David  Dunlop,  for  2nd  best, 
"Little  Jack,"  20  00 

196.  To  Peyton  Johnston,  for  best  Al- 
derney cow,  3  years  old  and  upwards,      40  00 

197.  To  A.  Tnrpin,  for  second  best, 
"Mocking-Bird,"  20  00 

204.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  best  Alder- 
nev  bull,  between  1  and  2  years  old, 
"  Martin,"  20  00 

196J.  To  A.  Turpin,  for  best  Ayr- 
shire cow,  three  years  old  and  upwards, 
"  May  Queen,"  40  00 

19G|.  To  A.  Turpin,  for  best  import- 
ed Alderney,  3  j^ears  old  and  upwards, 
"  Ladyship/'  40  00 

Branch  III.     Class  4th. 
Grade  Cattle. 

209.  To  Paschal  Buford,  for  best  cow, 

3  years  old  and  upwards,  $40  00 

210.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  second 

best,  20  00 

211.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  third  best, 

Certificate  of  Merit. 

212.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  best  heifer, 
between  2  and  3  vears  old,  12  00 

213.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  2nd  best,       8  00 

215.  To  Jas.  Walker,  for  best  heifer, 
between  1  and  2  years  old,  12  00 

216.  To  Reuben  Andrews,  for  second 

best.  8  00 

217.  Ti)  Paschal  Buford,  for  best  heifer 
calf,  under  1  year  old,  *  5  00 

Branch  III.     Class  5th. 
Dairy  Cows. 

218.  To  S.  T.  C.  Brown,  for  best  cow 

for  dairy,  "Delight,"  40  00 

219.  To  Crouse  &  Irvine,  second  best, 

"  Star,"  20  00 

Branch  III.     Class  6th. 
Working  Oxen. 

220.  To  Grouse   &  Irvine,  for  best, 

over  4  years  old,  $30  00 

I      221.  'To  James  Walker,  for  2nd  best     15  00 

222.  To  II.  F.  Davis,  for  best,  under 
4  years  old,  30  00 

I  — 

Branch  III.     Class  7th. 

Fat  Cattle. 

224-  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  best  pair 
aged  steers,  $50  00 


18C0.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


51 


226.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  best  pair 
under  4  years  old,  ?50  00 

227.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  second 

best,  30  00 

228.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  best  pair 

cows  or  heifers,  50  00 

229.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  second 

best,  30  00 

230.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  best  fat 

cow,  over  4  years  old,  25  00 

231.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  second 

best,  15  00 

232.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  best  fat 
heifer,  25  00 

233.  To  Grouse  &  Irvine,  for  second 

best,  15  00 

234.  To  Jas.  Walker,  for  best  single 

fut  steer,  25  00 

Branch  III.     Glass  8th. 
Fat  Sheep  and  Swine. 

236.  To  Wm.  C.  Rives,  for  the  best 

pen  fat  sheep,  f(»ur  or  more,  §10  00 

237.  To  M.  P.  Bell,  for  the  best  pen 

of  fat  hogs,  seven  in  number,  10  00 


Branch  III.     Glass  1st,  &c. 
Fi'jie-  Wool  Sheep — Merino. 

239.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  fur  best  native 

ram,  $20  00 

240.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  2d  best,      10  00 

241.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  3d  best, 

Gektificate  of  Merit. 

242.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  f  r  best  pen 
native  ewes,  tliree  in  number,  20  00 

243.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  2d  best,     10  00 

245.  To  S.  S.  Bradforc^,  for  best  pen 

ewe  lambs,  four  in  number,  10  00 

246.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  fjr  best  pen 

ram  lambs,  four  in  number,  10  00 

247.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  best  pen 
grade  ewes,  tiiree  in  number,  20  00 

248.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  2d  best,      10  00 
250.  To  S.  y.  Bradford,  for  best  pen 

ewe  Iambs,  four  in  numlier,  10  00 

288.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  best  im- 
ported ram.  20  00 

289.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  2d  best,      10  00 

290.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  best  im- 
ported ewe,  20  00 

291.  To  S.  S.  Bradford,  for  2d  best,     10  00 


Branch  III.     Class  3rd,  itc. 
Middle-  Wool  Sheep — Souih-Doicn. 

252.  To  Thos.  L.  Parish,  for  the  best 
South-Down  ram,  S20  00 

253.  To  Richard  Irby,  for  2d  best,       10  00 


Fifth  Glass. 

Gxfo7xl- Downs. 

264.  To  Wra.G.  Rives,  for  best  ram,  $20  00 

265.  To  Wm.  G.  Rives,  for  2d  best,  10  00 
207.  To  Wm.  G.  Rives,  for  best  pen 

of  ewes,  three  in  number,  20  00 

268.  To  Wm.  G..  Rives,  for  2d  best,  10  00 
271.  To  Wm.  G.  Rives,  for  best  pen 

ram  lambs,  10  00 

Sixth  Glass,  &c. 
Oxford-Down  Grades. 

275.  To  Wm.  G.  Rives,  for  best  pen 

ewe  lambs,  $10  00 

296.  To  Wm.  G.  Rives,  for  best  im- 
ported Oxford  Down  ram,  20  00 

297.  To  Wm.  G.  Rives,  for  2d  best,      10  00 

298.  To  Wm.  G.  Rives,  for  the  best 
imported  ewe,  20  00 

299.  To  Wm.  C.  Rives,  for  2d  best,      10  00 

Branch  III.     Glass  7th. 
Long- Wool  Sheep. 

276,  To  Thomas  G.  Baylor,  for  best 
Gotswold  ram,  S20  00 

279.  To  Dr.  John  R.  Woods,  for  best 
pen  of  Gotswold  ewes,  20  00 

283.  To  Dr.  John  R.  Woods,  for  best 

pen  ewe  iambs,  10  00 

Class  8th. 

284.  To  Thomas  G.  Baylor,  for  best 

pen  grade  ewes,  20  00 

287.  To  Thos.  G.  Baylor,  for  best  pen 
ewe  lambs,  10  00 

Branch  III.     Class  1st. 
Swine — Large  Breed. 

310.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  best  boar 

over  two  years  old,  "John,"  $20  00 

311.  To  Peyton  Johnston,  for  second 

best,  "Sir  John,"  10  00 

312.  To  Peyton  Johnston,  for  best 
boar,  one  year  old,  "Pevton,"  15  00 

313.  To"S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  2nd  best,      8  00 

314.  To  Peyton  Johnston,  for  best 
breeding  sow,  two  years  old,  "  Mrs. 
Ginte,"  20  00 

315.  To  R.  M.  Poole,  for  second  best, 
"Mary,"  10  00 

316.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  best  sow 
under  18  months  old,  15  00 

317.  W.  H.  Griffith,  for  second  best,      8  00 

318.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  best  lot  of 

pigs  under  five  months  old,  10  00 

319.  To  Wm.  H.  Griffith,  for  2d  best,     5  00 


52.- 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[January 


Branch  IJI.     Cl-vss  2d. 
Swine-^-rSmaU  Bre,ed. 

3-21.  To  Peyton  Johnstoui,  for  secbn<i 

best  boar,  two  years  old.  "Duke,"  ■•      ^$10  00 

322.  To  Dr.  J.  E.  Williams,  for  best  .;  .: 

boar,  one  year  old,  "Rhinebeck,"   ■■   '  .  15  00 

323.:  To  Dr.  .J.  E.  Williams,  for  •  2nd    .  - 
best,  "Jack  Turpin/'.                             T  .8700 

324.  To  Peyton  .Johnston,  for  best  sow,; 

two  years  old,  "Princess/'  20  00 

325.  To  Peyton  Johnston,  fgr  second 

best,  "Dutchess,"      '  ''  '    "  10  00 

326.  To  R.  M.  Poole,  for  best  sow 
under  18  months  old,  ..-      p  15-QO 

327..  To  G.  JI.  T.  Bass,  for  Snd  best;    '    ' " 
Chester  and  Suffolk,  .  . .  '  /  V    8.  QO 

328.  To  Daniel  DySon,  for  best Jpt  of,  ; 
pigs,  ten  weeks  ojd,,  '  :■  It)  00 

329.  To  James"  F.Deyiin,  fprje^ond 
bes);,,«Jght  weeks  old,      •    -"  •  -  •••'  J[^^  ■ 


.5  00 


Additional  Premiums  on  Premium  Animals. 


332.  To  S.^W.  Ficklin,  for  the  best 
stallion  of  anv  breed  on .  exhibition, 
"Black  Hawk,""- 

333.  To  T.W,  Dver^for  best  Krood 
mare,  "Sally," 

334.  To  Thomas  G.' Baylor,  for  the 
best  ram,  - 

335.  To  Samuel  S.  Bradford;  for  the 

336.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,  for  the  best 
boar, 

337.  To  S.  W.  Ficklin,'  for  the  best 
breeding  sow,             '    :  ■■  > 

The  Committee  having  heard  that'obrf 
jeetions  were  raised  to  their  acting  aS; 
judges  on  Cattle,  declined. acting  in  re- 
lation to  them,  and  hence  .there  is.no 
award.  The  contest  was  very  close  be- 
tween "Black  Hawk"  and  Mr.  Noland's 
horse  "Melbourne."  Such  members  of 
the  Committee  as  were  interested  in 
animals  submitted  for  tbe_  premiums, 
withdrew  when  th€se  animal^ -werQ 
under  examination.  '\i?;;-il.  -il^ 


\ 


Brajjjch;  JIJ 


Cl.A^'-l3T^- 


•H 


./r  .lie 


t-:v/! 


351.  To  R.  W.  Flowers,  for  the  best 
Black  Syanish,  $2  00 

353.  To  Archer  Martin,  for  the  best 
Wild  Indian  Game,  2  00 

354.  To  H.  Bissett,  for  best  Sumatra 
Game,  2  00 

356.  To  Mrs.  J.  E.  Williams,  for  best 
Bolton  Greys,  2  00 

357-  To  W.  Hurt,  for  best  Seabright 
Bantams,  2  00 

358.  To  Waverly  Rowlett,  for  best 
Java  Bantams,  2  00 

360.  To  Waverly  Rowlett,  for  best 
Jersey  Blue,  2  00 


Class  2nd. 
Turl;eys. 
361.  To  W.  Archer,  for  best  pair  of 


$2  00 


343.  To  Waverley  Rowlett,  for  best    .•     i' 
Black  Poland,   i—  =1  .•!■    'i  .IL  M  -TS2:(«) 

344.  To   Waverly  Rowlett,  for  best,,;! 
White  Poland,    ^    '   i  .-V.:,.::-t  .7/  j-   ^T  5100 

347.  To   Waverly   Rowlett^  *)r -  best  1  ;  7 
Spangled.  Hamburg,-  :  '       ''  'i^-    :I  ■"•'/   .2^00 

348.  To  Archer  Martin,  for  tine  best 
Whiteor  Red  Game,  '    2 -00 

350.  To  Archer  Martin,  for  :best  TirV  /  . 
ginia  Game,  2  00 


common. 

Class  3rd, 

Geese.        , 

364,  To  J.  T.  Devlin,  for  best  pair  of 
common.  §2  00 

366.  To  A.  Turpin,  for  best  pair  of 
China,  2  00 

367.  To  ^"-.  Turpin,  for  best  pair  of 
Bremen,  2  00 

368.  To  A.  Turpin,  for  best  pair  of 
Poland,  _  2  00 

369.  To  A.  Turpin,  for  best  pair  of 
African  Swan,  2  00 

—  f 

Class  4Tn. 
JDiicks. 

370.  To   Waverly   Rowlett,  for  best 
Poland,  "  $2  00 

373.  To  W.  Flowers,  for  best  common,  2  00 

Class  5th. 
Variety. 

375.  To  A.  Turpin,  for  greatest  va- 
riety of  poultry  by  one  exhibitor,  $10  00 

BRANCH  IV. 

!  agricultural  implements. 

Class  1st. 
Ploughs,  Cultivators,  &c. 

376.  To  George  Watt  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  3  or  4  horse  plough,  SIO  00 

377.  To  Williams,  Collins  &  Co.,  for 

the  best  2  horse  plough,  8  00 

378.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  single  plough,  5  CO 

379.  To  P.  H.  Starke,  for  the  best 
shovel  plough,  5  00 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHER#  i>L-rNr^^l 


53 


380.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  sub-soil  plough,  $5  00 

381.  To  George  Watt  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  ne-\v-ground  or  coalter  plough,  5  00 

382.  To  P.  II.  Starke,  for  the  best 
hill-side  plough,  5  00 

383.  To  P.  H.  Starke,  for  the  best 
cultivator  for  corn,  5  00 

384.  To  P.  H.  Starke,  for  the  best 
cultivator  for  tobacco,  5  00 

385.  To  P.  II.  Starke,  for  the  best 
cultivator  for  two  horses,  5  00 

386.  To  P.  II.  Starke,  for  the  best 
wooden  frame  harrow,  6  00 

387.  To  E.  AVhitman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  iron-frame  harrow,  6  00 

388.  To  Uriah  Wells,  for  the  best 
drain   and   furrow  plough   for  opening 

and  cleaning  out  water  furrows,  10  00 

Class  2nd. 
DriUs,  Broadcasters,  d~c. 

389.  To Cahoon's  Patent,  for  the 

best  broadcasting  or  drilling  machiBe 

for  sowing  grain  or  grass  seed,  .  20  00 

390.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  wheat  drill,  20  00 

391.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 
best  broadcasting  machine  for  sowing 
guano,  20  00 

392.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  lime  spreader,  20  00 

■     393.    To  A.    P.  Routt,   for  the  best 

corn  planter,  10  00 

395.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 
best  attachment  to  drill  for  drilling 
guano,  15  00 

Class  3rd. 

Wagons,  Carts,  Harness,  c&c. 

397.  To  J.  Van-Pelt,  for  the  best 
wagon  for  farm  use,  ,  10  00 

404.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  ox  yoke,  2  50 

Class  4Tn. 
Rollers,  Clod  Crushers,  and  Farm  Gate. 

405.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  smooth  roller,  10  00 

407.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 
best  clod  crusher,  10  00 

Class  Sth. 
Horse  Powers,  Threshers,  Separators,  (be. 

409.  To  J.  W.  Cardwell  &  Co.,  for 
the  best  sw^eep  horse  power,  Petton's 
Patent,  25  00 

410.  To  J.  W.  Cardwell  &  Co.,  for 
the  second  best  sweep  horse  power, 
Double-Geared,  10  00 


IP. 0.0 

5  00 

10  00 

5  00 

10  00 


411.  To  J.  W.  Cardwell  &  Co.,  for 
the  best  threshing  machine,  Staple- 
To  (ft,h,  $20  00 

412.  To  J.   W.  Cardwell  &  Co.,  for     . 
the  best  machine  for   threshing,  cleans-   ;,ii  . 
ill g  and  separating  wheat  at  one  opei'a-    ::."!;; 
tion,  Guiser's  Patent,  30  00 

413.  To  M.  S.  Kahle,  for  the  best 
machine  for  gathering  clover  seed,  20  00 

Class  6tii. 
Straw    andf    Moot .    Cuttp's,     Com  ^.Shellcrs, 

4i5.^^(j 'ii:  St;  cuii^ '.^'-(jk^,'' for  the'  ';^;.., ^ 

best  h!>y  or,  8tra,w    cutter    for   horse    ■ ;  ' 
power, 

416.  To  E.'E:  Piatt,  for  the  best  hay 
or  straw  cutter  for  Ivand  power, 

418.  To  E.  Whitman  &.Co.,  for  the 
best  corn  shellerfor  hhvse  pt)Wer, 

419.  ToE.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 
best  corn  sheller  for  hand  power, 

422.  To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the 
best  corn  and  cob  crusher, 

Mr.  G.  B.  Griffin  exhibited  a  hay  and  straw 
cutter,  for  hand  power;  very, little  inferior  to 
Mr.  E.  E.  Piatt's,  to  which  the  premium  w,as 
awa,rded;  '  '■■■'-'■-  ^-'^  ■-'■■■'  ■   -■  ■■  •  •- 

.llefirwnrifiM    -i -rfr.-.i  ;:•;■//   :"i     .T^r 
■■■■■";  '  '  V G'i'Ais  Its.'  '    "■ "'  ',,':  -''''■'■ 

Fan  Mill,  Hay  Press,  DitcJiinff  Machine,  dac^ 

425.  To  J.  Montgomerj  &  Brother,  ■. 
for  the  best  fanning  mill, 

CfiRTIFICATE  OF  Co^'TI^•UED  SuFERIORITY. 

^  42^.  To  E.  Whitman  t  Co.,  'for  tlie' 
best  hav  press,  -  $15  00 

430.*ToE.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  the      ... 
best  steel  spade  fork,  2"'00- 

.4^1.  To  E.  Whitman   &•  Co.,' for  the     .^. 
best  horse  rake  for  haj^  .  '-.5"iJ0 

.432.  To  H.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for  _t||(e' ';::,:;  .. 
best  gleaner,.,  ...,..„at  -  :,  si    „  iV"!'.;'' /d'i)b 

■0    t  .    .^vnr\rt,i  htih!)   lOiiHOfl  5kO<( 

"434.  To  E.  Whitman  &''Co.;'for''the  ''''"'"' 
most  extensive  and  rahiable  collection 
of  useful  inai:hinejs  andjmplcments  ex- 
liibited  and  made  at  any  one  fiictoyy, 
whether  including  subjects  for  other 
premiums  or  not,  a  .premium  of  , . 

fiin  I'.Pi  ^^  MisceUansous.     ^; 

'437.  To  A.  E.  Huff,  for  Kahle's  .„.  - 
Patent,  for  the  best  scoop  or  scraper,  '     10'  00 

449.- To  E.  Whitman  &  Co.,  for-  the 
best  churn,  ;      ;  4  00 


25  00 


.'M^ 


54 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[January 


Class  llxn. 
Ploughing  Match. 

446.  ToWm.  Shepperson,  with  Watt's 
Virginia  Plough,  for  the  best  plough- 
man with  horses,  §10  00 

447.  To  J.  B.  Jones'  colored  man, 
Jo.  do.,  for  the  second  best  ploughman 

with  horses,  5  00 


Class  13th. 
Reaping  and  Mowing  Machines. 

453.  To  C.  Aultraan&  Co.,  for  the  best 
reaping  machine,  Buck  Eye,  25  00 

454.  To  C.  Aultman  &  Co.,  for  the 

best  mowing  machine,  Buck  Eye,  20  00 

BRANCH  \. 

orchard  and  garden  prodxjcts. 

Class  1st. 

Fruits  and  Fruit  Trees. 

456.  To  Westbrook  &  Mendenhall, 
for  the  best  and  largest  variety  of  ap- 
ples suitable  for  Southern  raising,  each 
labeled, 

457.  To  Westbrook  &,  Mendenhall, 
for  the  best  and  largest  variety  of  pears, 

459.  To  F.  Davis,  for  the"  best  and 
largest  collectiot:^  of  apple  trees,  suita- 
ble for  Southern  raising, 

4G0.  To  Jos.  Siuton  k  Sons,  for  the 
best  pear  trees, 

461.  To  .James  Tia,  for  the  best  peach 
trees, 

462.  To  Joseph  Sinton  &,  Sons,  for 
the  best  fig  trees, 

463.  To  James  Via,  for  the  best  grape 
vines, 

465.  To  F.  Davis,  for  the  best  rasp- 
berry plants, 

466.  To  Mrs.  Henry  .Jarratt,  for  the 
best  bushel  dried  apples, 

467.  To  Mrs.  Henry  Jarratt,  for  the 
bushel  dried  peaches. 

Class  2xd. 
Floicers. 

469.  To  Mrs.  .James  Ayres,  for  the 
largest  and  choicest  collection  of  plants,  10  00 

470.  To  Miss  Xancy  Glover,  for  the 
second  best.  5  00 

473.  To  Mrs.  James  Donnan,  for  the 
greatest  variety  of  roses,  5  00 

475.  To  Mrs.  James  Ayres,  for  the 
best  and  largest  c'jllcction  of  chrysan- 
themums, 3  00 

476.  To  Mrs.  J.  B.  Varnuni,  for  the 


10  00 

8  00 

10  00 

10  00 

10  00 

5  00 

5  00 

3  00 

3  00 

3  00 

best  floral  ornament,  $5  00 

477.  To  Mrs.  James  Ayres,  for  the 

best  hand  bouquet,  not  more  than  eight 

inches  in  circumference,  2  00 

479.  To  F.   Davis,  for  the  best  and 

largest  collection  of  evergreens,  5  00 

REPORT    OF    THE   C0:J2J1TTEE. 

The  Committee,  to  whom  has  been  referred 
the  duty  of  awarding  the  Premiums  in  the 
Floral  Department,  beg  leave  respectfully  to 
report,  that  they  have  discharged  the  duty  as- 
signed to  them,  and  that  they  concur  iu  the 
forci^oing  awards. 

The  Committee  feel  that  they  should  do 
themselves  injustice,  if  they  failed  to  express 
their  regret  at  finding  so  few  competitors  in 
this  department  of  the  Exhibition. 

In  the  various  branches  of  Agriculture,  in 
the  mechanic  arts,  and  in  the  multiform  oper- 
ations of  good  housewifery,  and  skillful  handi- 
craft with  the  loom,  the  needle,  or  the  pencil, 
it  is  gratifying  to  witness  the  ample  proofs  of 
improvement  from  year  to  year.  But  where 
are  the  beautiful  and  fragrant  flowers,  so  elo- 
quent of  truth,  goodness  and  love?  Where 
are  th«  tropical  fruits,  so  enchanting  to  the 
eye,  so  inviting  to  the  taste  and  so  suggestive 
of  the  primeval  Paradise?  Where  are  the 
evergreens,  reminding  us  of  immortality  and 
glory,  and  freshening  even  the  desolateness  of 
the  tomb  with  the  amaranthine  hues  of 
heaven  ? 

Excepting  sunshine,  rain  and  air,  there  is 
scarce  any  object  in  nature  which  God  has 
diffused  with  a  more  affluent  bounty  than 
flowers.  Not  only  in  the  meadow,  by  the 
brooklet,  and  on  the  lawn — but  buried  in  the 
depths  of  the  ocean-like  forests,  far  down  in 
the  obscure  dell,  and  on  Alpine  heights,  where 
they  wage  an  unequal  war  with  eternal  snows 
and  ice — they  show  their  smiling  f;^ces  and 
pour  out  their  charming  fragrance. 

This  seeming  prodigality  in  the  abundance 
and  dissemination  of  these  ''silent  dwellers 
on  the  earth,  "  has  been  beautifully  recognized 
in  the  oft-quoted  couplet, 

''Full  man}-  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  sweeineis  on  ilie  desert  nir." 

But  is  it  waste?  Is  not  the  thought,  even, 
presumption?  Who  will  darf  to  say  that 
those  unnumbered  flowers,  which  have  never 
been  greeted  by  human  eye,  do  not  pour  life 
and  health  into  the  atmosphere  which  we 
breathe.  Besides,  it  is  more  than  mere  poetry 
that, 

'■i^Iillions  of  spiriiual  beings  ^valk  vhe  eavili 
Unseen  bocli  when  we  wake  and  when  we  sleep." 

And  who  will  venture  to  say  that  they,  with 
their  etherialized  intellects,  and  their  loftier 
and  purer  sentiments  than  belong  to  earth,  do 
not  a  thousand  times  more  enjoy  these  floral 
charms,  than  do  any  of  the  sin-stained  mem- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER. 


55 


bers  of  oar  race?  It  were  as  wise  to  say,  thot 
the  atmosphere  which  floats,  untoucJied  by 
liviniT  creature,  a  dozen  miles  above  our  heads, 
is  waste  :  that  the  stars,  which  show  only  as 
diamond-points  in  the  sky — and  especially, 
those  countless  myriads  of  them  which  neither 
the  eye,  nor  the  telescope,  has  ever  yet 
brought  to  view — is  waste.  Hush  !  presump- 
tuous man  !  "  Canst  thou  bv  searching,  find 
out  God?" 

Flowers  are  one  of  the  misjhtiest  educa- 
catioual  forces  which  God  has  brouiiht  into 
beinj;.  The  cultivation  of  them  improves  the 
intellect,  refines  the  sensibilities,  purities  the 
heart,  and  softens  and  beautifies  the  Avhole 
character.  The  lady  whose  fingers  daily  train 
the  tender  vine,  and  whose  eye  watches  the 
opening  petals,  gives  clear  proof  of  gentle- 
ness, delicacv'  and  refinement.  And  the  gen- 
tleman who  luxuriates  in  flowers,  twirls  them 
in  his  fingers,  and  wears  them  in  his  button- 
hole, cannot  be  lost  in  sordid  selfishness,  sensu- 
ality and  vice: — and  such  an  one — to  the 
gentler  sex  we  hint  it — may  be  relied  upon  in 
most  c4|es,  as  having  left  some  avenue,  or 
postern  gate,  leading  to  the  heart,  unguarded, 
where  successful  assault  may  be  made. 

Silent  and  often  unobserved  as  is  this  power 
for  good,  it  nevertheless  takes  hold,  and  with 
an  all-pervading  grasp,  of  our  earliest  years. 
Howitt  has  beautifully  revealed  our  thoughts 
on  this  interesting  theme  as  fdlows: 

"With  what  eagerness  do  very  infants  grasp 
at  flowers!  As  they  become  older  they  would 
live  forever  among  them.  They  bound  about 
in  the  flowery  meadows  like  young  fawns;  they 
gather  all  they  come  near;  thev"  collect  heaps; 
they  sit  among  them  and  sort  them,  and  sing 
over  them,  and  caress  them,  till  they  perish 
in  their  grasp.  We  see  them  coming  wearily 
into  the  towns  and  villages,  loaded  with 
posies  half  as  large  as  themselves.  We  trace 
them  in  shady  lanes,  in  the  grass  of  far  off 
fields,  by  the  treasures  they  have  gathered  and 
have  left  behind,  lured  on  by  others  still 
brighter. 

'•As  they  grow  up  to  mature  years,  they 
assume,  in  their  eyes,  new  characters  and 
beauties.  Then  they  are  strewn  around  them, 
the  poetry  of  the  earth.  They  become  in- 
vested, by  a  multitude  of  associations,  with  in- 
numerable spells  of  power  over  the  human 
heart ;  they  are,  to  us,  memorials  of  the  joys, 
sorrows,  hopes,  and  triumphs  of  our  fore- 
fathers; they  are,  to  all  nations,  the  emblems 
of  youth  in  its  loveliness  and  purity." 

In  conclusion,  therefore,  we  beg  leave  ear- 
'  nestly  to  recommend  to  our  entire  community, 
and  especially  tatbe  mothers  and  DArcnTERs, 
.  a  greatly  increased  attention  to  the  cultivation 
of  flowers — not  only  as  a  source  of  rational 
entertainment  and  pleasure,  but  as  a  powerful 
means  for  good,  in  training  the  young  to  intelli- 
gence, purity,  refined  sensibility  and  virtue, 
and  in  perpetuating  to  mature  years,  with  the 


freshness  and  greenness  of  youth,  the  same 
excellent  qualities. 

Respectfully   submitted,    in   behalf   of   the 
Committee, 

A.  J.  Leavenworth,   Chairman. 


Class  3rd. 
Vegetables. 

481.  To  W.  B.  Bagley,  f.r  the  largest 

and  best  assortment  of  table  vegetables,  10  00 

482.  To  A.  A.  Archer,  for  the  best 
dozen  long  blood  beets,  2  00 

483.  To  W.  Bowden,  for  the  best 
dozen  head  of  cabbage,  2  00 

486.  To  n.  J.  Smith,  for  the  best 
dozen  carrots,  2  00 

488.  To  W.  B.  Bagley,  for  the   best 

peck  of  onions,  2  00 

489.  To  H.  J.  Smith,  for  the  best 
dozen  parsnips,  2  00 

490.  To  W.  B.  Bagley  for  the  best 
bushel  Irish  potatoes,  2  00 

491.  To  L.  J.  Simonson,  for  the  best 
bushel  sweet  potatoes,  2  00 

BRANCH  YI. 

Butter,  Cheese,  Bacon,  Honerj,  dc. 

Class  1st. 

butter  and  cheese. 

492.  To  Mrs.  E.  Cummins,  for  the 
best  specimen  of  fresh  butter,  not  les-s 

than  ten  lbs.,  10  00 

493.  Mrs.  J.  C.  Burton,  for  the  sec- 
ond best  specimen  of  fresh  butter,   not 

less  than  five  pounds,  5  00 

Class  2nd. 
Honey,  Bee  Hives,  and  Bacon  Hams. 

497.  To  J.  R.  Banks  and  A.  S.  Mad- 
dos,  for  the  best  specimen  of  honey, 
not  less  than  ten  pounds,  5  00 

The  honey  to  be  taken  without  destroying 
the  bees — tha  kind  of  hives  used,  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  bees  to  be  stated  by  the 
exhibitor. 

499.  To  Mrs.   Samuel  Weisiger,  for 

the  best  ham,  cured  by  exhibitor,  §8  0(.' 

500.  To  Mrs.  James  Ayres,  for  the 
second  best,  4  00 

BRANCH  TIL 
Household  and  Domestic  Manufacture. 

norSEHOI.D    MANUFACTURES. 

Class  1st. 

501.  To  Mrs.  M.  H.  Turner,  for  the 

best  quilt,  5  00 


56 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[January 


502.  To  Mrs.  E.  M,  Wheary,  for  the 
second  best  quilt,  4  00 

503.  To  Mrs.  Harris  and  Mrs.  Jones, 

for  tile  best  counterpane,  5  00 

504.  To  Mrs.  James  Ivey,  for  the 
second  best  counterpane,  4  00 

505.  To  Mrs  Meredeth  and  Miss  Y. 
Young,  for  the  best  pair  home-made 
Uankets,  5  00 

506.  To  Mrs.  W.  B.  Westbrook,  for 

the  best  home-made  carpet,  5  00 

507.  Mrs.  M.  A.  Davis,  for  the  best 
home-made  hearth-rug,  3  00 

510.  To  Mrs.  Norman  Wake.N.  C,  for 
ihe  best  piece,  not  less  than  seven 
yards,  home-made  negro  shirting,  3  00 

512.  To  Mrs.  F.  Niblett,  for  the  best 
piece,  not  less  than  ten  yards,  heavy 
woollen  jeans,  to  bo  woven   by  hand,         5  00 

513.  to  Mrs.  H.  Jarratt,  for  the 
second  best  piece,  not  less  than  ten 
yards,  heavy  Vi'oollen  jeans,  to  be  woven 

by  hand,  3  00 

514.  Mrs.  J.  W.  Harris,  N.  C,  for 
the  best  piece  linsey,  not  less  than 
seven  yards,  to  be  woven   by  hand,  5  00 

515.  To  Mrs.  11.  it.  Allen,  for  the 
second  best,  3  00 

Class  2nd. 

516.  To  Mrs.  J.  E.  Venable,  for  the 

best  fine  long  yarn  hose,  3  00 

519.  To   Mr.  James  Ayres,  for  the 

best  specimen  of  home-made  wine,       '      5  00 

520.  To  Mrs.  W.  R.  Johnson,  for  the 

best  home-made  bread,  5  00 

521.  To  Mrs.  E.  G.   A.   Poindexter, 

for  the  best  home-made  pound  cake,  3  00 

522.  To  Mrs.   James  Ayres,   for  the 

best  home-made  sponge  cake,  3  00 

523.  To  Mrs.  James  Ayres,   for  the 

best  varieties  home-made  pickles,  3  00 

524.  To  Mrs.  B.  A.  Hancock,  for  the 

best  varieties  home-made  preserves,  3  00 

525.  To  Mrs.   James   Ayres,   for  the 

best  varieties  home-made  fruit  jelly,  3  00 

527.  To  Mrs.  Henry  Jarratt,   for  the 

best  sample  home-made  soap,  5  00 

LADIES'  ORNAMENTAL  AND  FANCY 
WORK. 

Class  3rd. 

528.  To  Mrs.   M.  J.    Lucas,   for  tbe 

best  specimen  of  embroidery,  8  00 

529.  To  Miss  M.  T.  Gordon,  for  the 
second  best,  6  00 

530.  To  Mrs.  W.  T.  Moseley,  and 
Miss  Pattie  Branch,  for  the  best  speci- 
men of  worsted  work,  8  00 

531.  To  Mrs.  Deems,  for  the  second 

best,  G  00 

532.  To  Miss  Bettie  D.  August,  for 

the  best  specimen  of  crotchet  work,  8  00 


533.  To  Mrs.  Alex.  Donnan  and  Miss 
Kate  Coucli,  for  the  seeond  best, 

534.  To  Mrs.  Wilson  and  Mrs.  Alley, 
for  the  best  specimen  of  was  work, 

535.  To  Mrs.  Cooper  and  Mrs.  Mor- 
ton, for  the  second  best, 

53G.  To  Mrs.  Brownley,  for  the  best 
specimen  of  shell  work, 

538.  To  Miss  P.  A.  Lacey,  for  the 
best  specimen  of  ornamental  leather 
work, 

539.  To  Miss  E.  J.  Rowlett,  for  the 
second  best, 

540.  To  Miss  Annie  Butler,  for  the 
best  specimen  of  block  work, 

542.  To  Mrs.  Baxter  and  Mrs.  Gil- 
liam, for  the  best  specimen  of  knit- 
ting, 

543.  To  Mrs.  A.  Archer,  and  Miss 
M.  Le.noine,  for  the  second  best, 

544.  To  Miss  Isabella  Gray,  for  the 
best  specimen  of  netting, 

545.  Mrs.  P.  Wool  folk,  for  the  second 
best. 


6 

00 

8 

00 

6  00 

8  00 

8 

00 

G 

00 

8  00 

8 

00 

G 

00 

8 

00 

G  00 


DOMESTIC  MANUFACTURES, 
Class  2nd. 
549.  To    Sutherlin    and    Ferrill,    for 
the  best  manufactured  tobacco,  Lenora 
Brand,  Certificate  of  Merit. 

BRANCH  VIIL 

Honorary  Testimonials  to  each  individual 
of  Virginia  who,  previous  to  1859,  has  dis- 
covered or  introduced,  or  brought  into  use 
any  principle  process,  or  facility  generally,  or 
any  improvement  by  which  important  value 
has  been  gained  for  the  Agricultural  inter- 
ests of  Virginia. 

REPORT    OF    THE    COMMITTEE. 

The  Committee  on  Honorary  Testimonials 
in  their  present  report  would  touch  only  ou  a 
single  topic. 

That  the  artificial  grasses  have  had  a  prin- 
cipal agency  in  our  improved  systems  of  hus- 
bandry is  known  to  all  ;  and  among  these  the 
place  of  precedence  must  undoubtedly  be 
given  to  clover;  not  only  for  its  intrinsic 
value  as  an  article  of  food  for  animals,  and 
the  wonderful  increase  in  its  growth  from  the 
application  of  gypsum,  but  as  a  means,  when 
turned  under,  of  fertilizing  the  soil.  A  great 
drawback,  however,  to  its  more  general  and 
extensive  use,  has  been  the  high  price  of  its 
seed  when  obtained  from  abroad,  or  the  tedi- 
ous and  comparatively  inefficient  methods 
heretofore  employed,  wben  the  Farmer,  and 
especially  the  Planter,  would  gather  them 
from  his  own  fields.  The  labour  required  for 
this  purpose  is  also  called  for  at  an  inconve- 
nient season,  .and  materially  interferes  with 
the  other  operations  of  the  planter, — so  much 
so,  indeed,  as  generally  to  render  this  entire 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHER.N    PLANTER. 


57 


class  dependent  on  others  for  a  supply.  Both 
these  causes  combined  have  to  this  day, 
whether  rightfully  or  not,  deterred  many 
small  proprietors,  or  men  of  moderate  means 
from  its  use,  either  entirely  or  only  to  a  lim- 
ited extent. 

It  is  not  very  creditable  to  the  mechanical 
ingenuity  of  our  countrymen  which  has  done 
so  much  to  facilitate  or  abridge  the  labours 
of  the  husbandman  in  other  departments,  that 
it  should  here  have  so  signally  failed. 

Your  Committee  are  happy  in  expressing 
the  belief  that  this  reproach  is  at  length  about 
to  be  removed,  and  that  this  desideratum  may 
hencefurth  be  supplied.  A  machine  for  gath- 
ering clover  seed,  invented  l)y  Mr.  M.  S. 
Kahle,  a  citizen  of  Rockbridge  county,  and 
■which,  having  been  exhibited  at  other  points 
in  our  State,  was  open  to  inspection  on  our 
own  Fair  Grounds  on  the  present  occasion, 
promises  to  meet  tliis  want. 

The  undersigned  have  not  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  witnessing  its  operation  in  the  field  ; 
but  testimonials  of  its  successful  working, 
from  highly  respectable  and  practical  farmers 
in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  have  been  laid  be- 
fore us,  and  our  own  examination  of  the  ma- 
chine has  tended  to  confirm  their  report.  On 
inspection  it  appears  to  be  well  adapted  to  its 
purpose,  simple  in  its  construction,  and,  un- 
der a  prudent  use,  but  little  liable  to  get  out 
of  order. 

AVe  have  not  at  present  the  means  of  form- 
ing even  an  appropriate  estimate  ofgthe  sums 
which,  during  the  present  century,  nave  been 
paid  by  the  farmers  of  Virginia  to  those  of 
other  States  for  the  clover  seed  used  by  them. 
But  that  the  amount  is  great,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  This  implement  promises  to  en- 
able them  to  gather  from  their  own  fields  this 
essential  element  in  an  improved  husbandry, 
and  must  inevitably  reduce  the  cost  to  such  as 
may  not  employ  it  directly  for  that  purpose. 
Farther  consequences  will  be,  its  more  liberal 
and  general,  if  not  universal  use,  and  when 
used  liberally,  the  increase  of  its  own  crop  to 
the  exclusion  of  noxious  weeds. 

We  therefore  do  not  hesitate  to  invite  the 
attention  of  our  farmers  generally  to  this 
novel  implement  as  one  which  bids  fair  to  be 
of  the  very  highest  utility.  We  presume  not 
to  say  that  -it  is  insusceptible  of  farther  im- 
provement; but  it  is  certainly  a  move  in  the 
right  direction,  and  in  advance  of  all  its  pred- 
ecessos,  so  far  as  these  are  known  to  us.  And 
should  its  performance  fulfil  but  one  half  of 
what  is  claimed  for  it  by  its  friends,  the  name 
of  its  inventor  should  be  placed  among  those 
of  the  most  distinguished  benefactors  of  the 
agriculture  of  the  State. 

The   present  proprietors  are  Messrs.  Hufi" 
&  Kahle,  of  Salem,  Roanoke  county. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

N.  Fran's.  Cabell, 

T.  Jefferson  Randolph. 


DISCRETIONARY  PREMIUMS. 

559.  To  William  B.  Blanton,  Farm- 
ville,  for  the  best  Tobacco  Flattening 
Mill,  $10  00 

560.  To     ,     , 

for    the    best    Marl     and    Brick    Ele- 
vator, 


00 
00 
00 
00 
00 
00 


561.  To  Mrs.  C.  B.  Turner,  for  the 
best  dried  corn, 

562.  Mrs.  C.  B.  Turner,  for  the  best 
paper  flowers, 

563.  To  Miss  E.  H.  Lacy,  for  the  best 
oil  painting, 

564.  To  Miss  Flora  Ragland,  for  the 
best  hair  work. 

565.  To  M.  Turpin  for  fine  specimen 
oil  painting, 

566.  To  A.  C.  Harrison,  for  beauti- 
ful specimen  of  buggy  saddle,  stitched 
by  John  Aggers,  16  years  old,  after  four 
months  apprenticeship.  2  00 

567.  To  Mrs.  R.  P.  Bridgers,  for  best 
home-spun  and  home-made  coat,  2  00 

568.  To  E.  A.  Pillow,  for  a  hand- 
some plat  of  Fair  Grounds,  2  00 

569.  To  T.  A.  Sinclair,  for  the  best 
buggy,  5  00 

570.  To  Mrs.  M.  S.  Bagley,  for  the 

best  home-made  starch,  2  00 

571.  To  Burger  &  Boyle,  for  the  best 
circular  saw,  Certificate  of  Merit. 

572.  To  Law  &  Sherman,  for  the  best 

lot  of  files.  Certificate  of  Merit. 

573.  To  Mrs.  J.  W.  Hobbs,  for  the 

best  specimen  of  lard,  2  00 

574.  To  Miss  M.  A.  Glover,  for  the 

best  geraniums,  2  00 

575.  To  William  Duryea,  for  the  best 
corn  starch  and  maizena,  made  at  Glen- 
cove,  L.  I.,  Certificate  of  Merit. 

576.  To  Outen,    for    the    best 

swingle-tree  life-preserver,  5  00 

577.  To  Tredwell  &  Pell,  for  Shaers 
coulter  harrow,  6  00 

578.  To  Mrs.  J.  0.  Bragg,  for  beauti- 
ful stand  pearl  work,  2  00 

579.  To  Mrs.  Sarah  Burns,  Peters- 
burg, for  fine  spiced  tomatoes,  2  00 

580.  To  William  B.  Billings,  for 
Union  light  and  self-generating,  safety 

gas  lamp.  Certificate  of  Merit. 

581.  To  Miss  Jennie  Rowlett,  for  su- 
perior home-made  fruit  cake,  2  00 

582.  To  Mrs.  James  Ayres,  for  splen- 
did damson  cheese,  2  00 

583.  To  Mrs.  Thomas  E.  Haskins, 
Prince  Edward,  for  superior  blackberry 
wine,  2  00 

584.  To  Miss  Ida  Ragland,  for  fine 
specimen  of  painting  and  hair  work,         2  00 

585.  To  Miss  E.  J.  Rowlett,  for  fine 
specimen  of  pearl  painting,  2  00 


THE    SOUTHEEN    PLANTEE, 


[Jam- ART 


C0MMENDATI0X3. 

Miss  Ro?a  P.  Crump,  for  handsome  worted 
lady's  morning  wrapper. 

R.  J.  White,  <if  Portsmouth,  for  the  Foster 
Block,  a  new  building  material  compjunde.' 
of  sand  and  lime. 

Mrs.  Jesse  W.  Burton  of  Petersbu'-^,  for  a  ; 
handsome  worked  bed  quilt.  i 

Mrs.  Nunnally,  of  Din-sviddie,  for  five  hand- 
some baskets. 

Dr.  A.  Whitehead,  for  drainin,^  tile. 

Messrs.  Tappey  &  Lumsden,  for  improved 
hogshead  screw. 

Drs.  J.  M.  Sheppard  and  J.  F.  Disoswav, 
for  one  case  each  nf  dentistry. 

Mr.  W.  M.  Bush,  for  hogskin,  tanned  one 
inch  thick. 

Mr.  J.  F.  Jaques,  for  fine  Metalic  Stencil 
brands. 

Mrs.  J.  Hobbs,  for  fine  loaf  of  potato 
bread. 

Mrs.  R.  R.  Ilaskins,  Prince  George,  for 
fine  specimen  of  home-made  champaigne 
wine. 

Mr.  C.  B.  Turner,  for  fruit  trees. 

Mrs.  Ann  Curling,  for  an  overcast  quilt. 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Hubbs,  Petersburg,  fur  home- 
made counterpane. 

Mrs.  Susan  Pool,  Petersburg,  for  home- 
made counterpanes. 

Mrs.  Cosby,  Petersburg,  for  home-made 
couuterpanes. 

Mrs.  Ivey,  for  domestic  rag  carpet. 

3Irs.  Tennon,  for  domestic  hearth  rug. 

Mrs.  Harris,  of  W.-ike  county,  N.  C,  for 
cotton  serge. 

Mrs.  A.  A.  Rowlett,  for  large  quanity 
of  negro  clothing. 

Mrs.  Norman,  for  cotton  and  flas  towels. 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Harris,  of  Wake  county,  N.  C, 
for  Seuppernong  wine,  ten  years  old. 

Mr.  Allen  P.  Lee,  for  cotton  cultivator. 

Mrs.  Powhatan  B.  Starke,  for  fine  sponge 
cake. 


RTCHMOXD.   YIRGIXIA. 


A  Yankee  who  had  seen  the  statue  of  the 
"  Greek  Slave."  and  was  asked  if  he  was 
not  in  raptures  with  it,  answered,  "Well,  to 
tell  the  truth,  I  don't  care  much  about  them 
stone  gals." 

The  parent  who  would  train  up  a  child  in 
the  way  l)e  should  go,  must  go  in  the  way  he 
should  train  up  his  child. 

Dr.  Franklin,  speaking  of  education,  says  : 
"If  a  man  empties  his  purse  in  his  head,  no 
one  can  take  it  away  from  him.  An  invest- 
ment in  knowledge  always  pays  the  best  in- 
terest." 

Be  contented  and  thankful ;  a  cheerful 
spirit  makes  laliour  light,  sleep  sweet,  and  all 
around  cheerful. 


Friends ! 

Of  ilie  Soinbem  Planter,  and  a^ricuiture  gene- 
raJly,  help  us  to  hold  up  our  liands. 

If  ours  is  a  good  worJ;.  ■.hen  aid  us  io  its  be- 
half. By  contTJbuiions  of  st-ience,  espersence, 
theory,  and  subscribers,  help  us  to  extend  our  cir- 
culaiion  and  meaos  of  U'r;ef;\lne=s. 

If  we  deserve  to  succeed,  aod  we  tbink  we 
do.  as  we  try  always  to  discharge  our  duties 
faithfully,  then  give  in  your  cooiJnuanee  and 
support. 

Every  man  on  our  list  of  subscribers  can  send 
u3-"*oine  neVk'  namei,  (or  else  hJs  influence  is 
feebly  exened.)  if  he  will  try.  Will  ihcy  not 
do  so  ?  cive  lis  a  liberal  support,  and  we  shall 
be  enabled  to  reciprocate  the  favor,  b}^  making 
our  journal  more  complete  and  full  in  details, 
wood  cu'is,  and  general  interest. 


On  Economical  Living,  and  the  Eneou- 
rag-ement  of  Home  Industry. 

While  public  alteniion  is  awake  to  the  neces- 
sity of  some  well  deiined  course  of  principle 
and  action,  which  shall  be  so  well  nnderstcKxl 
and  acted  on  by  all  parties  of  our  mighty  Con- 
federation, as  will  best  tend  to  the  benefit  of 
OLir  sovereign  States,  and  the  preservaiioa  of 
their  respective  "rights,"'  under  the  constitn- 
tional  agreement,  which  should  be  alike  bind- 
ing upon  them  all.  we  deem  it  no  trespassing 
upon  the  peculiar  character  of  our  paper,  to  say 
a  word  to  the  faroiers  of  our  own  State  on  the 
course  which  we  believe  will  best  advance 
their  interests,  and  our  general  prosperity,  if  it 
is  adopted.  While  we  put  in  a  general  dis- 
claimer of  any  intention  to  increase  the  present 
excitement  among  our  people,  in  regard  to  our 
"peculiar  institution,"  or  to  fan  the  flames  ot 
angry  prejudice  existing  between  different  parts 
of  our    Federal    Union,  we   speak  soberly  and 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


59 


calmly  our  own  views  of  what  we  ami  our 
readers,  as  farmers,  owe  to  our  Stcie,  and  of 
evils  which  may  as  well  be  remedietl  now,  as 
at  a  later  period.  We  must  begin  a  reform 
sooner  or  later,  and  go  back  to  the  .''good  old 
times"  for  our  notions  of  economy  and  simpli- 
city of  habit,  which  so  well  became  ihe  ''Yif- 
ginia  gentleman,"  because  lliey  we.e  so  nauiral 
and  unaflected. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  our  habits  of  living 
have,  for  many  years,  been  growing  more  and 
more  luxurious,  and,  in  many  cases,  an  ostenta- 
tious "Style"  has  usurped  the  place  of  the 
plain,  simple,  cordial,  generous  hospitality  of 
our  forefathers.  Are  we  any  better  or  happier 
for  it?  Far  from  it.  Our  wants  have  been 
multiplied  in  a  ratio  far  exceeding  our  means  of 
gratifying  them,  "and  if  told,  would  muster 
many  a  score;"  while  our  fortunes  have  de- 
creased, in  spite  of  greater  facilities  than  those 
possessed  by  the  last  generation  for  making 
money. 

Broadcloth  has  taken  the  place  of  home-spun; 
rosewood  and  mahogany  have  displaced  the 
plain  and  substantial  walnut  and  pine  furniture 
of  the  olden  time;  silk  has  taken  the  shine  off 
warm,  comfortable  home-spun  yarn  :  and  s^p) 
has  rustled  out  of  sight  the  unpretending  and 
more  modest  chintz  and  calico  of  our  grand- 
mothers. This  change  in  domestic  matters  and 
habits,  which,  while  it  has  added  no  substantial 
additional  charm  to  the  persons  of  our  ladies, 
has  often  impaired  their  minds,  by  fostering  a 
blind  obedience  to  the  enervating  laws  of  fash- 
ion and  luxnry,  and  added  a  grievous  load  of 
care  to  the  burdens  usually  belonging  to  our 
gentlemen.  Such  a  system  of  living  procures 
for  our  women  impaired  health  and  usefulness: 
lor  our  men,  premature  grey  hairs,  bankruptcy 
and  misery. 

Are  these  things  so?  We  shall  see,  by  com 
paring  a  list  of  the  expenses  of  one  of  our 
young  ladies  of  the  present  day  for  educational 
proficiency  in  the  "ologies,"  dress  and  orna- 
ments, with  those  of  her  mother,  while  vve  listen 
to  the  groans  of  many  a  '"governor"  of  a  family, 
at  the  "extravagance"  of  his  household,  dis- 
j)]ayed  by  a  peep  at  his  bills  payable,  and  hear- 
ing the  ofV-repeated  direction  of  "Young  Ame- 
rica" to  his  merchant,  tailor,  &c.,  "charge  it  to 
the  old  man." 

Improper  and  false  esii mates  of  the  respecta- 
bility of  labor,  have  increased  and  grown  apace 
among   all   classes,  until    many  a  youih   would 


blush  at  being  caught  engaged  in  any  manual 
labor  or  exertion  ditlering  from  the  course  taught 
at  the  gymnasium,  or  by  the  "professov"  of 
"boxing,"  or  dancing;  and  the  old  adage,  "He 
who  by  the  plough  would  thrive,  himself  must 
either  hold  or  drive,"  is  too  often  imperfectly 
remembered  by  farmers,  and  unhinted  to  their 
sons.  If  we  would  prosper,  and  deserve  to 
possess  this  fair  land  in  which  it  has  pleased  a 
heneficent  Providence  to  cast  our  lots,  ice  must 
help  ourselves — improve  and  develop  the  vast 
resources  of  our  State,  for  the  support  and  com- 
petent maintenance  of  all  its  sons.  While  we 
mind  our  own  business,  we  are  engaged  in  our 
own  proper  duty  as  good  citizens;  and  we 
wrong  no  others  when  we  cultivate  and  cjierish 
that  spirit  of  affectionate  devotion  to,  and  pride 
in  the  weal  of,  our  glorious  "Old  Dominion," 
which  is  the  birthright  of  each  and  all  of  her 
sons.  For  us  all,  we  may  glory  in  the  fact,  that 
on  no  part  of  the  globe  is  this  very  feeling  of 
unswerving  loyalty  to  the  home  of  our  child- 
hood so  strongly  marked,  so  often  expressed,  so 
seldom  forgot,  as  in  the  inmost  heart  of  every 
Virginian. 

It  is  right  and  proper  to  cultivate  this  senti- 
ment, to  hush  the  voice  of  party  spirit,  which 
occasionally  is  raised  among  us,  and  to  come  up 
as  one  man  to  the  work  of  developing  the  full 
industrial  capacity  of  our  Commonwealth:  de 
voting  our  best  energies  of  mind  and  body  to 
its  accomplishment;  respecting  the  rights  of 
others;  knowing  and  maintaining  our  own; 
standing  shoulder  to  shoulder,  like  brothers  as 
we  are,  and  push  on  the  wheels  of  improvement 
of  our  own  Siaie  car. 

How  shall  ^ye  bring  about  this  concert  of 
action,  to  accomplish  the  desirable  result  of  im- 
proving the  condition  of  every  man  among  us? 
By  reducing  onr  wants  and  expenses  to  the 
standard  of  comfort  and  utility.  These  may  be 
preserved,  and  many  a  dollar  saved,  which  is 
now  spent  in  extravagant  show,  and  the  creation 
of  envA'  among  many  who  cannot  afford  the  ex- 
pense attending  useless  "style."  By  the  adop- 
tion of  simple  and  more  industrious  habits  of 
life  and  cheaper  costumes  of  dress,  but  above 
all.  by  Iniying  nothitig  outside  of  our  own  borders 
whitk  can  be  procured  at  home,  and  defermining, 
unalierobly,  la  do  i!:l'iout  cveryllti.-g.  voi  absolu'cly 
a  nr'-issary  of  life,  whuh  ca^'ioi  be  procured  here. 

Look  upon  every  sober,  honest,  worlang  man, 
in  every  depaitment  of  human  industry,  as  the 
man  of  honor,  and   an  ornament   to   his   racej 


60 


THE    SOUTH ERX    PLANTER 


[January 


thus  will  we  promote  the  true  dignity  of  labor ; 
tighten  the  chains  of  friendship  and  confi- 
dence which  should  bind  together  the  hearts  of 
every  people,  and  incite  every  man  to  the  faith- 
ful performance  of  the  duty  which  he  owes  to 
society  and  his  country. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  we  are 
dependent  upon  any  other  State  for  the  supply 
of  our  real  war.ts;  and  if  this  assertion  is  in 
any  spnse  too  broad,  surely  it  is  high  time  to 
remedy,  and  as  speedily  as  it  can  be  done,  so  great 
an  evil,  and  to  remove  the  cause  of  this  reproach 
from  our  skirts. 

In  Richmond  and  Fredericksburg  alone,  we 
have  water-power  enough  to  manufacture  all 
the  cotton  grown  in  the  South — all  the  shoes' 
hats,  blankets,  hardware,  &e.,that  we  want.  We 
have  large  founderies,  machine-shops  and  facto- 
ries of  every  kind,  which  would  be  greatly  ben- 
efited, and  placed  on  permanent  foundations,  by 
Southern  support  and  patronage. 

Let  them  have  it,  and  their  prosperity  will  be 
the  means  of  supplying  us  with  establishments, 
which  may  at  present  be  needed  among  us.  for 
carrying  on  any  other  branch  of  industry,  for  the 
products  of  whicli  we  may  be  dependent  now 
upon  any  other  place. 

We  believe  that  the  adoption  of  this  course 
would  help  every  citizen  among  us,  and  draw 
to  our  shores  hosts  of  good  artisans  from  other 
parts,  whose  advent  would  add  to  our  general 
prosperity  as  a  people,  and  do  away  the  neces- 
sity for  any  such  word  as  "waste-land"  among 
us. 

Let  us  begin,  then,  at  once  to  adopt  a  more 
economical  and  plainer  style  of  living;  to  re- 
trench, as  far  as  possible,  our  general  expenses, 
and  to  encourage,  by  all  means  mi  our  power,  our 
home  manufactures,  and  to  let  every  Virginian 
see  by  our  acts,  as  well  as  "resolutions,"  that  in 
our  sentiments  of  devotion  to  our  State,  our  in- 
terests and  common  aims,  we  are  one  people — 
that  each  man  is  to  his  neighbor  a  help,  friend 
and  brother,  and  come  weal  or  woe,  we  will 
share  a  common  destiny. 


To  our  Subscribers. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  present  volume. 
The  Southern  Planter  enters  on  its  twentieth 
year.  Upon  the  list  are  the  names  of  some  good 
friends,  who  have  helped  to  support  it  froin  its 
infancy  to  the  present  time,  and  there  are  also 
the  names  of  some  who,  as  it  approaches  the 
period  of  its  majority,  seem  to  think  it  can  stand 


alone,  and  needs  no  further  help.  We  have  sent 
them  the  paper  regularly,  waited  in  a  state  of 
patient  expectancy  for  the  amount  of  their  dues 
and  contributions,  and  we  have  received  neither. 

Printer's  ink,  paper,  patience  and  hope  are 
alike  consuming  by  the  delay  of  these,  and  we 
sincerely  hope  that  they  "treat  no  other  friend 
so  ill.'' 

We  must,  however,  in  the  proper  discharge  of 
oin-  duties  to  them,  remind  them  that  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  year  is  an  auspicious  time 
to  throw  ofi'^all  old  encumbrances,  in  the  way 
of  bad  habits — among  the  worst  of  which  we 
are  inclined  to  number  that  of  failing  to  pay  the 
printer — and,  with  tlie  new  year,  to  commence 
a  regular  system  of  dealing  with  printers,  and 
all  other  classes  of  men,  as  they  would  like  to 
be  treated  by  them,  if  their  relative  positions 
were  altered.  Take  our  advice,  then,  for  which 
we  charge  nothing,  and  we  guarantee  an  in- 
creased amount  of  happiness  and  satisfaction  to 
all  parties  concerned. 


Information  Wanted. 

A  subscriber  begs  for  information,  from  any 
fMiner  whose  experience  qualifies  him  to  give 
ii^with  regard  to  the  following  varieties  of 
wheat,  viz  : 

Boughton, 

Bowers, 

Early  Purple  Straw,  White. 

The  difference  in  the  prices  paid  hy  millers 
for  White  and  Red  Wheat,  make  it  an  important 
desideratum  for  us  to  procure  a  While  variety, 
which  will  be  ready  for  harvesting  at  a  period 
sufficiently  early  to  justify  us  in  discarding  the 
Red,  now  so  extensively  sown. 

We  must  do  this  in  self-defence,  if  we  can 
secure,  along  with  early  maturity,  other  advan- 
tages equal  to  those  claimed  for  the  "Early 
Purple  Straw,  Red." 


Droughts. 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  extract  of 
Dr.  Higgin's  Report  to  the  Maryland  State  Legis- 
lature, that  the  new  and  ingenious  theory  of  the 
beneficial  effects  of  drouth  on  soils,  in  bringing 
to  the  surface  a  fresh  supply  of  inorganic  con- 
stituents, is  entirely  original  with  him.  We 
publish  in  our  present  number  his  views  on 
the  subject,  and  cannot  refrain  from  expressing 
our  convictions  of  the  entire  truth  of  his  dis- 
covery. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


61 


This  theory  explains  satisfactorily  and  ration- 
ally why  it  is  that  the  well-known  proverb  of  a 
"dry  seeding  time,  in-eccding  a  good  harvest," 
is  tvne-i 

We  commend  the  article  to  the  attention  of 
our  readers. 


Important  Discovery. 

Rev.  Mr.  Seeley,  formerly  of  Springfield, 
Mass.,  now  in  Paris,  eommunicutes  to  the 
kSpringfield  Re23vhHran  the  following  inter- 
esting particulars  of  a  promising  discovery 
in  France,  for  purposes  of  health,  agricul- 
ture and  surgery  : 

This  discovery,  made  by  Messrs.  Come 
and  Demeaux,  and  thus  far  known  as  "  Corne 
and  Demeaux's  Disinfecting  Powder,"  or  as 
the  ''  French  Disinfecting  Powder,"  is  as 
simple  in  its  character  as  its  results  promise 
to  be  important.  These  gentlemen,  in  the 
course  of  some  experiments,  ascertained  that 
a  simple  mixtxire  of  the  ordinary  plaster  of 
Paris  and  coal  tar  (which  is  produced  by 
the  distillation  of  coal  for  gas)  has  very 
powerful  anti-septic  properties.  The  pro- 
portions of  the  ingredients  are,  one  hundred 
parts  of  the  plaster  of  Paris,  to  from  one  to 
three  parts  of  the  coal  tar;  and  the  mixture 
to  be  thoroughly  made  with  a  mortar  and 
pestle,  or  in  a  hand-mill,  or  by  such  other 
method  as  the  quantity  desired  and  the 
means  of  the  operator  may  dictate.  The 
process  cannot  be  very  difficult,  since  the 
article  fully  prepared  is  sold  in  Paris  for 
about  ten  cents  per  pound.  It  is  used  for 
disinfecting,  or  anti-septic  purposes,  some  of 
which  I  will  indicate.  For  preventing  the 
disagreeable  odor  of  sinks,  &c.,  the  efi"ect  is 
instantaneous,  and  it  is  so  much  cheaper, 
that  chloride  of  lime  must  entirely  fall  into 
disuse.  Two  lbs.  of  the  powder  are  suffi- 
cient to  dissolve  in  twenty-two  gallons  of 
water;  or  a  tablespoonful  dissolved  in  If 
pints  of  water  is  sufficient  per  day  to  render 
inodorous  the  refuse  of  a  household  of  four 
or  five  persons.  A  morsel,  the  size  of  a 
pin's  head,  will  render  limpid  and  fit  for  use 
a  pint  and  a  half  of  wator,  which  is  begin- 
ning to  become  putrescent.  The  value  of 
such  a  discovery  for  those  who  travel  in  the 
East,  and  especially  for  ships  at  sea,  cannot 
well  be  overstated. 

But  it  also  has  an  important  relation  to 
agriculture.  One-half  pound  of  the  pow- 
der, dissolved  in  five  or  six  gallons  ot  water 
and  sprinkled  on  the  litter  of  a  stable,  will 


deprive  one  cubic  yard  of  manure  of  all 
odor,  and  prevent  the  loss  of  its  fertilizing 
qualities.  It  was  on  this  feature  of  the  case 
that  I  thought  you  might  easily  institute  ex- 
periments, and,  if  successful,  you  will  not 
fail  to  see  what  a  boon  such  a  discovery  must 
prove  to  all  those  farmers  who  comprehend 
the  necessity  of  preserving  in  the  best  pos- 
sible condition,  and  making  the  best  possible 
use  of  all  the  fertilizing  materials  produced 
on  the  farm.  It  is  probably  no  exaggera- 
tion to  affirm  that  tens  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars are  evaporated  every  year  from  the  ex- 
posed and  smoking  manure  heaps  around 
the  barns  and  out-houses  of  the  Massachu- 
setts farmers;  and  if  there  be  any  virtue  in 
this  alleged  discovery,  coal  tar  enough  to 
prevent  all  this  waste  is  furnished  by  any 
gas  establishment  in  the  State.  'Every  far- 
mer is  wont  to  use  plaster,  more  or  less,  on 
his  land.  Let  him  apply  a  small  portion  of 
it  in  the  form  and  manner  here  suggested, 
and  its  usefulness  will  be  much  more  certain, 
in  all  cases,  than  at  present. 

But  the  relations  of  the  discovery,  which 
are  regarded  with  most  interest  in  France, 
just  at  present,  are  those  which  it  sustains 
to  surgery.  It  is  claimed  that  apphed  as  an 
ointment  (made  of  the  mixture)  or  in  the 
simple  form  of  a  powder,  to  severe  wounds 
and  sores,  to  cancerous  ulcers  and  to  suppu- 
rating abcesses,  it  instantaneously  deprives 
them  of  all  odor,  and  brings  the  wound  into 
such  a  state  that  the  ordinary  healing  appli- 
cations act  successfully.  Doctor  Velpeau 
has  reported  to  the  Imperial  Academy  of 
Medicine,  expressing  high  approbation  of  it 
as  a  dressing  for  wourrds.  Immediately  af- 
ter this  report,  the  suggestion  was  made  that 
it  might  be  of  great  service  to  the  wounded 
of  the  army  in  Italy.  Accordingly  it  was 
tried  at  the  hospitals  at  Milan  by  direction 
of  Baron  Larrey,  physician-in-chief  to  the 
Emperor.  I  give  a  translation  of  a  brief 
report  on  the  subject,  made  to  Marshal  Vail- 
lant,  major  general  of  the  army  in  Italy,  by 
the  surgeon,  Dr.  Cruveithier,  under  whose 
eye  the  experiments  were  made  : 

"  In  conformity  with  your  orders,  and  fol- 
lowing the  instructions  left  by  Dr.  Larrey, 
the  powder  of  coal  tar .  has  been  employed 
in  the  hospital  of  Milan  on  the  wounded  in 
whose  wounds  the  gangrenous  process,  or 
hospital  suppuration  has  commenced.  The 
applications  of  the  remedy,  both  in  powder 
and  as  an  ointment,  were  made  on  the  first 
of   August.     The   immediate   results   were 


62 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER . 


[Jantary 


very  favorable,  and  the  disinfecting  proper- 
ties of  the  t/5pic  were  reriSed  in  the  cases 
of  more  than  twenty  patients  who  were 
treated  by  different  physicians.  Still  fur- 
ther, it  has  proved  that  under  the  influence 
of  this  preparation  and  of  good  living,  the 
wounds,  being  disinfected,  are  then  modi- 
fied, and  in  a  few  days  the  greater  part  of 
them  present  a  greatly  improved  appearance. 
The  application  of  the  disinfectant  is  not 
omitted  till  the  wounds,  restored  to  a  normal 
condition,  are  able  to  feel  the  action  of  the 
medicaments  usually  employed  to  promote 
the  healing  process.  Twenty  observations 
made  in  the  hospitals  in  Milan,  put  these 
conclusions  beyond  all  doubt.'" 

From  the  foregoing  may  be  learned  what 
appears  to  be  the  general  opinion  among  the 
French  surgeons  as  to  the  effect  of  the  mix- 
ture on  wounds,  though  there  has  been  some 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  pow- 
der is  or  is  not  strictly  to  be  regarded  as  a 
disinfectant.  That  it  is  a  powerful  anti- 
septic, no  one  doubts,  and  time  will  discover 
whether  or  not  it  also  possesses  disinfecting 
properties. —  Country  Gentleman. 


Lime  and  Salt  Mixture. 

Eleven  years  ago  we  fi.rst  recommended 
the  use  of  the  Lime  and  Salt  Mixture  for 
the  decomposition  of  muck,  woods-earth, 
leaves,  sea-weed,  spent-tan,  and  other  organic 
matters,  which  do  not  readily'  yield  up  their 
inorganic  constituents  for  the  use  of  crops ; 
for  whatever  may  be  the  proper  doctrines  of 
the  day  as  to  ammonia  and  its  uses,  the 
great  value  of  organic  matter  is  resident  in 
the  progressed  inorganic  constituents  which 
they  are  capable  of  furnishing  by  decompo- 
s'tion.  The  Lime  and  Salt  3Iixture  when 
properly  prepared,  is  an  admirable  decom- 
posing agent.  Cotton  seed,  and  a  variety  of 
other  material,  may  be  more  readily  decom- 
posed by  its  use  and  with  less  loss,  than  by 
any  other  substances.  It  should  be  thus 
prepared  :  Dissolve  one  bushel  of  refuse  salt 
in  water,  with  this  slake  three  bushels  of 
caustic  lime,  hot  from  the  kiln  ;  we  mean  by 
this,  lime  which  has  not  been  slaked,  either 
by  water  or  by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere, 
and  even  when  in  this  state,  it  is  difficult  to 
cause  it  to  take  up  all  the  brine  made  by 
one  bushel  of  salt.  In  such  cases  it  should 
be  left  for  one  day  after  receiving  all  it  is 
capable  of  absorbing  of  the  pickle,  when  it 
may  be  turned  over  and  a   new  quantity 


added;  thus  in  two" or  three  applications  it 
will  all  be  received. 

Salt  is  composed  of  chlorine  and  soda, 
and  when  added  to  lime,  the  following  chan- 
ges occur :  the  chlorine  combines  with  the 
lime  forming  chloride  of  lime,  the  soda  be-* 
iug  thus  set  free,  takes  carbonic  acid  from 
the  atmosphere  and  becomes  carbonate  of 
soda.  Commencing  then  with  lime  and  salt, 
we  end  with  chloride  of  lime  and  carbonate 
of  soda.  This  slaking  should  always  be  per- 
formed under  a  shed ;  as  the  new  material 
is  soluble  in  water,  the  outside  of  the  heap 
will  effloresce,  becoming  very  fine  and  ex- 
tremely white,  and  the  mass  should  be  turn- 
ed ver}^  frequently,  so  that  all  parts  may  in 
turn  come  in  contact  with  atmosphere. 
When  the  whole  quantity  has  put  on  thia 
peculiar  appearance,  and  not  before,  it  is 
ready  for  use.  Four  bushels  of  this  mix- 
ture equally  divided  through  a  cord  of  any 
inert  organic  material,  will  decompose  it  to 
a  powder  in  thirty  days  in  summer,  and  in 
sixty  days  in  winter.  Swamp-muck,  river- 
mxid,  woods-earth,  spent  tan,  and  various 
other  materials  when  thus  prepared,  maybe 
mixed  through  stable  manure  for  compost- 
ing with  great  advantage.  In  soils  contain- 
ing an  excess  of  organic  matter,  such  as  the 
peaty  soils,  the  Lime  and  Salt  Mixture  may 
be  used  direct  as  a  manure.  As  a  top-dress- 
ing for  grass  in  sour  lands,  it  has  great 
value,  while  in  all  soils  deficient  of  lime, 
chlorine  or  soda,  it  vrould  be  found  to  be 
beneficial. 

The  Lime  and  Salt  Mixture  should  never 
be  incorporated  with  purely  putrescent  man- 
ures, but  rather  applied  separately ;  thus,  if 
stable  manures  be  deeply  plowed  under,  the 
Lime  and  Salt  Mixture  may  be  used  as  a 
top-dressing  before  harrowing,  and  it  will 
gradually  find  its  way  down,  meeting  the 
manure  beneath  the  surfiace  and  there  per- 
fecting its  decomposition,  when  so  position- 
ed, that  all  the  results  may  be  absorbed  by 
the  soil  about  it. 

TThen  oyster  shell  lime  fresh  from  the 
kiln  can  be  procured,  it  is  always  preferable 
to  stone  lime  for  agricultural  purposes; 
more  of  it  is  progressed  and  capable  of  be- 
ins  assimilated  by  plants,  while  the  excess 
quantity  does  not  exercise  a  deleterious  ef- 
fect on  the  texture  of  soils. 

Those  who  dispute  our  theory  of  the  pro- 
gression of  primaries,  would  do  well  to  tell 
us  why  we  never  find  soil  cracking  by  over- 


SODTHERH  PLANTEE, 

ADVEETISIXG    SIIE-ET. 
No.  1.  RICHMOND,  VA.  January,  1860. 

SCHOOL    BOOKS. 

Permit  me  to  call  vour  attention  to  a  work  which  I  have  lately  published.     It  is 

"A\  ELEilEnABY  TREATiSE  OX  DESfRIPTiVE  GEOITRV," 

BY    SAMUEL    SCHOOLER,    il.A., 

Principal  of  Edge-Hill  School,  Caroline,    J'a. 

This  work  has  been  prepared  with  much  care,  and  it  is  hoped  that  it  will 
s.ipply  a  want  long  existing  in  our  Schools  and  Academies. 

ELEMENTS  OF  DESCRIPTIVE  GEOMETRY— the  Point,  the  Straight  Line  and  the  Plane- 
by  S.  Schooler,  M.A.     4to.  half  roan:  •$-'.     It  will  be  mailed,  post  paid,  to  all  who  remit  the  price. 

The  paper,  type  and  plates,  are  in  the  tinest  style  of  the  arts,  and  the  book,  altogether,  has  been 
pronounced  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  English.  French  or  American  work  on  the  subject. 

]^^^  One  extra  copy  (for  their  own  use)  will  be  given  to  those  who  order  six  or  more  copies. 

All  the  SCHOOL  BOOKS  of  merit,  of  the  latest  editions,  always  on  hand  and  sold  on  the  best 
erms. 

A  liberal  discount  made  to  Teachers  and  others  \vho  buv  in  quantities. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  Bookseller  and  Publisher, 
121  Main  Street,  Richmond,  Va. 


TRAQTS  FOR  THE  SOOTH. 

THE    POLITICAL    ECONOMY    OF    SLAVERY  ;    wish  an  Appendix  on    the   Ecects   of  ibr 

presence   or   absence  of  negro   slavery  on  the  social  condition  of  the  dominant  class.     By 

Edmuxd  Rcffis. 
AFRICAN  COLONIZATION   UNVEILED.     By  Edmtnd  Ruffix.     These  pamphlets  are  eacl. 

of  3"2  pages,  lar^e  octavo,  and  small  tvpe. 
SLAVERY^  AND'^  FREE    LABOR    DESCRIBED    AND    COMPARED.     Twenty-eight  page^ 

Bv  Edmc.nd  Rcffix. 
TWO  GREAT  EVILS  OF  VIRGINIA,  AND  THEIR  ONE  COMMON  REMEDY:  (An  argn- 

ment  on  the  Free  Negro  problem.) 

These  articles  were  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  with  the  view  to  gratuitous  distribution  through 
the  mail — which  mode  has  been,  or  will  be,  used  for  much  the  greater  number  of  each.  Foi 
still  farther  extending  the  circulation,  and  to  enable  other  persons,  in  remote  localities,  to  aid  in 
promoting  that  enJ,  a  smaller  proportion  of  the  impression  of  each  work  is  also  olfered  foi 
sale. 

10  copies  of  either  pamphlet,  on  of  different  kinds,  itijailed  and  post-paid,  for  60cts. 

Or  1  of  either,  for 10  cts.  each 

Orders,  enclosing  money  or  postage  stamps,  will  receive  prompt  attention. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  Bookseller,  Richmond,  Va. 


CAMPBELL'S  AGRICULTURE. 

A  Manual  of  Scientific  and  Practical  Agriculture.  For  the  School  and  the  Farm.  By  J  I.. 
Campbell,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Phrsical  Science,  Washington  College,  Va.  -With  numerous^ 
illustrations. 

PRICE— ?1.00  or  $1.15  by  mail,  post-paid.     For  sale  at 

RANDOLPHS  Bookstore  and  Bindery. 


SOUTHERX  PLANTER.— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


Th 


Fin 


GEO.  WATT  8l  CO., 

having  been  this,  22d  day  of  December.  1853,  dissolv- 
ed, we  h:\ye  aj^socialed  ourselves  in  business,  under 
the  firm  of  GEO.  \V.-\.T'J'  &,  CO.,  lor  the  purpose  oi 
makin,^  and  selliD^r  the  WATT 

CUFF-BRACE  VLOYV, 

With  I  he 

BREAST  IMPROVEMENT 

thereon,  and  the 

HA.jSrOVER  F^LOTV, 

And  shall  keep  constantly  on  hand  a  large  assort- 
ment of  these  Plows,  and  Castings  ot  these  and  other 
popuUr  kinds,  with  Cultivators,  Harrows.  Corn  or 
Tobacco  Weeders,  Hillside  and  Subsoil  Plows,  new 
ground  Coalters.,  &c. 

^ill  of  which  are  made  in  our  own  Factory. 

Also,  Straw  Cutters,  Grain  Cradles,  Corn  Shellers, 
Corn  Planters,  (Caldwell's  make.)  and  a  variety'  of 
other  useful  liuplemenls  in  our  line,  which  we  war- 
rant to  give  satisfaction,  or  be  returned.  We  solicit  a 
call  from  the  Asricultural  ('oinn>iinity,  assuring  them 
that  our  best  efforts  shall  be  used  to  give  tbera  supe- 
rior aritcles.  GEO.  WATT, 

HUGH  A.   WATT. 

RichmoaJ,  December  23,  lf"5S. 

Grateful  for  the  patronage  given  me  heretofore,  I  so- 
licit a  continuance  of  the  same  to  the  above  firm  ;  and 
will  only  add  that  haviug  spent  the  lielter  part  of  the 
last  16  years  iu  making  my  Plow  nliat  it  is.  I  plediie 
rav  best  efforts  still  to  improve  it — h:ivinj  PAi'E.NT 
KIGHTS  for  tlie  BREA.ST  IMl'iiOVE.MENT  and 
the  H.\.\OVER  PLOW,  secured  Movembcr  1S56  an<l 
February  1858.  I  u  ill  sell  Rights  to  both  in  remote 
sections  of  this  and  other  States  on  reasonable  terms. 
The  public  are  cautioned  against  infringements  on 
these  Patent  lligbts. 

GEO.  WATT,  PATESTEb:. 

Richmond,  January'  1859. 


City  Savings  Bank  of  Richmond 
GHARTEKED  IN  1839. 

Coniinue.s  to  receive  deposiies,  on  which  interest  is 
paid  at  the  rale  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum,  if  remaining 
on  deposit  six  mojith=.  end  5  per  cent,  lor  shorter  pe- 
riods. HORACE  L.  KE.NT.  Pres't. 

ALEX.  DUVAL,  Sec' v. 

N.  AUGUST,  Cashier. 

DIRECTORS : 
John  N.  Gordon,  Sanniel  Piiiney,  II.   IJaldwin,  1 , 
Davenport,  Jr.,  Charles  T.  Woriham,  Hugh   W.  Fr_\ 
aud  Wellington  Goddin.  Jan  1859.— Iv 


R.  0.  HA  SKINS, 

Ship  Chandler,  Grocer  and  Com- 
mission Merchant, 

In  his  lar^e  new  building,  in  front  of  ihe  Steamboat 
Wharf,  RocKETTs,  RICH.MO.ND,  VA. 
Sept  1859— Ij 


MITCHELL  &  TYLER, 

DEALEKS    l.V 

Watches,  Clocks,  Jewelrj".  Silver  aud  Plated 
Ware,  Militarj"  attd   Fancy  Goods. 

RICHMOND,   VA. 


SHOCKOE  MILL. 
Richmond  Ground  Piaster. 

The  subscriber  begs  leave  to  return  his  grate- 
ful acknowledgements  for  the  heavy  patronage 
extended  to  his  ilill  from  the  State  at  large,  and 
North  Carolina,  and  would  state  that  he  has 
made  improvements  that  will  double  the 
capacity,  and  enaljle  liirn  to  supply  fresh 
GROUND  PLASTER  proniinly,  exceeding  any 
demand  that  can  at  present  exist. 

His  Stock  will  be  entirely  of  Nova  Scotia 
Lurap,  the  purest  that  can  be  selected,  with 
special  reference  to  its  richness  in  SULPHATE 
of  LIME,  and  he  pledges  a  faithful  adherence 
to  his  determination  to  sustain  the  flattering 
reputation  that  his  brand  has  already  gained. 

Of  lho^e  v.-ho  have  l>een  driven   from  the  use 
of  Plaster,  by  application  of  Northern   Ground, 
he  only  asks  a  trial  of  Hojie  jNIaxufactcre. 
JOHN  H.  CLAIBORNE, 

Jan.  't'O— 3t  No.  11   Pearl  Street. 


OF  II 


FOR  S_A.LE. 

I  have  for  sale,  to  be  delivered  at  weaning 
time,  a  good  many  pigs  of  improved  breed.  I 
have  produced  it  myself  from  crosses  of  the 
Surry  (or  Suflblk)  genuine  Berkshire,  (Dr.  John 
R.  Woods'  stock)  Irish  Grazier,  Chester  County, 
no  Bone  and  Duchess.  I  think  them  superior 
hogs  of  mediurh  size,  and  for  fourteen  years  they 
have  not  had  a  bad  cross  among  them.  I  prefer 
titat  purchasers  should  view  my  brood  sows  and 
my  boar  on. my  farm,  three  miles  below  Rich- 
mond I  will  not  sell  them  in  pairs,  because  the 
in-and-in-breeding  Avould  depreciate  the  stock  at 
once  and  cause  dissatisfaction,  but  I  will  sell  in 
one  lot  several  of  the  same  sex. 

Price  '$10  \>er  head  for  one,  and  an  agreed 
price  for  a  larger  number.  They  will  be  delivered 
on  the  Basin  or  anv  of  the  Railroad  Depots  free 
of  charge.  '  FRANK:  G.  RUFFIN 

S-ujnmer  Hill,  Chesterfield,  March,  30.  1S58. 


PORTABLE  GAS  APPARATUS. 

HAYING  received  the  exclusive  agency  for 
the  State  of  Virsrinia  from  the  Maryland  Portable  Gas 
Coinjiany,  for  the  sale  of  their  machines,  we  are  now 
prepared  to  lontract  for  their  erection. 

The  machine  is  remarkable  'or  its  extreme  siuiplici- 
ty,  its  safety  and  cconotny  ;  one  half  a  cent  per  burner 
foran  hour's  coiisnmptiou,  is  a  lariie  estininte  ibr  this 
Gas,  while  in  illuiniiiaiiu^ qualities  it  is  not  surpassed 
by  the  Coal  Gas  of  any  city  in  the  Union.  It  is  well 
adapted  for  Private  Houses.  Faciorie.  Schools,  Col- 
leges, Churches  and  watering  places,  and  provides, 
what  in  cities  is  considered  an  indispei:  able  luxury, 
a  good  pns  light,  at  much  less  expense  han  is  paid 
for  Oil  orCantlles. 

Anv 'information  on  the  subjertt  mav  he  oljtainedby 
addressing  STEBBLNS  &  PULl.EN, 

May  59— ly  101  Broad  St.,  Richmond,  Va- 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


To  Farmers  and  Planters. 

DR.  JAMES  HIGGINS, 

(For  the  pant  ten  years  State  Agricultural  Cliemist  of 
Man/land,) 

Agent  for  the  Sale  of  Real  Estate,  Dealer 

in  Manures, 

nnd    every   thim;   connected    with    tlie    Farming   .-ind  ! 
Piiiiiiins  interests,  oflers  it  his  services.  I 

A  lonp;  e.vj)eiieiice  as  a  practical  planter  and  farmer, 
with  the  constant  analytical  examination  for  more  than  ' 
ten  years,  oC  every  kind  of  JMaiiure  sold  incur  market, 
(advantnjres  possessed  hy  non;5  others  in  the  trade,) 
will  enahle  me  always  to  furnish  those,  who  may  favor 
me  with  their  orders,  with  the  best,  ■purest,  unA  there- 
lore  the  chenpcst  Manures. 

l"«rmers,  Flaniers  and  others  will  he  furuislied  with 
the  lollowirii:  natural  Manures  : 
FEKLVIAN  GUANO, 

MEXICAN  GUANO. 

SOMBRE  11 A  GUANO, 
NEVASSA  GUANO, 

COLUMBIAN  GUANO, 

BONE  DUST, 
and  all  others  in  our  market  worthy  of  purchase.  Also 
with  J'LASTER  OF  I'ARLS,  ami  PURE  or  MAG- 
NESIAN  LIiME,  according  to  the  wants  of  the  soil, 
and  too  much  care  cannot  he  taken  in  adapting  the 
proper  lime  to  soils;  for  the  wajil  of  this  kind  thous- 
ands of  dollars  have  heen  anniially  lost  to  our  State. 
Also  the  t'ollowiufr  artificial  Manures: 

HIGGINS'  SUPER  PHO.Sl'H ATE  OF  LIME— 
prepared   under  his  own  direction  ;  and 

UiGGINS'  PHOSPHATED  PERUVIAN  OV^. 
MANIPULATED  GUANO,  jir.  pared  with  the  great- 
est care  and  precision. 

This  mixture  of  Peruvian  and  the  Phospliatic  Gu- 
anos was  lirsi  recommended  hy  me,  and  successtully 
•ised  hy  many  planters  and  farmtrs  of  this  State 
^ears  before  it  was  ever  ma'le  or  sold  in  the  city  of 
lialtimore,  hy  those  who  have  pretended  to  be  its  orig- 
inators. (If  this  he  denied,  I  can  furnish  abundant 
proof  of  the  accuracy  of  mv  statement.)     Also 

niGGiNS'  nu'rated  saline  fertili- 
zer, nn  adn)irable  I'op-Dressing  for  Wheat,  Oais  or 
Grass,  which  has  been  succe.ssiiilly  used  for  many 
years,  and  prevents,  to  a  great  extent,  the  wheal  from 
being  straw-fallen  ;  where  the  wheat  is  pale,  sickly  or 
yellow,  it  at  once  changes  it  to  a  bright,  healthy 
s;reen,  and  rapidly  increases  its  growth,  and  greatly 
promotes  the  yield. 

y\ll  Manures  sold  in  our  markets  are  liable  to  differ 
naturally,  t'lough  coming  from  the  same  place,  and 
t)earing  the  same  mark.  Still  more  are  they  liable  to 
ndutterntioits,  S^c,  and  tor  these  ihiuLS  our  Iiispec- 
'ion  System  has  never  afforded  an  adequate  q>ruleC' 
fioii. 

All  Manures  sold  by  me  will  h",ve  my  name  stamp- 
ed on  each  bag  or  barrel,  be  carefully  analyzed,  and 
(or  their  purity  the  buyeris  pledged  a  lkgal  guara.v- 
rt:E  and  my  pehsonal  honor. 

The  Mauuies  sold  by  me  will  be  at  the  same  rate 
ns  those  sold  by  others  in  the  trade. 

Persons  wishing  to  obtain  any  of  the  Manures  man- 
ufactured by  me,  or  any  others  of  my  selection,  should 
so  specify  in  their  orders  to  their  agents  in  town. 

Tkrms  (/'ash,  or  accepted  city  paper. 

i2^  Office  and  Laboratory,  Second  Street,  3d  door 
from  South  Street,  in  Gitting's  New  Building, 

May  59 — tf  Baltimokk,  Mo. 


;EEDS  OF  EVERGREEN  TREES 


.^1  00 

per  B. 

3  00 

3  00 

3  00 

2  CO 

2  50 

G  00 

)  6  00 

1  00 

3  00 

1,  2  00 

1  00 

20 

each. 

1  no 

per  ffi. 

1  00 


We  are  now  in  receipt  of  several  leadini; 
varieties  of  TREE  and  SHRUB  SEEDS,  in  ad- 
vance of  our  extensive  assortment  of  over  300 
sorts,  a  Catalogue  of  which  will  be  piiblislied. 
on  the  first  of  February. 

NORWAY  SPRUCE   SEED,  75  cents  per  To. 
EUROPEAN  SILVER  FIR, 
BLACK  AUSTRIAN  PINE, 
PITCH  PINE. 
WEYMOUTH  PINE, 
EUROPEAN  LARCH. 
CHINESE  ARBOR  YITJE, 
AMERICAN   do.  (clean  seed) 
HEMLOCK  SPRUCE,  (clean  seed)  6  00 
SEA-SIDE  PINE, 
BALSAM  FIR, 

WHITE  and  BLACK  BIRCH,  each 
YELLOW  and  WHITE  ASH.    " 
CEDAR  OF  LEBANON  OONES, 
SCOTCH  FIR, 

HONEY  LOCUST,  for  Hedges, 
YELLOW  TIMBER  LOCUST, 
BUCKTHORN  SEED, 

ALSO, 

APPLE  SEED,  40  cts.  pr.  qt.,  $S  00  pr.  bushel. 
PEAR  SEED,  (Imported,)  $2  50  per  TO. 
PEAR  SEED,  (American.)    2  dO       '• 
BLACK  MAZZARD   CHERRY   PITS,  50  cents 

per  qt.,  i$M  00  per  bushel. 
CONNECTICUT    SEED     LEAF     TOBACCO, 

ip3   50  per  lb. 
EARLY  SOVEREIGN  POTATOES,  the  earliest 

and    best    variety   in   cultivation,   $4  50    per 

WHITP:  CLOVER,  LUCERNE,  ENGLISH  RYE 
GRASS,  BLUE  GRASS,  ORCHARD  GRASS, 
and  all  and  every  variety  of  SEEDS  for  the 
Farm,  Plantation,  iind  Garden. 

J.  M.  THORBURN  &  CO., 
Jan.  ISfiO — It        15  John  Street,  New  York. 

T^EDOf'TOlMLEr 

Our  new  TRADE  CATALOGUES  of  Garden, 
Field,  Floiver,  and  Tree  Seed-'',  lor  1S60.  is  now- 
ready  for  mailing  to  all  Dealers  enclosing  a 
postage  stamp. 

OUR  STOCK  OF  SEEDS  is  the  finest  and 
most  extensive  ever  offered  in  this  country,  and 
to  parties  requiring  them  in  large  quantities,  we 
offer  unusual  inducements, 

J.  M.  THORBURN  &  CO.. 


Jan.  '1)0 — It 


15  John  Street,  New  York. 


STRAW  CUTTERS. 

My  iiaiciit  Straw  Cutler  is  adn)it|pd  to  be  the  most 
valuable  in  use.     I  guarantee  satislaction. 

H.  M.  SMI  TH,  Agricultural  Warehouse, 
00  58 — iS  4  Muin  Street. 


THORBTJRISr'S 

DESCRIPTIVE  ANNUAL  CATALOGUE  OF 
KITCHEN-GARDEN,  and  .^AGRICULTURAL 
SEEDS,  for  ISfiO.  is  now  ready  for  mailing  to 
ap[)licants  enclosing  a  postage  stamp.  It  con- 
tains directions  for  Cultivation,  and  other  useful 
information  for  amateur  riilti vators.  Send  for  it. 
J.  M.  THORBURN  &  CO., 
Jan.  'GO — It  15  John  Street,  New  York. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS' 
Agricultural  Registry  and  Agency  Ofnce, 

At  the  office  of  the  Southern  Planter,  No.  153  Main  Street,  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 
The  subscribers  are  engaged  in  the  business  of 

and  executing  orders  for  all  kinds  of 

AGRICULTORAL  MACHIIRI  AiD  IMPLEMENTS.  SEEDS. 

IMPROVED    STOCK,  of  every  variety,  ic, 

to  the  selection  and  shipment  of  which  we  will  give  our  personal  attention. 

'.Ve  have  now  on  haml  for  sale,  a  large  number  of  Farms  in  various  sections  of  the  State,  (see 
our  list  to  be  found  in  anoilier  part  of  this  paper),  to  suit  persons  of  the  most  limited  or  enlarged 
means,  and  will  cheerfully  furnish  information  respecting  any  of  them  upon  application. 

We  are  also  Agents  for  the  sale  of 

'^  Phelps'  Patent  Combination  Bee-Hive," 

one  of  w^hich  can  be  seen  in  operation  at  our  office. 

It  is  onr  design  to  make  our  office  a  kind  of  '-Farmers"  Head-Quarters,"  and  cordially  invite 
them  to  call  and  see  us  when  in  the  city.  They  will  find  constantly  on  our  table  a  number  of  the 
best  agrieidtiiral  periodicals  in  the  country,  always  open  for  their  inspection  and  information,  and 
we  will  receive  and  remit  subscriptions  for  the  san-.e.  free  of  charge. 

July  I,  1858.  AUGITST  &  WILLIAMS. 


THE  GREAT  SOUTHEKN 

Hat  and  C;ip  Manufactory  and  Depot. 
JOHN  DOOLEY, 

2\o.  SI,  Main  Sfreef.  Richmond  Va. 

1 JAXCFACTURER  of  HATS  and  CAPS  on 
£Vj. 'lie  l.irsrest  sc.ile.  nnd  in  every  possiMe  variety, 
and  Inipnrier  of  N.irili  Aiiieric.nn  and  Enropep.n  Furs, 
H.\TS,  CAPri,  PLUSHES,  TRLMMI.NGS,  and  all 
other  articles  lielonsiiiEf  to  the  Trade,  is  alwjiys  sup- 
plied "iih  a  splendid  stock  ot' Goods,  for  Wholesale 
and  Rct;iil,  w  iiicli  in  quality  and  qnanlity  cannot  be 
excelled  by  any  other  house  in  the  Soiiih.  His  rnan- 
iifacliiriiig  arraiigeii.ents  are  of  llie  completest  kind, 
and  his  facilities  for  supplying  country  merchants  a 
the  shortest  notice  cannot  be  surpassed. 
July  1858— Iv 


LIME— LIME— LIME. 

To  Farmers.  Bricklayers  and  Others. 

HAYIXG  made  arrangements  for  a 
regular  supply  of  Shells,  I  am  prepared 
to  furnish  any  quantity  of  well  burnt  Shell 
Lime,  as  low  or  lower  than  can  be  procured 
elsewhere.  It  will  be  delivered  to  farmers  at 
any  of  the  railroad  depots,  and  to  customers 
in  the  City  wherever  they  may  desire. 

Application  to  lie  made  at  my  Limo  Kilns, 
opposite  Tredegar  Iron  Works,  at  ?Ir.  John  G. 
Werth's  office,  corner  lOth  Street  and  Basin 
Bank,  or  at  Messrs.  Smith  &  Ilarwood's  Hard- 
ware Store,  Main  Street  Ilichmond. 

Jan  1858.— rf  I7M.  SMITH. 


GREAT REDrCTinX  in  THE  PRICE  OF 

HATS  Am)  BOOTS. 

From  15  to  20  per  cent,  saved 
by  Imying  from  J.  H.  .\NTHO.N  Y,  Co 
lunihi:in  Hotel  Building. 

Mole.'kin  Hat?  of  bp.=t  quality.  $3^  ;  _  „    _ 
do.   second   qiialitv,  $3  :    Fasli'ionable  /'/■ii^j^'^.t'i 
Silk  Hats,  $2  50; 'Fine  Calfskin  Se^v.  ^P^-^iM. 
ed     Boots,    $3  50;     Congress    Gailer  C^-1'^'^'h 
Boots,  $3  25;    Fine  Calfskin  Sewed  //T^RTiW 
Shoes.  *2  2.3.  hf-J>^^^ 

J.  H.  A.NTHONY  has  made  ar-^^^^i/-^ 
ranfrenients  with  one  of  the  best  ma-  ^^^f%f.T-^, 
kers  in  the  city  oi  Philadelphia  to  supply  him  with  a 
handsome  and  siibsianlial  Calf-skin  Sewed  BOOT, 
which  he  will  sell  at  the  unprecedented  low  price  of 
Three  Dollars  and  n  Half  Julv  59— ly 

Southern  Clothing  House 

KICHMOND,   VA. 

The  subscriber  keeps  con- 
stantly on  hand  a  larfre  and  Fash- 
ionable as.^ortment  o(  Keady-made 
Clolnins,  of  liis  own  maniiiiictiire, 
of  the  latest  and  most  approved 
Styles.  .Also  a  larje  assortment 
ol  Gentlemen's  furnishing  Goods, 
such  as  Handk'fs,  Cravats,  Neck 
Ties,  Shirts,  Drawers,  Gloves  iind 
Sus))enders,  Collars,  Umbrellas. 

In  addition  to  which  be  keeps  a 
largie  and    general   assortment  of 
Piece  Goods   of  every  Style  ami 
i  prepared  to  make  to  measure  at 
the  shortest  notice  and  in  the  best  and  most  fashiouii- 
ble  style.  E.  B.  SPE.NCE, 

No.  120,  Corner  of  Wain  and  13th  Sts. 
Julv  59— Iv 


Quality,  which  he 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


"V^irgiiaia  Laiad  I^egistry 
and  Agency  Office, 

LYNCHBURG,    VA. 

Thn  muleisi^ned,  bv  ictiiipst  of  land  seller?,  has  es- 
tablished in  ihe  city  of  Ly  ncbhiiiir,  nn  Accncy  fi>r  llip 
snip  (if  Liiiid,  ihe  object  of  wliicb  is  to  afford  facililies 
boll)  lo  lb"  seller  and  piircbaser  of  the  bind.  He  will 
keep  ill  bis  ntfiee  a  LA.\'D  REGISTER,  containiiit: 
correct  and  iboroiigli  descriptions  of  Farnis  for  sale, 
inchidin?  quantity,  quality,  location,  price,  terms,  and 
all  other  inlorinuiion  essential  to  be  known  by  one  de- 
sirous of  purchasinir. 

In  ibis  way,  persons  unacdiiainted  will)  the  coun- 
try, or  wishing  to  purchase,  can,  wilboiit  delay,  have 
poch  a  ]ilantalioii  pointed  out  to  ihem,  as  would  suit 
their  wishes,  and  tiie  purchaser  and  seller  at  once  be 
able  to  meet  each  other.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  sell- 
ers can  biiiig  their  land  to  the  notice  of  those  directly 
concerned,  without  that  notoriety  which  i^often  un- 
pleasant within  itself. 

Peisoiis  who  wish  the  aid  of  this  office,  in  selling, 
must  give  a  full  and  accurate  description  of  their  land, 
in  order  that  Q  fair  and  candid  representation  may  bo 
maile  to  the  purchaser. 

This  Agency  will  be  advertised  in  the  most  promi- 
nent agricultural  papers. 

All  ciiniiMunicaiioiis  must  be  post  paid,  and  if  an  an- 
swer is  required,  must  be  accompanied  with  a  postage 
stain)),  aiiil  tbev  will  be  prominly  attended  to. 

i^W  Registering  Fee,  $10. 

J13=°  Office  at  Wni.  T.  Anderson's,  Bridge  Street, 
next  door  to  .Messrs.  Irl)v  &,  Saunders. 

may '59— tf  '      LEY  BURN  WILKES. 


EDMFS  AMERICAN  PUMP. 

Without  Packing— Without  Suction. 

This  Pump,  patented  18.59,  is  a 
double  actinia  force  pump,  with- 
out chains,  £uide  rods  or  pulleys, 
is  the  simplest,  strongest,  cheap- 
est Pump  yet  invented;  can  be 
put  in  by  any  one,  and  without 
going  into  the  well,  and  raises 
from  6  to  fiO  gallons  per  tuinuie, 
according  to  size;  works  by  hand, 
water,  wind  (u-  steam,  and  is  war- 
ranted to  f^ive  satisfaction  in  all 
depths,  and  to  raise  water  by  a 
ten,  year  old  hoy  60  teet.  All 
depths  under  20  feet  complete, 
§18.  Drawings  and  full  particu- 
lars sent  free. 

Address, 

JAMES  ,M.  EDNEY, 
IMar  59-tf  147  Chan  hers  St.,  New  York. 


No.  319,  head  Broad  Street,  Shockoe  Hill, 
RICHMOND,  VA. 

Wholesale  and  Retail  Detail  Dealer  in  English,  French 

DRUGS,  MEDIciS"cHEMICALS, 

Painls,Oils,  Varnishes  and  D\e-Stiilfs;  Window  Glass, 

J'utiy,  Glue  and  Sand  Paper:  Paint,  Camel's 

Hair    and    Whitewash     Hriishes;     Cloth 

Hair,  Flesh,  Nail  and  Tooth  J'rushes. 

Fine  and  Choice  Perfumery,  Fancy  Goods, 

PURE  I^iaUORS  AND  WINES, 
For  Medicinal  and  Sacramental  Purposes. 
Surgical  instruments.  Trusses,  Shoulder  Braces, 
Supporters,  &c. 

Landretli's  Celebrated  Garden  Seeds, 

in  great  variety.    Also, 

DRS.  JAYNES'  JIKD  ROSE'S 

FA3IILY   MEDICINES, 

MEXICAI\r  MUSTANG  LINIMENT. 

Together  with  all  the  most  popular  PATEN'l"  AND 
iiOTANICAL  MEDICINES,  direct  from  the  Propri- 
etors. 

Orders  from  Country  !\Iercliants  and  Physicians 
thankfully  received  and  promptly  attended  to. 

fn^"  All  articles  from  this  Eslablishmeiit  are  war- 
ranted pure,  fresh  and  genuiii'i.  dec  58 — ly 


FRUIT  AND  ORNAMENTAL  TREES 

soi'TiiERN  mmm  mwm, 

i^iclmi-ond,  ^^a. 

THE  Subscribers  most  respectfullv  call  the  atten- 
tion of  all  lovers  of  SUPERIOR  FRUIT,  to  their 
large  and  well  assorted  Stock  of  'i'REES  for  sale 
this  coming  Fall  and, Spring.     Such  as 

Apple,  Peach.  Plum,  (Cherry,  Apri- 
cot, Aectarin   and  Dwarf  Pear   Trees,  Straw- 
berry Plants,    $i'C.,   Si'C. 
Our  Stock  of  Al'PLE  TliEES  is  unusually  l.irge 
and  fine.     A  new  Descriptive  Catalogue,  with  I^rices 
annexed,    will    he  seen   uii   application       We    would 
insist  np(  n   those  in  want  of  TREES,  &c.,  to  send 
in  their  or.lers  at  their  earliest  po'isilde  cnnveuience. 
AiiPKKss-  LEWIS  'lUDOR  &  CO. 

Sept.  1859— 6in  Richmond,  Va. 


30,000! 


To  one  or  more  persoris  who  can  command  the 
above  sum,  and  who  may  be  disposed  to  conduct  a 
huge  nianufacturiusr  establishuient  in  the  west,  a  most 
advantageous  opening  is  pioposed,  wherebv  with 
reasonal)ly  good  management,  a  fortune  jnay  be  rea- 
lized in  a  short  time.      Address 

Reference  may  be  made  to  }    P.  WH.LIAMS, 
Jos.  C.  G.  Kk.vneuy.      3       Washington,  1).  C. 

Sept— tf 


Corn  Shellers  of  Various  Kinds. 

The  Cyliiuler  for  hand  will  shell  400  bushels  per 
day,  the  same  for  horse  power  and  baud  will  shell  the 
same  bv  hand  and  6(10  bv  horse  power.  'I"he  Reading 
Shelter  will  shell  from  1,000  to  1,500  bushels. 

WHEAT  FANS,  and  the  usual  varietv  of  machi- 
nery <ui  hand.  H.  M.  SMITH, 

oc  58— tf  14  Main  Street. 


Essex  Pigs  for  Sale. 

The  subscriber  has  a  fev/  pure  bred  Essex  PfGS. 
Prioe  $10  each.  Also  some  half  Essex,  oiif  of  .'»ow.s 
of  '■  Pel  ksbire  and  Grazier''  stock.  I'rice  of  the  lat- 
ter, $15  for  two. 

The  best  only  of  the  litter  will  be  sent  to  persons 
ordering  them. 

May  '59.  JAMES  E.  WILLIAMS. 


Rich's  Iron  Beam  Plows. 

A  full  supply  on  hand,  and  for  sale  by 

H.  M.  SxMITH, 
oc  58— tf.  14  Main  Street. 


SOUTHERX  PLAX'TER.— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


PHOSPHATIC   GUANO, 

FROM  THE  ISLAND  OF  SOMBRERO,  West  Indies, 

THE  RICHEST  DEPOSITE  OF  PHOSPHATE  OF  UME  K^OWX  TO  THE  WORLD. 


Br  a  careful  analysis  of  an  averase  sample  of  different  cargoes,  tbe  annexed  eminent  Cbemista 
have  found  iliis  remarkable  deposiie  to  contain  of  Pliosp'nate  of  Lime,  as  follows: 


HAYES, 

- 

Eorion. 

of  1st  i 
2d 

Sample, 

sy.cu 

S9.20 

REESE, 

■ 

Baltimore,  - 

1st 
2d 
3d 

S5.14 

8G.60 
72.04 

. 

'■• 

4tli 

72.04 

CHILTON 

New  Yorl;.  - 

1st 
2d 

86.34 
84.92 

PIGGOT. 

- 

Baltimore,   - 

* 

1st 

76.8.5 

HUSOX. 

Liverpool. 

England, 

80.20 

DECK, 

of  a  select 

New  York,  - 

ted  specimen, 

1st 

SS.OO 
fJS.25 

MAUPIX  &  TUTTLE,  Universitj'  c 

.f  V 

irginia, 

85.16 

AVILLIAM  GILHAM,31iliiary Institute,  Lexington,  Va.,  S3.40 

Thus  proving  it  to  average  the  richest  deposite  of  Phosphate  of  Lime  known  to  the  world. 

Pure  Bone  Dust  contains  but  55  or  56  per  cent,  of  this  important  Phosphate:  hence  a  compari- 
son of  the  relative  value  of  the  two,  will  at  once  show  which  is  the  mosldesirable  for  Agricultural 
purposes. 

Guanos  are  of  two  distinct  species — those  in  which  the  Phosphates  of  Lime  predominate,  as 
in  Sombrero,  and  others:  and  those  in  which  Ammonia  predominates,  as  in  the  Peruvian.  Both 
experience  and  theory  establish  the  fact,  that  Ammonia  and  Phosphate  of  Lime  are  essential  in- 
gredients for  a  general  fertilizer,  and.  consequently,  for  general  purposes,  a  proper  mixture  of  the 
two  is  recommended:  whilst  the  Peruvian  and  other  Ammoniated  Guanos,  are  mere  sthnulants  or 
qutckeners  of  the  soil,  the  Sombrero  and  other  Pbosi^hatic  Guanos,  are  permanent  fertilizers,  but  of 
slower  action  and  less  perceptible  effect  the  first  }'ear.  unless  ai;led  by  some  stimulants.  Hence 
tQfc  preiit  inip'^rfanee  cf  combining  the  two  in  proper  proportions,  which,  if  done,  makes  tlve  hcsl, 
most  coH.i/t.T,vf.rtf ,  ar."  f.-,~,nnmical  fertilizer  known.  Assuming  the  cost  of  Peruvian  Guano  at  $62, 
anil  Sonibrero  at  $34  per  ton — and  with  one-quarter  of  the  former,  mix  three-quarters  of  the 
\^ViKT.  (ycit.cn  proporiioni  are  rceommended  by  experienced  Farmers.')  it  gives,  at  a  cost  of  about  §11 
per  ton,  a  fertilizer  far  more  valuable  and  permanent  than  the  Peruvian  alone.  The  agriculturist 
need  only  be  reminded  of  the  nature  of  the  two  predominating  ingredients,  in  the  different  species 
of  Guano,  to  enable  him  to  understand  the  proper  mode  of  its  application.  Whilst  Ammonia  (in  the 
Peruvian)  is  liable  to  evaporate  or  rise,  Phosphate  of  Lime  (in  the  Sombrero)  is  heavj',  and  liable  to 
sink  below  the  reach  of  the  roots  of  plants  Therefore  it  should  be  either  deposited  in  the  hill,  or 
drill  with  the  crop,  or  used  as  a  top  dressing,  in  the  proportion  of  from  200  to  400  lbs.  to  the  acre, 
according  to  the  wants  of  the  soil.  If  used  as  a  top  dressing,  the  Spring  is  the  best  time,  when 
the  crop  is  assuming  its  strength  and  sustenance,  as,  at  that  time,  the  benefit  of  the  Ammonia  is 
less  likely  to  be  lost  than  if  used  in  tlie  Fa, I  or  early  "\^  niter. 

EDMOND  DAVENPORT  &  CO  ,  Agents. 

RICHMOND,    Virginia. 

8@-It  can  also  be  obtained  of  A.  GARRETT.  E.  WORTH  AM  &  CO.,  DUKE  &  HUTCHIN- 
SOX.  and  E    H.  SKIXKER,  Richmond.  Feb.  1,  1858. 


CO-PARTNERSHIP    NOTICE. 


I  have  Ibis  dnv  adiiiilted  ns  a  partner,  Mr.  JOHN  N.J  E.NMNGS.  The  businc'=  will 
in  future  he  conducted  at  inv  idd  stand,  Nd.  118  Main  Street,  under  the  firm  and  style  of  S.\.MUEL  S.  COT- 
TRELL  &  CO.,  where  we'have  on  hand  a  fine  assortment  of  Smldles,  Bridle«,  Whips,  Carriajre,  Cart  and 
WH£on  Harne-s,  of  every  descripiion  and  quality,  and  will  conlinue  to  niann.%ctiire  to  order  and  for  sals, 
everv  c]a.<:s  of  good?  in  our  line.  o.r.r^/~.i 

There  was  .jwardeu  nip  at  the  United  States  Fair  lasl  Fall,  three  silver  Medals  for  SUPERIOR  SPECI- 
ME.\S  OF  WORKMANSHIP:  since  which  time  our  facilities  have  greailv  increii.^ed,  and  «e  now  flatter 
ourselves  that  we  can  fun;;-h  every  aiii-le  iii  our  line,  not  to  be  surpassed  in  quality,  and  at  as  low  prices 
as  anv  oiherestablislimeDi  in  this  country. 

r  hes  leave  to  return  iiiv  sincere  tliniiks  to  my  old  friends  and  the  public  generally  for  the  liberal  patron- 
asre  hnetofore  liesiowed  upon  mc,  and  respectfully  solicit  a  continuance  of  the  same  to  the  nevv  concern, 
pledsine  ourselves  to  use  our  utmost  endeavors  to  please  oui  friends  and  patrons. 

Feb  1S59— Iv  S.\MUEL  S.  COTTKELL. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADTERTISIXG  SHEET. 


,„S'A'''-"'  ~.~.-'M£> 


■  ■  ■''uvi.iuiw 


The  above  cut  is  a  representation  of  J.  HAW'S  Pecker  Saw  5Iill. 

It  is  simple  in  its  construction,  verv  duraliie ;  aud  is  well  adapted  for  plantation  sawing.  It  will  saw 
with  from  4  lo  G  horse-po«er  Irom  1.000  to  1,500  feet  per  day,  if  properly  iiianased.  The  carriage  is  24  feet 
lonsr,  and  will  cut  logs  ihat  will  square  lo  21  inciies,  and  cuts  all  kinds  of  limber;  The  limber  is  inserted 
in  ilie  oblong  plate,  and  can  be  renewed  when  worn  out. 

I  hi'.ve  ziven  ihe  Mill  n  fair  trial,  and  warrant  the  performance  as  above  stated.  The  price  of  the  Mill  is 
$205,  vviih  extra  pinions,  screw-wrench,  cant-hooks,  set-punch,  and  one  extra  set  of  teeth.  Any  good  thresh- 
er horse-power  will  answer  to  drive  it.  I  also  make  Threshing  A'achines  from  4  to  12  horse  power,  and 
Threslieis  to  thresh  aud  clean  Wlieat  at  the  same  operation,  for  which  I  can  give  satisfactory  references  to 
the  largest  fanners  on  tlie  Famunkev  River.    Those  wishiuz  further  information,  will  address 

October  1858— tf '_ ""JOHN  HAW.  Old  Church.  Hanover  Co..  Va. 

IS"  ^A.  A^  ^  S  S  A_    GJJJ^JS^O 

THE  RICHEST  PHOsPHATIC  GUANO  IMPORTED. 

Your  attention  is  respectfully  invited  to  the  annexed  Analysis  and  Reports  on  tlie  Guano  offered  bv  me, 
and  espec'Rlly  to  the  fact  therein  shown,  that  it  contains  in  a  sriven  bulk  a  <rreater  amount  of  I'hosphates 
t\\ an  is  found  in  any  other  manure,  naiural  or  artificial,  yet  oflered  to  the  public.  Phosphoric  aciil  is  now 
a()niitted  by  ihe  best  agricullural  authorities  to  be  the  one  thing  above  all  others  necessarv  to  he  returned 
to  the  soil,  to  enable  it  to  produce  an  tinfaiiingly  good  crop  wiihi;!it  permanently  impairing  its  general  t'ertilit>; 
in  this  ^uano  we  have  it  presented  in  the  form  best  adapted  for  such  a  purpose.  I  am  anxious  to  have  some 
of  it  tried  in  every  district,  and  also  that  such  as  try  it,  may  favor  me  through  my  Agents,  with  the  earliest 
information,  as  to  how  far  it  has  ))r:icticiilly  borne  out  the  ami -ipaiions  of  those  who  have  scientifically  ex- 
amined its  constituents,  with  a  view  to  enable  me,  and  district  .Acents  to  make  early  arranireiiients  !br  an  ade- 
quate supply  lor  the  following  year.  Owing  to  the  rapidly  diuiiiiisbin;:  supplr  of  Guano  from  the  Chincha 
Islands,  il>  >early  advancing  price,  and  the  exhaustive  effects  produced  by  i:s  too  free  application  !o  the  land, 
from  its  possessing  too  much  ammonia,  in  proportion  to  its  Phosphates,  Navass.i  Guano  excels  it  in  practical 
use,  and  especially  to  the  farmer  as  perinauenily  improving  to  the  land,  which  might  yearly  receive  from  the 
application  of  .\A  '•'ASS.A  (iUANO,  more  Phosphates  than  the  crop  would  deprive  it  of. 

All  local  .Merchants  and  Dealers  are  required  to  give  a  guarantee  on  purchasing  that  ihev  will  sell  it  to 
consumers  genuine,  as  received.  Very  respectfully,  W.M .  F.  .MURUOCK, 

No.  29  Exchange  Building,  Baltimore,  April  4,  1858. 
Report  of  Analysis  of '•  Navassa  Guatto" — Made  for  E.  K.  COOPER. 
The  sample  was  found  upon  Analysis  to  be  composed  as  follows — 

Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime,     -  -  -  -  84.73 

Containing  of  Phosphoric  Acid,  -  -  38.82 

Fluoride  of  C:ilciiim,  •  -  -  -  2  .''>4 

Carbonate  of  Lime,  ....  5  35 

Per  Oxide  of  Iron  and  Some  Alumna,  ...  3  fil) 

Water.  &.c.  -  -  -  -  -  4  38 


lot). 


The  extraordinarily  high  per  centage  of  Phosphate  of  Lime  above  slated,  recommends  this  article  at  once 
as  a  superior  I'hosphatic  iiiiinnre,  especially  at  the  present  time  wiien  the  want  of  the  better  qualities  of  Piios- 
pbatic  Guanos  is  most  serionsly  felt.  The  presence  of  Fluoride  of  Caiciuiii  is  of  no  slisbt  iinpiutance.  Thii- 
Biilistance  serves  as  a  direct  nutriment  lo  plants  and,  subsequentiv,  ent>.is  the  compositinu  of  the  Bones  and 
Teeth  of  Animals.  "  CHAS.  BICK.ELL.  Ph.  U. 

Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime.  Bont  Phosphate  of  Lime. 

Jas.  R.  Chilton,  .M.D..  New  York,  83.73  R.  H.  Stabler.  M.D.,  Alexandria,  85.02 

For  sale  bv  S.  M.GRLUEIi'S  SO.NS,  F..  H.  SKINKER  &  CO..  Richmond:  JOH.N  ROWLF,  FT  & 
CO.,  H  C.  H.ARDY  &c  CO..  J'eiersburg:  SCOTT.  FRENCH  &  CO..  Fredericksburg :  GARRISON  A: 
MAIG.NE,  Noriolk;  J.  C.  NEVETT,  Alexandria;  VALENTINE  S.  BitUNNER,  Frederick,  Md. ;  BE.NJ'N 
DARBV,  Georgetown,  D.  C.  Mav  lSo9— tf 


SOUTIIERX  PLANTER.— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


ffJfflffS  PHOSPHO-PEROmil  GUiO, 

Peruvian  Guano  used  alone  is  quite  costly,  and  is  rarely  attended  with  an]/-  permanent,  an  J 
never  witli  any  considerable  improvement,  Pliospliatic  Guano  used  alone,  ihongli  far  less  costly 
than  the  other,  is  yet  not  economical,  because,  being  dissolved  slowly  and  with  iliiTicnlty.  it  rarely 
exerts  any  eflect  on  the  Wheat  crop,  and  not  much  on  the  subsequent  crop  of  clover.  The  two 
used  in  intimate  mixture,  and  costing  less  than  Peruvian  Guano,  are  said  to  be  superior  to  either 
alone,  that  a  far  less  quantity  of  Peruvian  Guano  will  produce  a  crop  which  would  require  a  much 
larger  application  if  used  singly;  and  the  Phosphalic  Guano  is  made  speedily  operative  on  the 
Wheat,  and  permanently  operative  on  the  succeeding  crop  of  clover,  and  on  the  land.  One  theory 
is,  that  the  ammonia  in  tlie  Peruvian  liberates  the  pliosphoric  acid  in  the  Phosphatic  Guano,  for 
the  use  of  both  wiieat  and  clover.  Another  is,  that  the  ammonia  enables  both  Wheat  and  clo- 
ver to  appropriate  the  phosphoric  acid.  Of  tlie  truth  of  all  this  each  man  must  jud^e  for  him- 
self. The  mixture  would  certainly  seem  to  be  judicious,  because  there  is  a  growing  demand  for  it 
from  judicious,  practical  men — men  whose  names  can  stand  a  reference.  Hitherto  this  demand 
has  been  met  from  Baltimore,  or  still  farther  J^Iorth.  I  now  propose  to  supply  it  from  Richmond, 
with  an  article  at  least  equal  to  any  made  elsewhere.  It  shall  contain  8  per  ct.  of  ammonia, 
and  not  less  than  45  per  ct.  of  phosphate  of  lime.  All  who  have  heretofore  Satisfactorily  used 
Manipulated  Guano,  may  safely  buy  their  supply  of  me  ;  and  I  ask  ^ose  who  have  never  tried 
It  to  try  mine  now  by  the  side  of  Peruvian   Guano. 

There  is  no  secret  in  my  ingredients  or  mode  of  manufacture  ;  and  every  farmer  is  at  liberty 
to  inspect  the  whole  process.  If  he  approves  it,  but  thinks  he  can  mix  it  more  cheaply  for 
himself,  I  will  sell  him  the  phosphates  I  use,  and  he  may  make  the  experiment,  pro- 
vided he  will  buy  enough  of  mine  to  compare  them.  All  I  claim  to  do  is  to  grind  and  mix 
Far  belter  than  the  farmer  can,  to  select  a  better  phosphate  than  he  can,  and  to  obtain  it  on 
better  terms.  My  experience  in  the  market  already  assures  me  that  it  is  far  more  difficult  to  ob- 
tain a  good  phosphate  than  a  good  Peruvian  Guano;  and  as,  besides  this,  their  complete  effect 
depends  on  their  thorough  a<lmixture.  which  can  only  be  accomplished  by  perfect  machinery, 
it  is  better  for  them  to  purchase  the  prepared  article  than  the  ingredients,  when  they  are  sat- 
isfied that  they  will  get  what  they  liargain  for.  That  I  i)rofess  to  furnish  all  who  deal  with  me.  ' 
I  have  leased  a  large  house  on  Gary  street,  opposite  the  Basin  sheds,  and  fitted  it  up  with  com- 
plete machinery,  where  I  shall  superintend  the  manufacture  iu  person,  and  where  1  shall  be 
happy  to  see  all  my  friends. 

While  I  claim  that  this  article,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  reduced  to  a  fine  dry  powder,  will  broad- 
cast better  than  Peruvian  Guano,  there  is  no  question  that  for  the  same  reason  it  will  be  vastly 
superior  for  the  drill. 

Price,  •$52  cash  per  ton  of  2,000  lbs.,  and  will  vary  according  to  changes  in  prices  of  ingre- 
dients. 

1  have  appointed  the  following  persons  as  agents  for  the  sale,  from  whom  it  can  be  obtained, 
on  the  same  terms  as  from  nivself,  viz: 

CRENSHAW  &  CO..  S.  McGRUDERS  SONS, 

ALEXR  GARRETT.  PEYTON  &  ARCHER,  Richmond ; 

M.  HOLLINS  &  CO..  Lynchburg. 

FRANK  C-  ETJFFIN. 

Richmond,  July,  1S5&. — tf 


The  siihscril)er  h^s  for  sale  two  very  fiiip  Essex  BO  \RS,  rather  more  than  a  year  old.  -Also,  on-'.  Snff/lk — 
one  Chester  Count!/,a.ad  several  Essex  Sous.  Price  $30  each,  delivered  on  the  cars,  or  other  piiblii;  freight 
lines. 

Nov.  1st,  1859.  JAMES  E.   WILLIAMS. 

SHUCKS  WANm       $50,  FIFTY  DOLLARS,  $50 


The  snliSdiiii'r  wj-hes  to  purchase  for  present  de- 
livery at  his  place  on  8lh  sireet,  (opposite  City 
Sprin?,)  Richmond,  Va.,  or  for  future  delivery,  loose 
or  in  b:des.  in  RiLdimond,  or  pressed  in  bales  only  in 
New  'i"ork,  any  quantity  of  Corn  Shucks. 

Sept  18.59— 6t  G.  B.  STACY. 

A  KARM    OF    300    ACRES    IN  BOTETOURT 
COUNTY.     Land  good,  and  improvemenis  eood  and 
sufficient.     For  furiher  particulars  inquire  of 
AUGUST  &  WILLI A.M.S, 

Dec.  Richmond,  Va. 


j   Fifty  Dollars  a  Month,  and  all 
i  Expenses  Paid. 

I  To  introduce  our  NEW  NATIONAL  DOUBLE 
ITHREAD  TWENTY  DOLLAR  SEWING  MA- 
jCHINE.  A  Great  Chance  for  Travellina  Agents  to 
engaffe  in  a  permanent  hnsine.^s.  nt  $6t)0  a  year  and 
iex|ienses.     Address,  with  stamp,  fur  particulars, 

j  J.  W.  HARRIS  &  CO.. 

No.  13,  Shoe  anil  Leather  Exchange, 


Dec— 2t 


Boston,  Mass. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


CROYER  8l  BAKER'S 

CELEBRATED  FAMILY   SEWING 

MACHINES. 

NEW  STYLES— Prices  from  $50  to  $125.    Extra  charge 
of  $5  for  Hemmers. 

Tliis  Machine  spvvs  from  two  spools,  us  purchased  from  the  store, 
}eqiiiring  no  re-winding  on  thre  id.  It  hems,  fell;!,  gatliers  and  stitclies 
in  a  superior  style,  finishmjf  each  seam  bv  its  own  operation,  witlioiit 
recourse  to  the  hand  needle,  as  is  rfquired  by  other  machines.  It  will 
ilo  better  and  cheaper  sewing  than  a  seamstress  tan,  even  if  she  works 
lor  one  cent  an  hour. 


Sales  Room,  under  Mechanics'  lustitute,  Richinoud,  Va.,  Otli  Street. 


To  the  Grover  Sf  Baker's  Sewiii;^  Maclime  Co — Gents:  Perhaps  you  nriy  like  to  know  how  the  Gro- 
ver  &  Baker  maciiines  are  doin^  in  Cuba.  We  have  twenty-five  of  your  machines  in  use,  making  govern- 
ment clothing  for  the  army,  and  phuitaiion  sewing,  which  we  have  had  in  use  now  about  eighteen  months, 
and  their  performance  has  I'ur  exceeded  our  most  sanguine  expectations.  We  run  the  machines  constantly 
by  steam,  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  and  we  find  them  to  recjuire  but  little  repair — indeed,  tliey  seem  not  to  be 
worn  at  uU.  We  have  tried  both  the  Singer  and  Wheeler  &  Wilson  machines,  but  rliey  have  been  long 
since  laid  aside  in  the  race.  One  thing  we  are  suie  of— that  the  Grover  &  Baker  machine  is  ihe  only  ma- 
chine for  our  work.  John  J.  Sloci/m, 

Sup'l  of  the  Industra,  Cabona,  Havana. 

Some  years  since  I  purchased  a  Shuttle  I\Iachine,  and  found  so  much  trouble  in  working  it,  that  1  gave 
it  away,  and  after  closely  examining  the  mechnnism  and  working  of  every  machine  within  iny  reach,  I  pur 
chased  a  Grover  &  Baker,  as  best  suited  to  do  ihe  sewing  of  niv  I'amily.  I  have  iound  it  simple,  easily 
kept  iu  order,  and  in  evidence  of  its  simplicity,  will  state  that  my  dauiihter.  when  about  ten  years  old,  with- 
out any  particular  instruction,  had  no  difficulty  in  working  it,  and  finds  it  verv  fiisciniiting  emiiloyment. 

ROBERT  CHILSDEN,  Beaufort,  S.C 
Jan  1860- 6t.  ';    ,    , 

B  HID  G-E  MAN'S 

Horticultural   Establishment, 

JVos.  876  a7id  SIS  JBroadtvay, 
HSW  YORK. 

■}r  "^  "^  "^ 


THE  SUBSCRIBER  HAS  NOW  ON  HAND  A  FULL  SUPPLY  OF 

Grass,  fegetable.  Herb  and  Flower  SeedSj 

Embracing  the  old  favorites,  ailH  including  several  new  varieties  of  superior  excellence.     For  sale  (at  the 
lowest  market  price,)  fur  qualiiy,  and  quantity,  or  iu  packages,  for  retail  trade. 

|;^New  Catalogues  furnished  on  application. 
■  Also  an  assortment  of 

HorticuUiiral  Implements,  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Books. 

AH  orders  attended  to  prompllv,  and  with  exactness. 

ALFRED  BRIDGEMAN. 

Jan  60— 3t 


10 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


HAVING  COMPLETED  MY 

Lnri3 


ON 


FRANKLIN  STREET  AND   WALryUT  ALLEY, 

The  u'Jiole  heitig  in  connection  with  my 


J" 


;  -I 


T/ 


OH  MAIN  STREET, 

I  now  invite  particular  attention  to  the  advantayos  I  have  iur  Manufacturing  any  kind  uf 


AND    FOR 

Supplying    Seeds    and    Implements, 

OF  EVERY  DESCRIPTION. 


As  heretofore^  I  shall  pay  particular  attention  to  my 

PORTABLE   THRESHERS, 

With  liorn^e-powers  so  nrrniigpil  as  to  require  no  dij;ciiijr  or  rlilay  instnrlinc;;  and  slinll  keep  Machines  of 
>he  host  Phil)  and  Workiiianship — such  as  my  patent  Straw  Culler,  Corn-Shellers  for  Horse  and  Hand 
Power,  Wheat  Fans,  Screws.  Cradles,  Reapers,  Hay  Presses,  Cider  Mills,  Seed  Drills,  I'lows.  Hairowp, 
Hny  Kakes,  Gleaners,  Cultivators,  Gnm  and  Leather  Machine  Belliiin;. 

Repairs  of  all  kinds  of  Tlireslie-s  and  Reapers  if  sent  early  sliiclly  attended  to. 

li^  Agent  for  Hit-kford  and  Hiilluian's  Wheat  and  Guano  Drills,  and  McCoraiick's  Reaper. 
Jan  6U — It 


'  SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADA'ERTISING  SHEET. 


11 


RHODES'  SUPER-PHOSPHATE. 

Every  lot  offered  for  sale  regularly  Analy^'d  and  fully  Warranted. 

ilAXCFACTCRDD   BY  •    , 

B.  JSL.  RHODES  &  CO., 

Office  SJ  South  Si'rcet,  Bowly's  Wharf,  Baliimore,  Md. 
Packed  in  Barrels  and  Baj;s.    Price  $45  per  ton,  cash,  in  Baltimore. 

JGENTS  IN  VIRGINU. 
Richmond— SCHAER,  KOHLER  &  CO,  Alexandria— WATERS.  ZIMMERMAN  &  CO. 

Petersburg:— VENA  HLE  &  MORTON.  Frederitk^l.nrg- SCOTT.  FRENCH  &.  CO. 

Lvncliburir- M.  HOLI.INS   &  CO.  Far.iiville— H    E.  WARREN. 

Norfolk— B.  J.  BOCKOVER.  Blacks  &  Whites— JEFFERSON  &  WILLIAM- 

Mav  1859— ly  SON. 


r/x^ 


AGENCY  NO.  45   GOLD   STREET,  NEW  YORK. 

THIS  is  a  CONICAL  FRENCH  BURR  STONE  MILL,  of  ereat- 
ly   Improved    Cot.striiction,    combining  luivantap^es  ovpr  all   others 
of  same  material,  in  compactness,  simplicity,  the  small   amount  of 
power  reqiireil  10  operate  it,  in  not  heating  the  meal,  and   in  being 
ndapteil  to  grind  on  the  same  i^Iill,  the  co^trspst  feed  and  finest  flour. 
Negroids  of  sufficient  intelligence  to  niii   and  keep  it  in   perfect  grird- 
ing  order,  are  found  on   every  plantation.     The    Gin   po\v(  r   u?cd  br 
Planters  is  admirably  adapted  to  drive  the  EXCELSIOR  iMlLL. 
Two  ffood  hordes  workin?  on   anv  good  power,  will  grioil  five  busheU  flour,  or  fine  niL^al  the   hour.     It  is 
only  36  inches  lon^,  !8  wide,  find  18  high — weighs  300  pounds.     Tlie  best  .Mill  ever  invented  for  plantation 
use — will  last  a  life  time,  and  therefore  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  ntsmberlcss  Iron    iMilis  with  which 
planters  have  been  humbugcred  tor  years  past.    It  is  a  perfect  gem,  of  inestimable  value  on  any  plantation. 
PRICE-$100  •■'=  .7  1  1 

Descriptive  Circulars  sent  bv  J.  A.  BEXXET,  Sole  Ag'ent. 

Nov.  185y— 6m 


MANIPULATED  GUANO!  MANIPULATED  GUANO! 

We  ofler  to  the  Planters  of  Virginia  a  Guano  prepared  by  us  as  follows  : 
1000  lbs.  of  the  best  Peruvian  Gnano  that  can  be  procured  ; 
son  11)5.  of  the  best  Sombrero  Guano,  containing  full  SO  ^  cent  of  the  Pbospliate  of  Lime. 
~00^lbs.  of  the  best  Ground  Plaster,  for  which  we  pay  ^2  ^  ton  extra. 
P'anters  and  others  are  invited  to  examine  the  article.     From  the  best  information  we  can  ob- 
tain, we  believe  the  mixture  is  one  of  the  best  that  can  be  prepared  for  the  Virginia  lands. 
Price  to  Planters.  $4S'-^  ton,  or  §2  ^  ton  Jess,  where  they  furnish  bags. 

For  sale  by  EDiMOND  DAVENPORT  &  CO. 

Also  for  sale  by  Commission  and  Grocery  Merchants  in  this  City. 

We  refer  to  Planters  who  have  used  the  Sombrero  and  the  Manipulated  Guano — among  them  James  Gait 
Esq.,  A.  Warwick.  Esq..  Joseph  .\llen,  Esq.,  R.  H.  Styll.  Esq.,  and  others. 

Below  we  give  O.K.  Tuttle's  (Chemist  at  University  o.  Virginia; 
bags,  and  it  shall  be  kept  to  that  standard. 

"  I  am  now  nhie  to  give  you  the  results  of  analysis.  They  show  the  Mixture  to  be  what  3'ou  stated  in  a 
forni'.r  letter,  and  I  judsre  that  you  are  very  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  materials,  especially  of  Peruvian 
Guano.  The  per  centajre  of  Ammonia  shows  the  pure  Peruvian  to  contain  12-4  per  cent.,  which  is  more 
than  the  average.     The  Analysis  is  as  follows  : 

Moisture  (civen  off  at  boiling  pomt  of  water,) 
Phosphate  of  Lime. 
Sulphuric  .4cid.  5. -15  \ 
Lime,  3.64,  S 

Aiiiniotn"a,  -  -  - 

Ins(duble  Matter,  ... 

A  small  quantity  of  Alkali — undetermined.      ) 
Water  in  combination  and  Organic  Matter,  \ 


report  of  the  same,  samples  from  72 


10.05 
4S-26 

9.09 

6.?0 
1.55 

24.85 


lOO.CO 


Hoping  that  your  Fertilizer  may  meet  with  the  success  which  it  deserves, 

I  remain,  wry  lespectfully  vours, 
Jan— tf  '      D.  K.  TUTTLE. 


12 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


A  GRIST  MILL  FOR 
T^^SNTY  DOLLARS. 

THE  TOM  THUMB  GRIST  MILL. 


We  have  grountl  corn,  oats,  barley.  Hiin^:arian " 
grass  seed,  and  buckwheat.  It  works  equally 
well  with  each.  We  jrroiind  six  bu.-^hels  per 
hour,  and  are  confident  that  we  can  put  eight 
bushels  of  dry  corn  through,  and  then  make  as 
good  meal  as  can  be  made  wiili  burrs. 

WARREN  CLARK, 

Sec.  of  the  Eagle  Co. 
Shipping  weight,  packed  for  transporta- 
tion by  rail  ov  express,         ...   140  lbs. 
Price.     '- $20  00 

HEDGES,  FREE  &  CO., 

No.  0  INIain  Street.  Gincinnaii,  Ohio. 

f  N.  B. — A  full  descriptive  circular  mailed  free 
on  application.  [Jan.  'CO — It. 


'^'SV<^^k^;'■^  ^  ^ 


We  claim  that  the  TOM  THU."MB  :\riLL  su- 
percedes, in  practical  efficiency,  all  small  me- 
tallic mills  for  similar  purposes  which  have 
ever  been  made,  and  at  less  than  half  the  cost  of 
any  other.  By  the  simple  device  of  an  adjusta- 
ble regulator  within  the  throat  of  the  Mill,  we 
are  able  to  dispense  with  all  the  superfluous 
and  expensive  rattletrap  arrangements  vt'hich 
havepro,"ed  such  an  insuperable  objection  to 
every  thing  of  the  kinil  heretofore.  If  the 
power  is  ample,  the  regulator  may  be  set  to 
feed  in  the  grain  rapidly;  if  deficient,  so  as  to 
deliver  it  more  slowly  to  ilie  grinding  surface. 

They  are  arranged  to  be  run  by  horse,  water, 
steam  or  any  machine  power  where  a  belt  at- 
tachment is  admissible,  and  will  grind  wheat, 
rye.  buckwheat,  oats,  barley,  corn,  or  Hungarian 
grass-seed,  at  the  rate  of  five  to  eight  bushels 
per  hour,  according  to  the  grade  of  fineness  of 
the  meal   and  .speed    at  which  they  are  run. 

The  distinctive  merit  of  the  Machine  is  its 
simplicity,  whereby  any  one  competent  to  put 
on  the  band,  and  fill  the  hopper  with  grain, 
may  understand  and  attend  it.  It  is  small,  it  is 
true,  but  as  long  as  it  works  well  and  with  ra- 
pidity, that  will  be  jiardoned,  doubtless,  by  its 
friends,  and  it  asks  nothing  from  any  other. 

It  is  self-sharpening,  and  therefore  durable — 
the  latter  quality  being  established,  we  think, 
beyond  a  question,  by  the  long  continued  use  of 
a  mill  possessing  similar  grinding  capacities, 
•though  greatly  more  complex  and  expensive, 
which  our  house  and  the  firm  that  preceded 
ours,  have  several  years  manjifactured. 

The  following  interesting  letter  from  a  party 
who  is  using  one  of  the  mills,  tells  what  the 
people  think  of  the  little  chap. 

Mexdota,  Illixois,  Feb.  14th,  1S59. 
Messrs.  Hedges,  Free  ^  Co. 

Gents:  The  little  Tom  Thumb  Grist  Mill 
you  sent  me  is  the  best  thing  of  the  kind  in  use. 


BELLS, 


The  undersigned,  by  a  happy  anialgammion  of 
circuiiistances,  (chiefly  iron)  have  succeeded  in  pro- 
ducing a  class  of  Bells  which,  while  possessing  the 
sonorous  qualities  of  brass,  are  yet  afflirJed  at  less 
than  a  third  ot  the  price  of  those  which  are  touiposed 
of  'he  latter  material. 

The  superiority  which  these  bells  posses.«!  over  any- 
thing of  the  kind  previously  presented  to  tlie  public, 
coupled  widi  their  remarkable  cheapness,  reiidei  them 
especially  worthy  the  attention  of  those  requiring 
anything  in  that  line.  It  is  with  no  little  satisiaction 
therefore,  that  the  undersigned  scilicit  an  examination 
of  the  annexed  Price  List,  which  must,  for  reiisons 
given  above,  possess  unusual  interest  to  Farmers, 
Hotel  Proprietor-^  Planters,  Supervisors  of  Schools 
and  Trustees  of  Country  Cluirches. 

PRICES. 

No   1.     50  lb.  Bell  with  Yoke  and  Standard,  $  5 

"    2.    75         "  "  ••  8 

'•    3.  100        "  "  "  IQ 

«    4.  150        "  "  "  IS 

Patents  for  larger  sizes  are  inactive  pre'araiion, 
and  may  be  expected  sliort  y,  when  prices  wijl  be 
given. 

We  feel  warranted  in  saying,  that  the  Nos.  3  and 
4  may,  with  distinctness,  be  heard  a  dislunce  of  three 
miles. 

On  receipt  of  price,  we  will  deliver  free,  on  hoard 
Cars,  Steamboat,  or  to  Express  Company,  marked 
to  anv  address. 

HEDGES,  FREE  &  Co. 

N'l.  6,  Main  Street,  between  Front   &  Columbia. 
Jan  60 — It  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


13 


Fori 

COXVENIEXCE.  LUXURY,  HEALTH  AND 

ECONOMY. 


A  KITCHEN  MILL.I  R>cii5!0™  fiRo^  plaster. 

The  undersigned  takes  llii>  method  of  informing 
the  public  that  our  |)la>ter  h:is  heen  selected  at  the 
iNorll)  with  sreat  care,  purcliased  with  special  refer- 
eri.-e  to  the  imerests  of  our  cu^iouiers,  uikI  ilie  trade 
eenerallv.  U'e  haz-ird  no;hiu?  in  ?a\  ins  that  it  will 
be  to  ihe  interest  of  those  who  naiit,  lo  eive  us  a 
call,  heii)£  longer  in  the  liasiuess  ihnii  any  one  in  the 
city,  and  iiiteiidins  to  ihe  grinding  and  oi'0])ering 
personalU',  seeing  that  every  barrel  is  put  uj>  in  good 
order.  Farmers  sending  their  own  bags,  it  can  be 
had  $1  iier  ton  less  than  in  barrels. 

We  tender  our  grateful  ihanks  fur  the  liberal  patro- 
nage bestowed  on  our  old  brand  last  season,  as  well 
as  in  years  past,  and  hope,  by  a. strict  attention  to  the 
business,  to  merit  a  continuance  of  Ihe  same. 

A  liberal  discount  to  the  tiade. 

J.  &  H.  F.  SHARPE, 
Steam  Piaster  Mills,  South  Side  Dock, 

Oct  59—6  mo— pd]  Riclmiond.  Va. 


m 


With  this  little  machine,  the  cook,  or  the  "good 
lady  of  the  bouse."  can  have  made  in  a  very  few  mi- 
nutes daily  as  much  fresh  meal,  from  corn  or  other 
■  grain,  as  the  family  can  use,  and  thus  save  all  of  the 
"  trouble  of  going  to  mill-" 

It  makes  No.  IS  meal  at  the  rate  of  about  one 
bushel  per  hour,  when  turned,  sav  sixty  revolutions 
perminiiie.  It  giinds  Spices.  Coflee  and  oilier  grind- 
able  substances  with  great  facility  It  is,  therefore, 
recommended  with  confidence  to  all  who  like  sweet, 
coarse  bread,  meal,  hominy,  samp,  etc-,  etc. ;  and  es-  | 
pecialiy  to  hotel  keepers  for  grinding  Spices  or  ColTee.  j 

Price  §7  0(1,   boxed  and  delivered  tree  on  cars  or 
Kteamboai.     Shipping  weight,  75  pounds.  I 

Manufactured  nv  a  ! 

HEDGES,  FREE  &  Co., 

j\'o.  6  Main  Slveei,  Cincinnati,  0.\ 
Jan  It 

BALTIMORE  STOVE  HOUSE. 

BIBB  &  CO., 

(Jt  the  old  stand.) 
No.  39  LIGHT  STREET,  Baltimore.,  Md. 

We  particularly  invite  the  attention  of  our 
country  friends  to  our  large  and  varied  assort- 
ment of  STOVES,  embracing  the  best  selection 
to  be  found  in  the  city,  and  will  be  sold  on  the 
most  accommodating  terms. 
Hot  Air  Furnaces,  Ranges,  Cambooses, 
Fire-Place  Stoves,  Parlor  Stoves  and  Grates, 

Gas-burning  Stoves,       Improved  Old   Dominion, 
Heating  Stoves,  Noble Penn&GlobeStove. 

Repairs  for  all  kinds  of  Stoves  constantly  on  hand. 

Old  Stoves  taken  in  e.vchange. 
Also.    LITTLE     GIANT    CORN    AND    COB 

MILLS.     AGRICULTURAL  BOILERS,  &c. 

Sep.  1S59— 6t 


Liberal  Offer  for  1859 !   ^ 

ttSffS  TRIAL  PIAIOS! 

'^'J'     r„,    ,     ^^  e  will  take  upon  ourselves  the  trou- 
'_,;;  _  _^__:4^ble  and  responsjbilitv  of  selectiii"^ 

lor  and  forwardin?  to  such  persons  as  mav  wi=:h  to 
purchase,  and  it  thev  do  not  turn  out  lo  be  reaWv  trood 
we  WILL  BE.4RALL  THE  EXPEN.SE.   '  ' 

We  know  what  the  PI.VNOS  are,  and  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  taking  the  risk  of  giving  satisfaction 

E.  P.  iX.ASH  &  CO., 

April  1859.  Petersburg,  Va. 


J.    R.    KEININGHAM, 

DEALER    IN 

BOOKS  &  STATIOIfEPtY, 

211  Broad  Street,  between  4th  and  5ih,  RICH- 
xMOND,  VA.  31arch  1859. 


C.  H.  M'CORMICK, 

Offers  to  the  Fanners  of  Eastern  Virsinia  and  North 
Carolina  his  Reapers,  and  Reapers  and  Mowers,  de- 
liverable to  order,  through  hi^  asrent, 

W\!.  A.  BRAXTON. 

Address  Acquinton  P.  O.,  King  William  Co  ,  Va. 

N.  B.— All  persons  wanting  machines, are  requested 
to  send  in  their  orders  early.  W.  A.  B. 

January  IS59— tf 


Macfarlane-.&  Ferimsson 


BOOK,  JOB, 


AND 


•A^  'i*^  \VV^ 
^«lii..J  Ml':,;i!i  VUPW  ■■,.,,1    „.,  ,(     -u  ■Wv.ili 

PRINTERS, 

CORNER  BANK  AND  12TH  STREETS, 
RICHMOND,  VA. 


14 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER —ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


Grain  Drill, 


Witli   tlie   Improved   Guano   Attacliment   and   Grass    Seed   Sower. 


PATENTED  IN  1853  AND  1 


MANCFACTDRED    BY 

BICKFORD    &    HUFFMAN, 

BALTIMORE,  MARYLAND. 

Those  wi>hing  this  article,  and  one  that  is  universally  acknovYlf^'lfred  hy  the  Farmers  of  the  South,  North 
and  West,  and  l>y  all  tiiat  have  examined  it,  to  be  tlie  best  ever  oflered  to  tiie  public,  w  ill  bear  in  niind  tli:.t  un- 
less they  order  rarly.  may  be  disappointed,  as  hundreds  were  last  season,  by  delay. 


PRICES, 


Guano  Attachment, 
Grass  Seed  Sower, 


9  TUBE  DRILL,        r*        -  -         $90  00 

8        "  "  'JCJL      ■  -  85  00 

7        "  "  -'r-       -  -  80  00 

All  Orders  iirouintlv  filled  and  information  given,  bv  application  to 

C.  1^.  CORSER, 
General  Agent  for  the  Soiitheru  States, 

OJ/ice,  Ao.  90  5.   Charles  Street,  bctweeti  Pratt  and  Camden,  Baltimore,  Md. 

For  sale  by  CHURCH  &  FLEMING,  Agents,  Richmond,  Va. 


$2.5  00 
10  00 


CA^XJTIOISr. 


Notice  is  hereby  given  to  all  whom  it  may  concern:  That  this  is  to  ferhid  all  persons  inakmg',  vending 
using  or  infrinjsring  upon  our  Guano  or  Compost  Attachment,  patented  April  22d,  1S.')6,  re-issued  ftlay  18th, 
1858.  .4ny  person  violaiin?  our  rifrhts,  will  be  held  accountable.  None  p  -wuiiie  except  manufactured  by 
U9,  where  they  ran  be  had  on  application  to  C  F.  COIISER,  our  General  Agent,  at  No-  90  S.  Charles 
Street.  Baltimore,  Md.,  or  to  agents  appoint<"d  to  fell  the  same  by  said  GBraer. 
September  1858.— yly  BICKFORD  &  HUFFMANN. 


/ 


e'-iSL 


^^^a^-'-ZyO 


% 


VOL.  XX. 


.    [FEBRUARY] 


Published  Moxtiily.         August  &  WiLLi.urs,  PKoruiETOKS.  ^ 


J.   E.   WILLIAMS,    Editor. 


TH  E 


DEVOTED   TO 


AGRICULTURE,  HORTICULTURE^ 


AND   THE 


HOUSEHOLD  AETS. 


PRINTED  AT  RICHMOND,  Va., 
BY  MACFARLANE   &  PERGUSSON. 
1860. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


COI^^TEINrTS. 

luflnence   of   W.iier  on    ihe   Teinpeiatiire   of 

Soils,  &c.,  and  the  Pby?ical  Action  of  Water, 
Omitting  too  Much,  .  -  -  - 

Rdialion  of  Crop?,  .... 

Lecf.ire  on  Siock  Feeding,  ... 

Form  ami  Action  of  Saddle  Horses, 

lioiie  Earth.  ..... 

On  the  Culture  and  U.=e  of  Root  Cr'>;j=, 

Tlie  Coirmon  Pii:.:-.        .... 

Arliiicinl  Mannrc?.  .... 

'J'ake  Cure  of  the  Iinplemeiit5=.   -  .  • 

A  Very  Little  More  About  Bones, 

Hijw  to  Use  :i  Horse,       .  -  -  - 

I)\ ins;  Hots  nnd  FcalliPis.  .  -  . 

Griming  Poiaioes  under  Straw, 

Ztlanagenient  of  Tobacco  Crop, 

The  Lois  Weeden  System  of  Husbandry — Its 

Ittiportance  to  the  Farmer,      ... 
The  Iniplenient  Trade  at  the  Cape  of  Good 

Hope,    ..---- 
Poisoning  Land,  .  .  -  -  • 

I'liysical  Condition  of  the  Soil, 
Advantages  of  PulTerizing  the  Soil, 
Advantages  of  Moistened  Food  over  that  which 

is  Dry.  ----- 
Advice  to  Young  Fannei -, 
The  Early  Enclisb  Agricultural  Authors, 
Importing   Slock    instead    of   Breeding    it  at 

Home,  ------ 

Vegetable  Ivory,  -  .  .  . 

The  "  Prof."  Dona  Over, 
Poultry  House,  .  -  -  -  . 

Results  of  Art  and  Science,     -  .  . 

The  Farm  and  the  Farmer,      ... 
Thick  Wind,       ..... 

Diseases  in  Horses.        .... 

The  Farmer  and  the  Gardener — Errata — United 

Stales  Agricultural  Society, 
Loudoun  County  .Agricultural  Society, 
Lectures  on  .Agriculture,  ... 

The  Labour  and  Profits  of  a  Dajr\-  Farm, 
A  Suggestion  to  Planters — Training  Oxen,    - 
Hog  Pasture — Don't  Know  Beans, 
Onward~I  Love  this  Glowing  Southern  Clime 

— Go  for  the  Rii'Ht,  wliatever  Betide, 


G5i 
69' 
69 
J7 
78 
80 
81 
S3 

s;3 

84 
84 
85 

87 
87 


89 1 

i 

91 1 


THE  SOCTHERIV  PLAA'TER 

Is  published   monthly 
upon  the  fol'.owing  T 

TWO   DOLLARS   A 

num,  unless  paid  in  ahvanck. 
Adtaxce  payments  as  follows: 
One  copy,  one  yen,         .... 
Six  copies,      do  .... 

Thirteen  copies,  one  year,      .        -        - 
Twenty      do  do 

One  copy,  three  years,  .        -        .        - 

And  one  copy  free  to   persoBS  sending  iis  tlr 
and  MONET  for  thirteen  or  more  new  subscril" 

All  money  remitted  to  us  will  l>e  consider* 
risk  OM.Y,  when  the  letter  conlaiiiiiig  the  suu)?  -li.il 
have  been  regisUred  This  rule  is  adopted  not  for 
our  protection,  but  for  the  protecjion  of  our  corres- 
pondents, and  we  wish  it  distinctly  understood  that 
we  take  the  risk  only  when  this  conditiou  is  couiplied 
with.  ^_ 


>  2 
10 
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30 


961 

961 
971 
lOO' 
i 
1081 
110 
110 
114 
115 
116 
116 
117 


ADVERTISEMENTS 


Will  be  inserted  at  the  following  rates 


Business  Cards  of  5  lines  or  less,  per  annnm 
f   1st  insertion, 
J    Each  continuanr 
)    6  mou 
L12 

f   1st  insertion, 
I    Eacli  continuance, 
',    6  months,  ?  without 
S  aitt 


One-eighth  of  a 
column, 


One-fourth  of  a 
column, 


oulhs,  >  wilho;;: 

5''^'^''aiipo, 


112 


Iteration,  -  14  'i 


119 
120 
120 
1-23 
126 
127 

128 


i    E 

u 


ALEXANDEB^OABRETT,    . 

t'ary  s»treet,'  second  door  below  13tli  street, 

.4.djoiumg  the  Old  Columbian  Hotel, 

K1CHM<.L\D.  VA.. 

GENERAL  COiDIISSION  -MERCHAXT, 

GROCERIES, 

PERrVIAN,  ELIDE  ISLAND,  AND  RCPFIX'S  PHOS- 
PHO  GUANO,  PLArf  TEK,  &C. 
Particular  attention  paid  to  the  sale  of  all  kinds  of 
country  produce : 

Wlieat,  Corn,  Flour,  Tobacco,  Oats,  dec. 
I  have  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Jko.  M.  Shep- 
PARU,  Jr,  one  of  the   best  judiies  and  salesmen  of 
Tobacco  in  this  city,  to  attend  to  the  sale  of  all 
tobacco  consigned  to  roe.  July  59 — Iv 


f   1st  insertion. 

Each  continuance, 
6  months,  >  without 
2      '•         5  alteration, 
f   1st  insertion, 
1    Each  continuance, 
\    6  months,  "f  without 
1 12      "         5  alteration, 
fist  insertion, 
!  Each  continuance, 
\    C  mouths,  }  witboot 
(^     12  "         5  alteration,    -  70  00 

'  Advertiseiuents  out  of  the  city  must  be- accompa- 
nied with  the  money  or  cilT  references  to  insure  in- 


One  half  of  a   col 
umn. 

One  column,  or 
Half  a  page,  • 


One  page, 


3  -S, 
2  5U 

14  OQ 
25  n«) 

6  OM 

4  5ft 
25  00 
40  00 
10  00 

7  50 
40  Ofl 


The  Southern  Planter, 

OFFICj: 
NO.  153  WAIN  STREET, 

A  few  Doors  below  the  Exchange  Rank, 
-   TIICHJVIOND,  VA. 


TH  E 


;^»^:^j*--^" 


Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  and  the  Household  Arts. 


Agriculture  is  the  nursisig  moiber  of  tlie  Art^ 

£Xesophox. 

Tillage  and  Pasturage  are  the  two  breasts  of 
the  Stale. — Scxlt. 

J.  E.  WILLIAMS,  Editor. 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS,  Prop'rs. 

Vol.  XX.              RICHMOND,  \k.. 

FEBRUARY,  1860.                 Xo.  2. 

From  Josiah  Paries'  Essays  on  the  Philosophy  and]  to  much    disregarded,  evidently  act   an   im- 

Jrt  of  Land-Drai,ia^,.  j  portaut  part    in    ha.«tcning    and   per%ting 

Influence   of  Water  on  the  Temperature  j  the   maturity  of  plants,  and  the  study  of 

of  Soils.  &c..  and  the  Physical  Action 'uhich  appears  to  be  at  least  as  interesting 

of  Water.  ,  to  mankind  as  those  scientific  laboui-s  which 

*     *     *     The  importance  of  an  inquiry  i  have  been  exercised   with  so  much  zeal  to 

into  the  physical  properties  of  different  soils,  j  deduce  the  intensity  of  a  central  fire  from 

and   particularly  into  the    causes  affecting,  experiments  showing  the  increasing  temper- 

their  state  of  heat  and  moisture.  Las  beenjatare  of  the  body  of  the  globe  the  deeper 

glanced  at  by  various  philosophers  and  agri-jyou  bore  into  it."' 

cultarists;  but  I  am  not  aware  that  a  sys-j  I  have  no  pretension  either  to  the  ability 
teniatie  pursuit  of  it  has  yet  engaged  the  j  or  the  knowledge  to  fill  up  these  jacwa  in 
attention  of  any  British  experimentalist,  j  the  science  of  agriculture;  it  may  appear, 
Mr.  Handlcv,  in  his  letter  to  Earl  Spencer,  i  even  from  the  following  imperfect  observa- 
whieh  preceded  the  formation  of  the  So- j  tions,  that  the  gaps  are  still  wider  than  those 
cietv,  has  cited  certain  phenomena  with !  above  recited ;  yet,  I  would  express  my  con- 
Tivhich.  it  must  be  admitted,  we  are  very  in-  viction  that  there  exist  no  obstacles  which 
sufficientlv  acquainted;  and  he  has  pointed  i  should  discourage  the  possessor  of  land  and 
out,  as  still  remaining  among  the  mysteries  i  leisure  from  entering  on  this  unexplored 
of  nature,  the  action  of  several  of  her  most,  field  of  investigation:  but,  on  the  contrary, 
enereetic  aeents.  He  observes,  "The  ex-,  there  is  reason  to  anticipate  that  his  labours 
perimentalist  might  be  usefully  engaged  in :  would  be  made  in  a  laud  of  promise,  and 
determinincr  the  temperature  of  the  earth  at  that  they  would  be  abundantly  repaid, 
its  surface,  and  to  the  depths  accessible  to  Previously  to  detailing  my  own  aud  other 
the  cultivator;  the  influences  exerted  by  very  limited  experiments  on  the  tempera- 
heat,  lisht.  and  air;  Jiow  for  they  penetrate  t me  <jf  soils,  it  may  be  well  to  consider 
into  the  soil,  and  at  what  point  seeds  cease:  some  of  the 'operations  of  the  husbandman. 
to  terminate  ;  the  effects  of  different  eul- :  their  intent,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
tare  in  promoting  the  absorption  and  reten-'  heat  and  moisture  of  a  soil  may  be  affected 
tion  of  caloric;  the  extent  and  operation  of ,  by  them.  The  two  principal  agricultural 
capillary  attraction; — points  which,  hither- < processes,  upon  which,  perhaps,  the  fertility 


6: 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


of  land  depends  as  luucL  as  on  the  artificial 
aids  now  so  scientifically  and  beneficially  ap- 
plied to  it,  arc  drainage  and  pulverization.* 
These  mechanical  operations  are  practically 
known  to  be  indispensable  to  the  full  de- 
•Telopment  of  the  natural  powers  of  soils,  as 
well  as  to  the  profitable  employment  of  the 
numerous  and  costly  stimulants  latterly  in- 
troduced into  agriculture;  and  it  is  my 
present  object  to  show  that  the  temperature 
of  soil  is  materially  influenced  by  the  per- 
fection of  these  processes;  and  that  each 
particular  soil  is  benefitted  by  them,  accord- 
ing to  the  degree  in  which  it  may  require 
to  be  artificially  drained  and  worked.  You 
have  forcibly  remarked,  [addressing  Ph. 
Pusey,  M.  P.,]  that  ••  all  who  are  acquainted 
with  improved  husbandry  are  now  agreed 
that,  on  wet  land,  thorough  draining  is  to  a 
farm  what  a  foundation  is  to  a  house."' 
Water,  indeed,  forms  an  essential  elenient 
in  soil,  but  there  may  be  as  much  difference, 
in  respect  to  fertility,  between  a  v:€t  soil  and 
riioist  one — though  they  be  identical  in  other 
respects — as  between  a  swamp  and  a  garden. 
By  drainage  and  pulverization  the  proper 
degree  of  humidity  is  to  be  attained  in  most 
soils  ^or,  though  it  is  wisely  ordained  that 
we  cannot  control  the  precipitation  of  rain, 
we  do  possess  the  power  of  regulating,  with- 
in certain  limits,  the  quantity  of  moisture  to  j 
be  retained  by  the  earth,  and  of  adjusting! 
it,  as  it  were,  to  the  quality  of  the  soil  and  I 
to  the  requirements  of  vegetation. 

Section  I.  i 

Pht/ncal  Action  of  Water. 

The  consideration  of  the  well-known  ef- 
fect of  drainage  on   soils  surcharged  with ; 
water,  naturally  leads  to  an  examination  of  I 
the  causes  of  the  change  produced  in  them  I 
by  so  simple  an  operation.     A  soil  perfectl}' 
dry,  or  one  yjerfectly  wet,  i.  c,   constantly  | 
drenched  with  water,  would  be  nearly  alike  I 
fterile ;    and  we    may   conceive  that  some  I 
certain   proportions  may  exist  between   the; 
amounts  of  heat  and  moisture  adapted,  so 
far  as  their  agency  is  concerned,  for  bring- 


•  The  term  drainage  is  liere  used  in  an  exten- 
sive sense,  not  confining  it  to  the  construction  of 
artificial  conduits  for  wr.ter,  nor  to  its  applica- 
tion on  tliose  soils  only  which  are  repnteil  as 
wet.  The  mere  acts  of  di^<<ing.  ploughing,  ami 
working  soils  reputed  as  dry,  do,  in  realitv.  ef- 
fect drainage,  by  opening  channels  for  the  de- 
scent of  water  from  the  superficial  to  the  lower 
•«trata. 


ing  a  given  soil,  in  a  given  latitude  or  situ- 
ation, to  its  maximum  state  of  fertility.  The 
researches  of  different  philosophers  have 
elucidated  the  laws  which  pertain  to  v,ater, 
in  its  several  states,  as  a  fluid,  a  solid,  and  a 
vapour  or  steam.  There  is,  probably,  no 
natural  substance  which  has  been  investi- 
gated with  greater  suecei;s,  and  there  is, 
perhaps,  no  other  substance  which' performs 
more  numerous  or  more  important  parts  in 
its  action  on  soil,  and  in  the  economy  of 
vegetable  life,  than  water.  In  its  chemical 
relations  to  the  solid,  saline,  and  gaseous 
constituents  of  soil,  there  may  be  still  some- 
thing to  discover;  but  its  physical  properties 
as  regards  heat,  its  operation  as  a  solvent, 
and  its  mechanical  laws,  are  suflaciently  as- 
certained to  enable  us  to  understand,  and  ex- 
plain satisfactorily,  the  various  benefits  that 
are  afforded  to  wet  soils  by  drainage. 

If  a  soil  be  saturated  with  water,  the 
nobler  cla.sses  of  plants  cannot  flourish; 
they  vegetate  more  or  less  imperfectK',  until 
the  quantity  of  water  be  so  diminished  a.s 
to  suit  their  habits.  The  reduction  of  the 
excess  of  water  to  the  due  proportion  can 
only  be  effected,  naturally,  by  its  gradual 
evaporation,  ?*.  c,  by  its  conversion  into 
vapour ;  and  its  transition  from  the  fluid  to 
the  aeriform  state  is  accompanied  by  the 
absorption  of  so  large  a  quantity  of  heat 
from  the  soil  in  contact  with  it,  that  it  may 
be  convenient  to  consider  its  action  in  this 
respect  first,  and  to  endeavour  to  appreciate 
its  amount. 

When  water  is  set  over  a  fire  in  an  open 
ves.sel,  its  temperature,  as  indicated  by  the 
thermometer,  cannot  be  made  by  any  force 
of  fire  to  exceed  212°,  under  the  mean  at- 
mospheric pressure  of  about  30  inches  of 
mercury.  The  temperature  of  the  water 
then  becomes  stationary,  and  the  heat  of 
the  fire  is  afterwards  expended  in  convert- 
ing the  water  into  steam  or  vapour.  The 
temperature  of  the  steam  continues  to  be 
precisely  that  of  the  water,  and  it  has  been 
found  that  it  requires  about  six  times  as 
much  heat  to  boil  off  any  given  volume  of 
water  as  would  raise  the  temperature  of  that 
volume  from  50°  to  212°.  Hence  it  is  con- 
cluded that  the  difference,  or  162x6=972 
degrees  of  heat,  have  passed  through  the 
water,  and  entered  into  the  composition  of 
every  atom  of  steam.  Steam,  therefore, 
has  a  much  greater  capacity  for  heat  than 
water.  These  continual  accessions  of  heat 
are  absorbed  by  the  steam  in  the  act  of  its 


1S60.]  THE    SOUTHEKX    PLANTEE.  67 

formation,  ar.  J  become  what  is  termed  latent,  average  of  298  cubic  feet=8^  tons,  or  18,- 
i'.  e ,  insensible  to  the  thermometer,  which,  647  lbs.  per  dieiu.  This  weight  of  water 
plunged  in  the  steam,  marks  only  the  same  would  require,  for  its  diurnal  evaporation — 
temperature  as  that  of  the  water  from  which  supposing  it  were  all  carried  off  by  that 
it  was  generated  viz.,  212^.  This  latter  is  means — the  combustion  of  about  24  cwt.  of 
termed  the  sensible  or  ihermometric  heat  of  coals,  as  oidinarily  used  under  a  steam- 
the  steam.  That  the  whole  of  the  heat  boiler,  or  1  cwt.  per  hour  per  acre 
thus  expended  in  changing  water  from  its  throughout  the  year  !  We  thus  obtain  some 
fluid  into  its  gaseous  state  has  entered  into  idea  of  the  abstraction  of  heat  from  land 
the  steam,  is  proved,  conversely,  by  con-  under  the  circumstances  of  perfect  aqueous 
densing  a  given  weight  of  steam  in  water,  repletion  and  stagnation,  and  there  are  too 
when  it  is  found  that  a  pound  of  steam  will  many  soils  approaching  to  them.  We  may 
raise  about  6  lbs.  of  water  fi  om  50°  to  the  also  imagine  the  depression  of  the  terres- 
boiling-point.  trial   temperature    consequent    on    the    ab- 

^Vater  is  vapourizable  at  all  temperatures  straction  of  so  Uiueh  heat  from  the  mass  of 
when  exposed  to  the  atmosphere.  Its  ex-  the  soil — a  depression  which  must  ever  be 
pulsion  from  the  earth  does  even,  under  in  proportion  to  the  excess  of  water  present 
certain  circumstances,  continue  when  the  in  the  soil,  over  and  above  the  due  comple- 
atmosphere  is  replete  with  moisture,  or  at  raent  required  for  the  supply  of  vegetation, 
what  is  termed  the  dew-point.  And  it  is  Soils  in  that  state  must  necessarily  be  very 
most  important  to  observe  that,  at  however  cold  in  the  spring  months,  and  much  colder 
low  a  tempi.rature  the  water  in  the  soil,  or  at  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  vege- 
that  of  the  atmosphere  incumbent  on  it  may  tation,  and  throughout  the  summer,  than 
be,  at  which  vapour  is  formed  and  expelled,  well-dmiaed  or  naturally  drier  lands.  If 
the  same  amount  of  heat  is  carried  off  by  a  we  knew  the  capacity  for  heat  of  any  given 
yii\n  ireight  of  vapour  as  if  it  had  been  soil,  and  the  weight  of  water  mixed  with  it 
generated  in  the  open  vessel  over  the  fire  in  excess  over  the  proper  complement  ne- 
above  referred  to,  or  in  the  close  boiler  of  a  cessary  for  vegetation,  it  would  be  easy  to 
high-pressure  steam-engine.  A  practical  determine,  very  nearly,  the  depression  of 
confirmation  of  the  truth  of  this  law  has  temperature  caused  by  its  evaporation, 
been  obtained  by  evaporating  water  under  We  know  that  the  heat  of  a  pound  of 
widely  different  pressures,  when  it  appeared  water  in  its  gaseous  state,  that  is,  as 
that  the  same  weight  of  fuel  {ox:  measure  of  steam,  would  raise  the  temperature  of 
heat)  was  consumed  in  converting  equal  about  1,000  lbs.  of  water  one  degree;  so 
bulks  of  water  into  steam  at  all  those  dif-  that,  if  the  specific  heats  of  the  solid  and 
ferent  pressures.  It  is  ascertained  that  it  fluid  bodies  were  alike,  the  evaporation  of  a 
requires  as  much  heat  as  2  or  3  ounces  of  pound  of  water  would  keep  down  the  tem- 
coal  will  produce  to  convert  1  lb.  of  water  perature  of  1,000  lbs.  of  earth  one  degree  ; 
into  vapour;  it  is,  therefore,  evident  what  of  500  lbs.,  two  degrees;  and  so  on. 
an  enormous  quantity  of  heat  must  be  taken  Secondly  :  excess  of  humidity  obstructs 
from  the  soil  in  cases  where  water  is  allowed  the  absorption  of  heat  by  the  solid  matter 
to  remain  stagnant  upon  it  till  it  evaporates,  of  the  soil.     Water,  in  a  quiescent  state,  is 

As  heat  is  generally  considered  to  be  an  one  of  the  wurst  conductors  of  heat  with 
imponderable  body,  we  are  without  the  which  we  are  acquainted.  If  it  be  warmed 
means  of  ascertaining  directly,  by  weight  on  the  surface — and  it  derives,  when  mixed 
or  measure,  the  quantity  of  heat  absorbed  with  soil,  nearly  all  its  heat  from  the  sun's 
from  soil  by  the  evaporation  of  water.  The  rays — water  transmits  little  or  no  heat  down- 
following  illustration  of  it  will,  however,  be  wards. 

familiar  enough  to  the  mind  of  the  engi-  If  a  mass  of  water  be  heated  from  below, 
neer,  and  will  also.  I  think,  enable  intelli-  the  whole  quickly  attains  an  uniform  tern- 
gent  farmers  to  form  an  idea  of  its  immense  perature  by  reason  of  the  motion  excited 
amount.  amongst  its  particles.     The  lowest  stratum, 

If  we  suppose  the  rain  Hilling  on  the  sur- '  when  heated,  becomes  of  less  specific  grav- 
face  of  an  acre  of  land  in  the  year  to  be  30  ,  ity  than  that  resting  upon  it.  and  the  heavier 
inches  in  perpendicular  depth,  it  would '  superincumbent  portions  descend  and  push 
amount  to  108,90  J  cubic  feet=3,03S  tons; 'that  which  has  been  warmed  upwards.  In 
which,  spread  over  a  twelvemonth,  gives  an] this  mann^  rapid  circulation  is   induced. 


68 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


If,  ou  the  contrary,  it  be  heated  from  above,  |  attains  its  maximum  densitj-.  The  furthe'" 
r.  e.  on  the  surface,  the  fihu  of  warmed  descent  of  cold  through  this  process  would 
water  floats  on  the  tup,  b}-  virtue  of  its  su-'then  cease;  but  the  refrigeration  occasioned 
perior  levity,  and  no  heat  is  conveyed  be-. by  it  must  aifect  all  soils,  to  a  greater  or  less 
low;  there  is  no  circulation  from  above ;  degree,  which  hold  water  in  excess,  ?'.  e., 
downwards.  Much  of  the  heat  of  the  sun's  when  in  a  state  of  stagnancy  near  to  the 
rays  is,  therefore,  prevented  by  excess  of  surface.  Those  soils  only  can  be  exempt 
water  from  entering  into,  and  being  trans- 'from  this  chilling  influence  which  are  not 
mitted  through,  the  mass  of  the  soil.  naturally  retentive  of  water,  or  Avhich  are 

..L_..  ,r-  artificially  and  deeply  drained. 

uces  to   the 

means  of  sev- 

^  ever-active 

was  esteemed  by  the  late  Professor  Leslie —  i      11    ..-l       ^-u       i      j      -u  -i    •        i 

.        ,  .  ,        .   .''       1      ,        ,  •  •     J   u         On  the  other  hand,  when  a  sou  is  natu- 

in   which  opinion    he   has   been    loined   by      ,,  •    u         Vi.  •   i.         u 

,         ,-11  ^      X      1     ^  i-iT    I,     1    f-l  rally  so  porous,  or  is  brought  into  such  con- 

other  philosophers — to  stand  at  the  head  ot    ,..-^     ,^      .    '    .      ,      , '^.  \  .i    ^ 

,.    .'  ,'  idition  by  art,  (viz.,  by  drainage.)  that  rain- 

radiating  siibstances.  ,         •'     •  \^  ■  ^     ^.^  ^^    •^  \ 

'Avatercan  sink  down  into  the  earth,  it  be- 

The  phenomena  of  the  production  of  co  d  I  ^^^^^  .^  carrier,  an  alert  purveyor,  instead 
by  radiation  and  evaporation  are  elegantly :  ^f  ^^  j.^^y^y^^j.  ^f  j^^^^f  .  ^^^^  ^^^j^  ^.^  ^..^j^^^ 
exemplified  by  the  well-known  experiment!  pg,.,,,^,,^^^^^  ^^^  temperature  of  the  mass 
of  exposing  water,  warm  enough  to  give  off,  ^,j- ^^^f^^l  ,,^5] .  .^^^  ^his  more  particularly 
visible  vapour,  in  one  saucer,  and  an  equal  j^^j^j  beneficially  durin-  the  vegetative  sea- 
bulk  of  water  drawn  from  a  well  in  another  i,^^^    Rain-water,  at  that  time,  conveys  down- 


diation.  combined,  and  of  radiation  chiefly, '  g^  g^^^e  to  receive  fresh  doses  of  rain,  dew, 
or  solely,  are  represented  m  this  experiment  j,^^  ^-^^.^  ^^^  ;„  ^  better  condition  to  absorb 
by  the  order  of  congelation  -in  the  two  ves- ;  ^^^  j.^^ain  heat,  at  the  same  time  that  it  pro- 
sels  in  time;  but  the  difference  in  the  quan-  ,^,0^^^^  ^^  ^^Yier  ways,  its  fertility  and  pro- 
tityof  heat  emitted  from  each  mthemi^/^^^^-^^^^^^.  ^^nt  a  consideration  of  the 
immense,  as  appears  from  what  is  •stated  ^.i^^^.j^.^]  ^.g-g^^j^  ^^^,.515^^3^,1^  t^  tj^^  ^^^tj^,^^^! 
above  with  reference  to  the  constituent  heat ,  ^.j^^.^^i^tj^^  3„j  renewal  of  water  and  air  is 
or  vapour.  i  foreign  to  the  present  discussion. 

Fourthly;  as  the  temperaturo  of  water  di-i  Li  order  to  render  the  change  of  water 
minishes  during  the  night,  or  in  the  day- '  perfect,  and  its  action  uniform  throughout  a 
time,  according  to  the  varying  conditions  of  field,  all  drains  should  be  deeper  than  the 
the  atmo.sphere,  by  radiating  its  heat  to  the  active  or  worked  soil,  and  covered.  If 
heavens,  its  specific  gravity  increases;  and ;  drains  arc  open,  much  of  the  rain  precipi- 
the  .superficial  stratum,  which  is  first  cooled,  |tated  on  the  surface  necessarily  passes  into 
immediately  descends  by  rea.son  of  its  aug-' them  before  it  has  permeated  the  whole 
mented  density.  This  film  of  cooled  and  |  mass;  consequently,  it  carries  off  with  it 
heavier  water  is  as  quickly  replaced  by  re-  heat,  which  would"  have  been  usefully  em- 
latively  warmer  and  lighter  jiortions,  which; ployed  in  warmimg  the  lower  strata;  and  it 
become  cooled  in  turn,  and  successively  sink. !  may,  at  the  same  time,  remove  fertilizing 
Water,  therefore,  though  a  non-conductor  of  1  matter.  If  drains  are  not  deeper  than  the 
heat  downwards  when  warmed  on  the  sur-|  worked  bed,  water  remains  below  in  a  stag- 
fuee,  becomes  a  ready  vehicle  of  cold  in  j  nant  state,  which  must  chill  the  roots  of 
that  direction  when  cooled   on  its  surface  ;!  plants,  and  diminish  the  temperature  of  the 


and  this  cooling  process  may  even  continue, 
under  fitting  circumstances,  until  the  whole 
of  a  given  mass  is  reduced  to  the  low  tem- 
perature of  about  42°,  at  which  point  water 


*  Boiling   water    thrown   on   the   ground   v/ill 
freeze  sooner  tlian  cold  water.  • 


superincumbent  mass. 

Gardeners  and  florists  are  well  aware  of 
the  injurious  influence  of  water  when  sup- 
plied constantly  to  the  pan  instead  of  to  the 
surface  of  the  soil  in  the  flower-pot;  and 
bottom  water,  as  it  is  frequently  and  very 
appropriately  called,  produces   the  same  ill 


"IS'^T 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PL  ANT  Ell 


69 


effects  when  stagnating  too  near  the  surface 
of  the  great  agricultural  bed. 

Superficial  drainage  is  comparatively  of 
little  value,  and  is,  perhaps,  exemplified  in 
its  worst  practical  form  by  Jand  tortured  on 
the  ridge  and  furrow  system.  When  land 
is  permanently  cultivated  in  high  ridges. 
the  crowns  can  obtain  but  partial  benefit 
from  the  action  of  rain.  The  gradation 
from  the  comparative  dryness  and  warmth 
of  the  summit,  to  the  suffocating  wetness 
and  coldness  of  the  furrows,  is  commonly 
evidenced  by  the  state  of  the  crops  grown 
on  land  so  disposed.* 

To  be  continued. 


Omitting  too  Much. 
A  green,  good-natured,  money-making, 
up-country  fellow,  who  said  everything 
drily,  "  got  things  fixed,"  and  struck  up  a 
bargain  for  matrimony.  Having  no  par- 
ticular regard  for  appearances,  the  party 
agreed  to  employ  a  not  over-wise  country 
justice  to  put  on  the  tacking.  He  com- 
menced by  remarking  that  "  it  was  cus- 
tomary on  such  occasions  to  commence  with 
prayer,  but  he  believed  he  would  omit  that." 
After  tying  the  knot,  he  said  "  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  give  the  married  couple  some  ad- 
vice, but  he  believed  he  would  omit  that. 
It  was  customary,  too,  to  kiss  the  bride,  but 
he  believed  he  would  omit  that  also."  The 
ceremony  being  ended,  the  bridegroom  took 
the  justice  by  the  button-hole,  and  clapping 
his  finger  on  his  nose,  said  :  "  Squire,  it's 
customary  to  give  the  magistrate  five  dol- 
lars— hut  I h'leve  I'll  omit  that  !" 


Let  habits  of  industry,  honesty  and  per- 
severance be  the  register  of  your  life. 


*  It  would  be  curious — but.  possibly,  more  cu- 
rious than  useful — to  learn  the  origin  of  this  re- 
markable artificial  configuration  given  to  land, 
wljich  is,  I  fancy,  peculiar  to  England  and  to 
particular  counties.  One  would  think  that  this 
system  mu.st  have  been  invented  previous  to  the 
discovery  that  water  would  find  its  way  into  cut 
drains;  or.  the  inventor  may  have  considered 
rain  as  his  greatest  enemy,  and  that  he  ought  to 
prevent  its  entrance  into  the  soil  and  gel  rid  of 
it  as  soon  as  possible.  I  once  put  the  question, 
as  to  the  utility  of  this  process,  to  a  few  fanners 
in  Cheshire  with  whom  ]  was  in  company. 
Their  notion  was  that  an  undulating,  being 
greater  than  a  plane  surface,  more  stuff  woidd 
grow  on  it.  It  stood  to  reason  that  such  must  be 
the  case!  This  was  debated  at  great  length,  I 
contending  it  was  a  fallacy.  On  a  ilivision  I 
was  left  in  a  minority  of  one. 


From    Monoirs   of   the   "  Sociely    of    Virginia  for 
Promoting  j3g7-iruUnrc. 

Eotation  of  Crops. 
B^  W.  C.  Nicholas,  Esq.,  Vice  President 
of  the   Society. 
Richmond,  October  2,  1818. 
Dear  Sir  : 

Through  you,  I  offer  to  the  Agricultural 
Society  of  Virginia,  a  paper  upon  the  ro- 
tation of  crops,  and  the  importance  of 
stock  to  complete  the  good  eftect  that  can 
be  expected  from  any  rotation.  I  am  sure 
I  need  say  nothing  to  impress  upon  the 
society  the  ralue  of  any  system,  that  will 
give  meat  for  our  own  consumption  and  to 
spare,  increase  the  product  of  bread  stuff', 
and  give  additional  fertility  to  the  lands  of 
Virginia. 

With  the  most  anxious  solicitude  for  the 
success  of  our  efforts,  to  improve  the  agri- 
culture of  our  country, 

I  am,  with  great  respect  and  regard, 
Dear  Sir,  your  humble  Servant, 
W.  C.  NICHOLAS. 

John  Adams,  Esq., 
Secretary  Agricultural  Society  of  Ya. 

rotation  of  crops. 

Of  all  agricultural  subjects,  this  perhaps 
is  the  most  important,  and  to  a  Virginian, 
the  most  difficult.  Experience  affords  us 
little  light  upon  the  subject.  The  practice 
in  Virginia,  heretofore,  has  been  to  culti- 
vate our  lands  more  with  a  view  to  imme- 
diate profit,  than  with  any  regard  to  the 
future.  All  the  various  soils  in  the  coun- 
try eastward  of  the  mountains,  have  been 
used  in  the  same  way,  and  the  same  crops 
have  been  cultivated  by  all,  without  regard 
to  the  fitness  of  the  soil,  or  to  the  situation 
of  the  farm.  Everything  that  could  be 
drawn  from  it  has  been  eagerly  taken,  with- 
out giving  anything  in  return,  by  amelio- 
rating crops,  manure,  or  even  rest.  The 
land  has  either  borne,  in  succession,  ex- 
hausting crops,  or  it  has  been  as  much  or 
more  injured  by  improper  use  of  its  pas- 
ture, as  it  is  falsely  called. 

In  fixing  on  a  rotation,  a  farmer  should 
ascertain  what  crops  are  best  suited  to  his 
farm,  and  in  what  succession  such  crops 
ought  to  follow  each  other,  so  as  to  make 
the  greatest  possible  profit,  consistently,  not 
only  with  keeping  his  land  in   good  heart, 


70 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


but  in  an   improving  condition.     "  A  judi- 
cious rotation  of  crops  is  the  ground-work 
of  general    improvement.      If    a   judicious 
system    be    adopted    and    persevered  in,  it 
cannot   fail.     No    mode    of   execution    can 
make   up   for  a   defective  one.     The  same 
crops  which  under  one  system  would  be  un- 
profitable and  injurious  to  the  land,  under' 
another  rotation,  with   intervening  amelio- 
rating crops,  might  not  only  be  profitable, 
but  might  promote  its  fertility."     "What  I' 
shall  suggest  to  the  Society  upon   this  sub- 
ject, wiW  be  the  result  of  my  own  experi- ; 
ence  and  observation,  assisted  by  all   that  I 
have  been  able  to  derive  fi"om   the  English 
and  Scotch  writers — making  the  necessary 
allowance  for  difference  of  climate,  soil  and 
products.     I  have,  without  scruple,  availed 
myself  of  their  suggestions,  whenever  they 
appeared    rational,   and    more   particularly, 
when  they  were  founded  upon  facts  proper-' 
ly  vouched  for.     In   speaking  of  the  agri- 
culture  of  Great    Britain.    I    cannot    deny 
myself  the    satisfaction    of    expressing    my 
warmest    admiration    of  the    exalted    merit' 
and  patr  otism  of  the  distinguished  men  of 
that  country,  who   have,  by  devoting  their 
talents,    time,    and  money     to  agricultural 
pursuits,  brought  that   most  useful  art  to  a' 
perfection  unknown  to  their  ancestors,  or  to 
the    people    of    any   other   country.     The  J 
Duke  of  Bedford,  Mr.  Young,  Lord  Kames, ' 
Mr.    Anderson,    Sir    John    Sinclair,    Mr. ; 
Coke,  Lord  Sonimerville,   and   others,  may; 
have  less  splendour  attached  to  their  char-' 
acters ;  but  I  have   little  doubt,  that  they  | 
have   been    more    usefully    emplo3-ed    than  \ 
Mr.   Pitt,   Lord  Castlereagh,   the   Duke  of^ 
Wellington,  or  Lord   Nelson.     I   trust  the 
people  of  Virginia  will  not  be   less   atten- 
tive to  the  improvement  of  a  country  so  de- 
servedly dear  to  them. 

I  will  consider,  first,  the  principles  on 
which  rotations  ought  to  be  arranged;  next, 
the  various  sorts  of  rotations  which  have 
been  adopted  in  Virginia,  for  different  pe-' 
riods  of  two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  or  seven ! 
years;  and  lastly,  any  miscellaneous  par-l 
ticulars  connected  with  this  branch  of  en-j 
quiry.  i 

It  is  not  believed  that  the  same  land, 
without  some  interval  will  continue  to  yield 
the  same  plant  to  advantage ;  there  may  be ' 
some  exceptions,  but  they  can  only  occur 
where  the  land  is  the  richest  alluvion  soil, 
or  is  frequently  and  heavily  manured.  A 
farmer   should,    therefore,    avoid    frequent 


repetitions  of  the  same  articles  in  his  rota- 
tions. The  propriety  of  adopting  any  par- 
ticular rotation  must  depend  on  the  cli- 
mate ;  for  it  would  be  absurd  to  attempt  to 
make  gourd-seed  corn  and  sweet  potatoes  in 
Greenbrier ;  a  light,  sandy  land  should 
never  be  selected  for  grass,  nor  cold,  wet, 
stiff  land  for  corn  ;  on  the  situation  of  the 
farm  in  regard  to  markets,  for  some  articles 
will  pay  in  some  situations  that  would  be 
unsaleable  in  others ;  and  upon  the  con- 
dition of  the  soil,  whether  fertile  or  ex- 
hausted. A  farmer  cannot  carry  on  his 
business,  unle.«s  he  has  various  kinds  of 
crops  upon  his  farm.  If  he  had  nothing 
but  wheat  and  tobacco,  he  might  not  be 
able  to  procure  corn  and  hay.  By  having 
various  articles,  he  does  not  run  so  much 
risk,  either  in  regard  to  the  season  or  the 
sale  of  his  produce;  and  if  he  fails  in  one 
article,  he  may  succeed  in  another.  The 
crops  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  labour 
of  plowing  for  each,  of  sowing,  weeding, 
&c.,  shall  proceed  in  a  regular  .«ueces.sion, 
and  the  abour  or  business  of  the  fiirm 
should  not  be  too  much  crowded  at  any  one 
season  of  the  year,  but  that  the  crops  pro- 
duced on  the  farm  should  be  cultivated  by 
the  same  hands,  (except  in  harvest,)  and 
the  same  teams.  Avoid,  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, having  two  grain  crops ;  in  this  coun- 
try, a  deviation  from  this  rule  must  be  ad- 
mitted ;  so  that  small  grain  of  some  kind, 
must  suc.eed  corn  :  this  is  unavoidable,  but 
must  not  recur  too  frequently.  To  raise 
those  crops  most  likely  to  be  productive  of 
manure,  the  use  of  which  cannot  be  dis- 
pensed with,  under  any  rotation  that  can 
be  devised.  To  arrange  the  crops  so  as  to 
keep  the  land  in  good  condition  and  in- 
creasing in  fertility.  Variations  in  the  ro- 
tation will  be  found  necessary  and  expedi- 
ent, as  the  condition  of  the  farm  ::  ay  alter. 
Keeping  these  maxims  in  view,  the  va  i- 
ous  systems  that  have  been  practised  in 
Virginia,  shall  now  be  considered. 

Two    I/ears  rotation. 

"When  wheat  was  first  made  a  crop  for 
market  in  that  part  of  the  State  that  had 
been  previously  devoted  to  the  culture  of 
tobacco,  the  rotation  was  corn  and  wheat 
alternately.  It  was  soon  found  that  this 
course  was  too  hard  for  the  land,  and  that 
wheat  and  corn,  in  such  rapid  succession, 
gave  precarious  and  scanty   crops,  and  that 


18'30.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


71 


even  the  river  bottoms  could  not  bear  such ;  for  early  and  mid-;^uranier  pasture.  One- 
a  scourge.  I  am  satisfied  that  nothing '  twelfth  part  of  the  most  suitable  land  on 
short  oT  manuring,  very  heavilj-,  the  half  the  farm    cannot  be  more  beneficially   em- 


that  is  in  corn,  will  justify  the  expectation 
of  either  good  crops,  or  preserving  the  fer- 


ployed  than  in  this  way.     I   consider  rfKtle 
and  hoii,s  as  an  essential  to  everv  farm,  not 


tility  the  land  might  have  possessed  when  only  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  ma- 
this  course  commenced.  The  impractica-l  nure  necessary  for  the  farm,  but  as  the 
bility  of  doing  that  without  summer  fond  only  means  of  supplying  the  country  with 
for  cattle,  and  with  no  winter  food  but  food  from  our  own  resources.  A  farmer 
what  the  ofial  of  the  wheat  and  corn  af-]  should  buy  nothing  that  he  can  make  or 
fords,  must  cause  this  rotation  to  be  reject-  raise  for   the  use  of  the  farm.     If   where 


the  three  years  rotation  is  practised,  the 
farm  shonld  be  thrown  into  four  divisions, 
and  one  of  them  is  kept  in  grass  for  pas- 
ture, and  thrown  out  of  the  rotation  for 
several  years,  the  land  may  possibly  im- 
prove in  fertility,  if  there  should  be  proper 
exertions  to  make  and  apply  manure. 

Four  years  rotation 


ed   at  once.     If  it   was  possible  to  ensure 
a  good  crop   of  clover,   after  every  crop  of 
wheat,  I   believe  alternate  crops  of  wheat 
and   clover  would  be  made  without  injury 
to  the  land  :  but  the  clover  crop  is  too  un- 
certain to  be  relied  upon  for  this.     It  is 
rare  that  clover  succeeds  after  a  heavy  crop 
of    wheat,    by   which    it   is  subject    to   be  j 
smothered  ;  it  is  likewise  liable  to  be  killed  i 
by  frosts  and  severe  droughts,  in  its  infant! 
state,  and  it  is  said  that  land   tires  of  it  as 
soon  as  of  any  crop. 

Three  years  rotation. 

Corn,  wheat,  and  pasture ;  this  is  the 
most  common  rotation  practised  in  Virginia. 
Under  this  rotation,  as  under  the  last,  the 
lands  have  grown  worse  yearly,  as  under 
that,  most  of  the  maxims  upon  which  ju- 
dicious rotations  are  founded  are  violated. 
There  is  not  a  proper  mixture  of  grain  and 
green  crops ;    the   grain    crops   perpetually 

succeed  each  other,  and  the  proportion  ofjtion  of  corn  and  less  of  wheat,  than  I  hare 
land  in  grain  is  too  great.  If  the  farm  been  accustomed  to  make,  or  than  it  is  ad- 
were  in  good  order  when  this  rotation  com-ivisable  to  attempt  in  a  broken  stony  coun- 
menced,  and  the  land  regularly  sown  with  try,  inconvenient  to  market,  and  where 
red  clover  when  in  wheat,  and  plaistered  I  manual  labour  does  rol:  abound.  In  a 
the  spring  when  the  clover  was  sown,  and  tract  of  country  above  the  falls,  and  below 
the  plaister  repeated  the  next  year,  and  i  the  ]>lue  Ridge,  wheat  is  considered  the 
a  sufficient  ^tock  kept  to  convert  all  the  staple.  An  increase  of  the  quantity  of 
offal  of  the  corn  and  wheat  into  manure  corn  is  no  compensation  for  a  diminished 
it  is  possible  that  the  land  would  not  be  \  crop  of  wheat.  One-fourth  of  a  farm  in 
rapidly  injured.  If  this  course  were  ob-  wheat,  and  that  after  corn,  when  the 
served,  the  materials  for  making  manure  I  crop  is  always  worse  than  after  fallow,  is  not 
would  be  so  abundant,  there  is  no  qucs- 1  considered  enough.  I  once  cultivated  a 
tion  it  could  be  made  in  large  quantities,  plantation  in  a  rotation  of  four  years.  My 
the  whole  produce  of  the  farm  contribu-  course  was  corn,  wheat,  clover,  wheat,  and 
ting  to  it;  upon  this  plan  much  reliance  j  the  plantation  evidently  grew  worse.  I 
must  be  placed  upon  soiling,  which  the  1  should  remark,  that  during  that  experi- 
experience  of   many  years  has  taught   me !  ment,  the  fields  were  not  pastured,   nor  was 


Admits  of  greater  variety  in  th»  succes- 
sion of  crops.  The  course  most  approved 
in  the  country  below  the  falls  of  the  river, 
which  is  generally  denominated  the  corn 
country,  from  that  grain  being  considered 
the  staple  of  that  district,  is  corn,  wheat, 
and  two  years  in  clover.  Its  effects  I  have 
had  no  opportunity  of  judging  of;  it  is  re- 
commended in  such  strong  terms  by  the 
president  of  our  Society,  that  I  can  have 
no  doubt  of  its  advantages  in  that  tract  of 
country  which  is  better  adapted  to  corn 
than  to  wheat.     It  gives  a  greater  propor- 


is  a  precarious  dependence  in  this  cli- 
mate. I  am  far  from  recommending  this 
rotation  except  upon  rich  bottom  land  ; 
but  if  it  be  pursued,  I  do  recommend  it 
upon  the  plan  here  suggested,  with  the 
addition  of  some  provision    of   grass  land 


I  very  successful  with  the  clover  crop,  it 
having  failed  more  than  once.  Three  crops 
of  grain  in  four  years  are  too  many  for  any 
high  land.  If  the  plantation  had  been 
laid  off  in  five  fields,  and  one  field  had 
been  altarnately  thrown   out  of  the  course, 


72 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


as  suggested  in  the  three  years  rotation,  the 
benefit  to  the  land  and  to  the  stock  Irom  a 
portion  of  the  land  being  for  a  number  of 
years  in  grass  would  be  attained.  So  far 
as  my  experience  or  observation  goes,  wheat 
may  succeed  clover  with  every  prospect  of 
a  good  crop.  Sir  John  Sinclair,  however, 
states  it  to  be  the  opinion  of  many  of  the 
most  intelligent  and  successful  farmers  in 
Scotland,  tliat  clover  land  ought  not  to  be 
sown  in  wheat.  There  may  be  some  differ- 
ence in  the  climate  or  soil  of  the  two  coun- 
tries, that  may  make  the  difference  upon 
this  subject.  However,  it  is  proper  that 
every  judicious  man  should  be  on  the  look- 
out, as  our  experience  has  not  been  such  as 
to  be  conclusive.  When  this  rotation  is 
practised,  I  would  pasture  moderately  the 
clover  field  the  last  year  it  is  in  grass.  In 
every  rotation  where  the  land  is  to  remain 
not  more  than  two  years  in  grass,  I  am  de- 
cidedly of  opinion,  that  clover-seed  should 
be  sown  on  every  crop  of  wheat,  at  the  rate 
of  a  bushel  of  clean  seed  to  ten  acres.  *  The 
cost  of  the  seed  is  no  consideration  in  com- 
parison with  the  value  of  the  crop  or  the 
improvement  of  the  land  from  it.  Many 
people  believe,  that  after  clover  is  once  well 
taken,  it  is  unnecessary  to  sow  again  ;  land 
will  sometimes  re-seed  itself,  but  it  will 
more  frequently  fail.  The  famous  Norfolk 
four  years  rotation,  which  has  made  that 
one  of  the  most  productive  counties  in  Eng- 
land, is  turnips,  barley,  clover,  wheat ; 
tte  land  always  manured  for  turnips,  and 
the  turnips  fed  off  by  sheep,  which  is  a 
dressing  twice  in  four  years. 

Five  years  rotation. 

This  is  the  rotation  practised  by  Mr- 
Wickham  upon  his  highly  cultivated  and 
productive  estase  upon  James  river.  Its 
success  recommends  it  highly  on  rich  land. 
It  has  been  in  use  for  seventeen  years; 
during  that  time  his  crops  have  been  the 
best  upon  the  river,  and  I'rom  what  I  hear, 
the  average  of  the  last  nine  years  is  at  least 
double  the  first  term.  I  have  repeatedly 
seen  his  crops  of  wheat  and  clover  from 
May  to  harvest,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying,  that  they  are  the  best,  taken 
througliout,  I  ever  saw.  I  have  seen  in 
other  plantations,  lots  and  parts  of  fields 
that  were  equal  to  his,  but  I  never  saw  en- 
tire fields  under  as  good  crops,  either  of 
wheat  or  clover.     Before   this   land   came 


into  his  hands,  it  had  been  cropped  in  the 
three  ^ears  rotation.  The  succession  of 
crops  in  his  rotation  is,  1st  corn,  2d  wheat, 
.3d  clover,  4th  wheat,  5th  clover.  I  con- 
sider his  experiment  as  establishing,  con- 
clusively, that  by  the  free  use  of  plaister 
I  of  paris,  and  the  proper  exertions  to  make 
and  apply  manure,  that  five  years  rotation 
j  may  be  relied  upon  to  give  fine  crops  on 
lands  in  good  heart,  and  to  keep  the  land 
in  a  state  of  regular  and  progressive  im- 
provement. Although  the  number  of  acres 
that  are  in  grain  by  having  six  divisions  in- 
stead of  five,  would  be  fewer,  I  believe  the 
quantity  made  would  not  be  lessened,  and 
I  am  confident  the  land  would  improve 
faster,  with  the  advantage  of  summer  pas- 
ture for  stock,  and  iho.  diminution  of  la- 
bour in  seeding  only  one-third  of  the  farm, 
instead  of  two-fifths,  with  the  further  ad- 
vantage of  commencing,  whenever  the  ex- 
tra field  was  to  be  brought  into  the  rotation, 
with  a  naked  fallow;  which  I  iear  will  be 
found  indispensable.  From  the  increase  of 
strong  perennial  plants  upon  our  lands, 
since  they  have  been  less  frequently  than 
formerly  planted  in  corn,  I  suspect  we  shall 
be  obliged  to  resort  to  naked  fallow  once  in 
.six  or  seven  years  to  keep  them  clear 
enough  for  wheat.  For  these  reasons  I 
.should  prefer  six  divisions ;  the  sixth  field 
I  would  use  as  it  is  propo.sed  the  fourth  and 
fifth  should  be  used  in  the  two 'preceding 
rotations,  to  be  Bown  with  a  mixture  of 
grass  seed  for  pasture. 

Six  years  rotation. 

1st  corn,  2d  wheat,  3d  clover,  4th  wheat, 
5th  clover,  Gth  clover ;  this  course  of  crops 
may  be  practised  to  great  advantage  upon 
weak  01"  worn  lands.  It  may  be  varied 
thus:  divide  the  arable  land* of  a  farm  into 
three  fields,  one  of  which  for  corn  and  clo- 
ver in  equal  parts,  one  in  wheat,  (half  corn 
and  the  other  half  fallow.)  and  one  in  clo- 
ver. Under  this  course  one-sixth  of  the 
farm  would  be  in  corn,  one-third  in  wheat, 
and  one-half  in  clover.  That  part  of  the 
clover  that  is  in  the  inclosure  with  the  corn, 
to  be  mowed  for  hay,  and  the  produce  of 
the  field  that  is  in  clover  to  be  applied  to 
the  support  of  stock  in  summer,  by  soiling 
and  by  being  pastured. 

Seven  years  rotation. 

1st  corn,  2d  rye,  3d  clover,  4th  wheat, 
5th  clover,  Gth  wheat^  7th  clover.     Perhaps 


ISGO.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


73 


as  beneficial  a  rotation  with  a  view  either i  farm,  or  upon  poor  land,  it  is  proper  to  be- 
to  profit  or  improvement  would  i)e,  1st  corn,  gin  with  gentle  rotations;  when  the  soil 
2d  rye,  (the  corn  and  rye  to  be  consumed! is  improved,  it  will  bear  more  severe  crop- 
on   the  farm,)   3d  clover,  4th    wheat,    5th  |  pin 


clover,  6th  wheat,  7th  pasture  for  six  years, 
on  which  I  would  sow  greensward,  orchard 
and  herds  grass,  meadow  oat  and  red  clo- 
ver. It  will  be  remarked,  that  in  this  ro- 
tation the  last  crop  in  the  course  is  wheat, 
and  the  first  and  second  corn  and  rye,  be- 
ing three  crops  in  succession.  It  is  sup- 
posed the  land  would  be  amply  compensa- 
ted for  this  by  the  entire  crops  of  rye 
and  corn  being  consumed  on  the  farm, 
and  each  field  in  its  turn  being  in   pasture 


By  the  high  price  of  wheat,  farmers  have 
been  induced  to  cultivate  too  much  land  in 
grain,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that 
stock,  the  great  soiirce  of  manure,  being 
neglected  or  almost  given  up,  the  soil  will 
be  exhausted  by  the  severity  of  cropping. 
The  late  change  in  Europe  to  a  state  of 
profound  peace,  must  cause  the  price  of 
grain  to  fall,  which,  added  to  a  decrease  in 
the  produce  of  the  land,  must  bring  distress 
upon  the  fiirmer;  stock  of  every  kind  must 
SIX  years.  Where  one-seventh  of  the  land  j  rise  on  account  of  its  scarcity,  a  circum- 
is  manured  for  corn,  the  produce  of  two- 1  stance  which  cannot  be  remedied  for  many 
fifths  of  the  land  that  is  in  grain  consumed 'years.  The  ready  answer  given  by  every 
upon  it,  and  three-sevenths  of  the  farm  in '  man,  when  he  is  asked  why  he  works  his 
grass,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  produce  and  land  so  hard,  is,  that  he  inust  have  the 
improvement  sufficient  to  satisfy  any  reason-' crop  from  all  the  land  he  cultiv^es,  that 
able  man.  I  am  informed  the  lands  on  the  less  will  not  support  his  family  an"  defray 
south  branch  of  Potowmac  are  cultivated  his  expenses.  Great  and  weighty  consid- 
in  corn  six,  seven,  and  eight  years  in  sue- j  orations,  I  admit;  but  is  it  not  a  fatal  er- 
cession,  after  which  they  are  pastured  as  ror  to  believe,  that  one  hundred  and  fifty 
long,  and  in  that  time  are  supposed  to  be  acres  of  laud,  in  an  exhausted  state,  will 
conjpletely  renovated.  produce  more  than  a  third,   or  at  any  rate 

Of  the  foregoing  rotations,  I  should  pre- .half,  the  same  land,  well  cultivated  and  im- 
fer  the  five  years  rotation  for  good  land,  |  proved  by  the  manure  that  can  be  made, 
but  think  it  Avould  be  more  perfect,  if  the  ^  the  free  use  of  plaister  and  clover,  and  the 
farm  was  thrown  into  six  divisions  and  one  proper  mixture  of  ameliorating  with  ex- 
of  them  kept  in  grass  the  whole  round.!  hausting  crops?  Let  these  questions  be 
For  weak  or  thin  land,  I   should  think  the ;  tested  by  experience. 

change  I  have  suggested  indispensable.  |  John  Wickham,  Esq.,  when  he  purehas- 
With  that  variation  one-half  the  land  |  ed  his  upper  farm,  I  understand,  could  not 
would  be  in  grain,  and  the  other  in  grass.  \  expect  more  than  from  two  thousand  to  two 
To  avoid  repetition,  I  have  purposely  thousand  five  liundred  bushels  of  wheat, 
omitted  mentioning  tobacco,  not  from  a  be- '  annually,  according  to  the  season.  His 
lief  that  its  culture  should  be  abandoned ;  crop  is  now  from  four  to  five  thousand 
on, the  contrary,  I  think  it  will  be  long  one  bushels.  Thomas  Marshall,  Esq.,  took  pos- 
of  the  best  articles  of  produce  for  a  Yir-j  session  of  his  estate,  when  two  and  a  half 
ginia  plantation ;  at  anything  like  the  pres-j  barrels  of  corn,  and  five  or  six  bushels  of 
ent  prices,  it  unquestionably  is  so.  Persons!  wheat  to  the  acre,  would  have  been  thought 
distant  from  market,  or  those  who  can  make 'good  average  crops;  he  now  makes  from 
tobacco  of  the  first  quality,  Avill  probably  j  six  to  eight  barrels  of  corn,  and  from  fif- 
find  it  to  their  interest  to  continue  its  cul-  teen  to  twenty -five  bushels  of  wheat  to  the 
turc  for  a  great  length  of  time.  If  it  is  [acre.  For  these  facts  many  of  the  mem- 
made  upon  old  land,  it  should  be  planted  ibers  of  this  society  can  vouch.  Little  more 
upon  the  lands  that  in  the  different  rota-jthan  ha  f  Mr.  Wickham's  land,  produces 
tions  I  have  given,  are  allowed  for  corn.  |  more  than  double  the  grain  he  used  to  make 
It  will  be  found  an  easier  crop  to  the  land  ;  upon  two-thirds.  Mr.  Marshall  has  been 
than  corn,  and  will  invariably  be  succeeded  ;  equally   successful.     I   ho])e   those    gentle 


by  a  better  crop  oif  wheat. 

Mtscellancovs    OLservations. 

It  is  obvious,  that  at  the  commencement 
of  an  improving  system  upon  an  exhausted 


men  will  favour  the  public,  through  this 
Society,  with  a  full  statement  of  their  im- 
provements. Sir  John  Sinclair  says  that 
the  lands  in  some  districts  in  Scotland,  were 
formerly  cultivated  in  grain,  three  years  in 


74 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLAXTER. 


[February 


four;  the  rent  was  then  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  shillings  per  acre  ;  the  same  lands  are 
now  in  grain  not  oftoner  than  throe  years 
in  six ;  they  pay  from  five  to  six  pounds 
rent,  and  make  more  grain  from  half  than 
they  formerly  did  from  threefuurths  of 
the  fiirm.  These  great  and  important 
changes  have  hecn  made  in  Scotland,  in 
about  forty  years. 

A  safe  rule  b}'  which  to  proportion  the 
crops  of  grain,  is,  not  to  suffer  more  than 
from  a  half  to  three  fifths  of  the  farm  to  be 
in  grain  in  one  year.  Let  the  land  that  can 
be  manured,  be  the  limit  of  the  corn  crop, 
to  be  succeeded  by  wheat,  rye,  or  oats,  ac- 
cording to  the  soil,  and  the  relative  value 
of  each  species  of  grain,  and  then  com- 
plete the  rotation  bj*  alternate  crops  ot 
small  grain  and  clover,  allowing  one  field  to 
be  always  in  grass  for  pa^ture.  I  fear  many 
farmers^^ill  be  deterred  from  following  this 
advice,  from  a  belief  that  it  ,is  impractica- 
ble to  accomplish  w  hat  I  propose.  I  pledge 
myself  that  any  man  who  will  make  proper 
exertions,  may  make  the  quantity  of  ma- 
nure that  will  be  necessary.  A  firm  of 
three  hundred  acres  in  six  fields  will 
have  six  of  fifty  each ;  twenty  loads  of 
forty  bushels  to  the  acre,  will  require 
a  thousand  loads  for  a  field,  to  be  spread 
over  the  surface  e(jually.  If  the  ma- 
nure be  applied  to  the  hill  or  the  drill, 
one-fourth  of  the  quantity  will  be  snflUcijnt 
for  the  corn  crop.  The  application  in 
either  mode  will  give  fntm  two  hundred 
and  fifty  to  three  hundred  barrels  of  corn 
from  the  fields,  as  the  year  is  favourable  or 
otherwise,  in  one  of  these  modes.  I  know 
it  i.s  in  the  power  of  every  man  upon  such 
a  farm,  to  manure  fifty  acres ;  if  he  will 
provide  winter  and  summer  food  for  his 
stock,  and  use  due  diligence  in  making 
and  saving  manure,  and  consume  all  his 
wheat  straw  and  corn  stalks  as  litter  for  his 
stock. 

In  this  way,  then,  half  the  land  will  be 
made  to  produce  the  quantit}'  of  corn  usu- 
ally made,  with  a  great  saving  of  labour,  a 
certain  and  constant  improvement  of  his 
farm,  and  a  crop  of  wheat,  double  what  he 
would  make,  when  one-third  of  his  land 
was  planted  in  corn,  and  all  his  wheat 
made  upon  corn  land. 

The  nature  of  the  soil  should  have  (he 
greatest  influence  in  deciding  upon  the 
crops  to  be  made.  In  most  cases,  that  crop 
will  pay  best,  that  the  land  is  best  adapted 


to.  If  the  di.stance  from  market  is  too 
great  to  transport  grain  of  any  sort,  still  it  is 
made  to  great  profit,  for  fattening  stock  and 
for  distillation.  On  the  south  branch  of 
Potowmac,  corn  is  the  principal  crop. 
Where  the  lands  are  peculiarly  adapted  to 
cjrn,  let  that  be  made  the  staple  ;  so  as  to 
wheat,  and  every  other  plant  which  is  cul- 
tivated. Upon  the  dry,  thirsty  uplands  of 
the  mountaineous  country,  corn  is  as  preca- 
rious a  crop,  as  wheat  is  upon  the  light 
lands  of  the  lower  country. 

The  great  error  in  Virginia,  heretofore, 
has  been,  that  we  have  cultivated  our  lands 
without  intermission;  that  we  have  attempt- 
ed crops  without  any  attention  to  the  qual- 
ity of  the  land,  or  the  fitne.«s  of  its  culture; 
that  we  have  taken  everything  from  the 
soil,  without  returning  anything  to  it,  and 
that  even  now,  when  there  is  a  strong  solici- 
tude to  improve  our  Jands,  we  are  attempt- 
ing it  in  a  way  that  cannot  succeed.  I  be- 
lieve that  by  the  due  application  of  plais- 
ter,  and  the  proper  mixture  of  clover  crops, 
if  the  clover  succeeds,  good  land  may  be 
kept  in  heart ;  but  if  our  lands  sliould  tire 
of  clover,  or  become  clover-sick,  as  has 
happened  in  other  countries,  this  resource 
will  fail.  Is  there  any  man  so  credulous  as 
to  believe,  that  by  clover  and  gypsum  alone, 
the  gullied  and  exhausted  lands  of  Vir- 
ginia can  be  reclaimed?  I  believe  not; 
if  there  should  be,  I  can  assure  him  he  will 
be  disappointed.  Before  clover  will  per- 
form its  ofiice,  the  land  must  be  made  capa- 
ble of  holding  and  sustaining  it;  nothing 
but  manure  will  enable  such  land  to  do  this, 
and  to  have  manure,  there  must  be  stock 
on  every  farm,  with  a  sufficiency  of  food 
for  winter,  and  pasture  fur  summer.  Soil- 
ing for  some  time,  may  be  practised  to  ad- 
vantage, but  it  is  not  to  be  relied  upon  in 
this  dry,  hot  climate,  with  any  certainty, 
for  more  than  two  months,  and  can  scarce- 
ly be  practised  at  all  in  the  harvest  month, 
from  the  middle  of  June  to  the  middle  of 
July ;  because  the  farm  hands  are  fully 
employed  in  securing  the  grain  crops.  In- 
stead, then,  of  excluding  stock  from  our 
farms,  they  shttuld  be  considered  indispen- 
sable, not  onl}'  for  the  purpose  of  makiitg 
manure,  and  for  the  necessary  supply  of 
the  farmer,  his  family  and  labourers,  with 
meat,  nilk  and  butter,  but  as  a  tueans  of 
affording  income.  Instead  of  Virginia  hav- 
ing a  surplus  of  meat  and  horses,  as  she 
ought  to  have,  our  supply  is  drawn  to  a  very 


I 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


75 


serious  and  alarming  amount  from  other 
States.  A  vast  proportion  of  the  beef  and 
pork  consumed  in  our  towns,  and  much  of 
that  which  is  used  in  the  country  by  the 
farmers,  is  brouylit  from  other  States.  I 
am  sure  it  is  a  reasonable  estimate  to  say, 
that  Virginia  has  paid,  in  the  last  five 
years,  to  the  people  of  the  Western  coun- 
try and  North  Carolina,  not  less  than  a 
millitm  of  dollars  a  year  for  cattle,  horses 
and  hogs,  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  value  of 
our  tobacco  crop,  thereby  impoverishing  the 
people,  as  well  as  the  land  of  Virginia. 

1  have  no  scruple  in  saying  that  at  this 
day,  there  is  less  pasture  land  and  less  stock- 
in  Virginia,  in  the  country  east  of  the  Rlue 
Ridge,  than  there  was  thirty  years  ago.  I 
must  not  be  understood  to  approve  of  the  ai 


be  valuable  food  in  March  and  April,  the 
top  of  it  only  being  injured  by  tlie  frost. 
Where  there  are  two  fields  of  clover  in  the 
rotation,  perhaps  a  better  use  for  the  land 
cannot  be  made  of  one  of  them,  than  to 
pasture  with  stock  with  due  caution.  Ex- 
clude everything  until  the  clover  is  in  full 
bloom,  continue  the  stock  upon  it  only  long 
enough  to  make  wnj  for  the  second  crop, 
cxc-ludiiig  them  always  when  the  land  is 
wet.  'J'here  is  no  stock  on  a  farm  more 
benefitted  by  clover,  or  less  injurious  to  it 
or  the  land,  than  hogs.  Except  for  the 
comfort  of  resting  themselves  in  wet  or 
moist  places,  in  very  hot  weather,  hogs  will 
not  root,  particularly  when  the  land  is  dry, 
if  they  can  get  plenty  of  food  without  it. 
They  have  the  ability  to  procure  sustenance 
cient  management  of  stock  and  pastures,  I  in  that  way,  but  I  am  satisfied  it  is  only 
when  the  stock  was  permitted  to  roam  over  i  necessity  that  makes  them  resort  j^o  it.  By 
the  plantations,  during  the  winter,  and  using  one  of  the  divisions  of  a  ^rm  for 
poach  the  earth,  nibbliug  every  atom  of  pasture,  with  the  aid  of  lots,  I  am  satisfied 
herbage  that  escaped  the  Irost,  aiid  snatch- j  that  as  much  luanure  may  be  made  and  ap- 
ing every  particle  of  the  spring  growth,  as  plied  every  year  to  the  field  in  corn  as  will 
fast  as  it  was  high  enough  to  enable  them  to  niake  it  a  fine  crop;  that  horses  enough 
bite  it.  Underthismanagement, the  land  was  may  be  raised  in  Virginia  for  our  own  use, 
injured  and  the  supply  of  food  inadequate ;  J  and  that  instead  of  purchasing  a  great  pro- 
the  stock  miserably  kept  through  the  win-  portion  of  the  meat  we  consume,  in  a  very 
ter,  a  great  loss  in  the  spring  of  every  few  years,  we  should  have  a  considerable 
year,  half  starved  through  the  summer,  and  quantity  for  exportation. 
the  manure  from  them  at  all  seasons,  small!  Here  1  beg  leave  to  call  the  atten  ion  of 
in  quantity  and  meagre  in  quality.  Instead  the  Society  to  the  eifect  of  fattening  stock 
of  which,  I  recommend  the  Ibrming  of  lots  on  the  farm,  with  a  proportion  of  its  pro- 
for  the  spring  use  of  milch  cows,  yearling 'diice.  It  is  +o  make  the  land  more  produc- 
calves,  mares  and  colts,  and  ewes  and  lambs;  tive  in  everything  from  the  vast  quantity 
the  more  hardy  stock  to  be  kept  upon  dry  of  the  rich  uianures  it  affords,  which  im- 
food  until  the  woods  will  ^sustain  them, 'parts  its  fertilizing  power  to  every  part  of 
which  they  will  do  for  two  or  three  weeks  ^  the  farm  in  its  turn.  If  the  crop  of  corn 
in  all  the  upper  and  most  of  the  lower  |  is  consumed  by  cattle  on  the  farm,  there 
country;  after  whicdi,  towards  the  middle  is  no  question  but  that  the  subsequent  crops, 
of  May,  the  common  pasture  of  the  farm*both  of'  corn  and  wheat,  will  be  increased, 
may  be  used,  and  soiling  commence.  One- j  by  the  application  of  the  manure  it  will 
twelfth  or  fifteenth  of  the  farm  of  suitable  furnish,  which  excess  may,  of  itself,  pay  a 
land,  in  three  or  more  grass  lots,  on  a  farm  good  price  for  the  corn  so  consumed.  If, 
of  any  size,  to  be  soon  in  greensward,  or- 'in  addition,  you  can  obtain  a  fair  price  for 
chard  and  herd's  grass,  uieadow  oat  and  the  corn,  by  the  fattening  of  cattle,  with  a 
red  clover,  will  be  of  us  uiuch  value  as  the 'saving  of  the  trouble  and  expense  of  its 
same  number  of  acres,  in  any  crop,  deduct-! transportation,  the  farmer  would  be  doubly 
ing  the  expense  of  culture,  that  ought  to  paid.  I  am  warranted  in  recommending 
be  charged  to  either  grain  or  tobacco. 'feeding  stock  by  the  success  of  the  South 
When  the  couirnon  pasture  is  open  to  stock,  i Branch  farmers,  who  have  becon)e  in  thirty 
or  when  it  r-hall  be  sustained  by  soiling,  the  years,  the  most  wealthy  in  Virginia,  by  the 
lots  to  be  shut  up  for  summer  use — after '  culture  of  corn,  without  ever  having  ex- 
the  first  of  September  there  is  never  a  want  ported  from  the  district,  one  bushel  in 
of  pasture.  From  that  time  until  March,  grain;  the  whole  crop  being  consumed  on 
the  lots  should  not  be  depastured;  the  fall  the  respective  farms.  In  Great  Britain, 
growth  will  be  very  considerable,  which  will  the  advantage   and   propriety  of  this  prac- 


76 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


tice  are  so  fully  understood,  that  tliere  is,  an  acre,  a  field,  a  farm,  a  district,  a  province 
never   more   than    from   one-third    to  half  or  a  kingdom." 

their  farms  appropriated  to  grain.  Thej  By  providing  food  for  a  due  proportion 
vast  product  of  potatoes,  turnips,  cabbages,  |  of  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep,  the  quantity  of 
and  grass  are  applied  to  the  feeding  of  j  grain  will  be  increased,  and  the  ''  meat, 
stock  on  their  farms.  In  this  way  they  be- '  cheese,  milk,  butter,  wool,  and  leather,  are 
lieve,  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  fact,  that!  so  much  additional  produce  gained  from  the 
they  make  more  grain  than  they  would  do  |  land ;  by  means  of  which  the  wealth  of  a 
if  a  greater  proportion  of  the  land  were  country  and  its  power  of  providing  for  a 
made    to  produce    it.      In    ]"]ngland,   this  |  numerous    population,    is    enormously    in- 


practice  is  carried  so  far,  that  oil-cake  is 
purchased  and    used   for   fattening    cattle, 


creased." 

I  trust  there  is  no  possibility  of  my  be- 


with  a  knowledge  that  its  chief  benefit  is  ing  so  far  misunderstood  as  to  have  it  sup- 
derived  from  the  richness  it  imparts  to  |  posed,  that  it  is  my  desire  to  convert  all 
tjie  manure,  made  by  the  cattle  to  whom  it  j  our  arable  into  grass  laud,  or  that  I  wish  to 
is  fed.  increase  the  quantity  of  grass  by  diminish- 

ing  the   product  of  bread-stufi".     I  recom- 


mend stock  as  an   auxiliary,  whose  agency 


The  wisdom  and  economy  of  making  asj 

much  srain  upon   twenty  acres  of  land  as  I .    ,    ,  -,     .  .,    ,  ,      . 

■  v        ,v-         1  J  xjj?  xi,        IS  to  be  made  to  contribute^  to  the  mrrease 

they  iorraerly  made  upon  tiity,    are  there  \    r.  ,-,  .  i  ,     7         i         •     ^  ^ 

f.  11  1      /  J        J   *iu  i-       1  01  the  jrram  crop,  and  to  be  subservient  to 

luJly  understood,  and  they  are  so  rational'  ,         i':  ^     •  •  i  i  i-^ 

as  to  brieve  it  i=  better  to  have  ^heir  farm<=l^^^^  ^^^^^^-     ^^  ^^   esseniial    to  the  utihty 
^     ii,       J  ■       ■     f    x-i-4.  1 '  and  chance  ol  profit  irom  stock,  that  they 

improvino;  than  decreasing  in  iertility — and    ,      , ,  ,       ^      \      ^     n  ->    ^         \      ^ 
,!•    -     1        1  1     ?  \  x.    ^  should  be  abundantly  led  through  the  year, 

this  IS  done  by  men  who  have   only  a  short,       ,  ,,  .        n"  .     ^    -^       ^  • 

J,  •'    ■   .        i-ii      ij       1-1     and  the  quantity  oi  stock  kept  proportion- 

and  temporary  interest  in  the  land,  while      .         i^i  -77         ^^,-         1 

„     ,1      '■       1      J?  T--     •   •        \  -1  ed  to  the   rood  provided ;  remembering  al- 

we,  the  people  ot   \  irsrinia,  who  pride  our-  ,       .    .    /  ^    '  °,    ^ 

1        •     1    •       ii      1  "j       J?  xi         -1      r       I  ways,  that  it  is  oetter  tor  every  person   that 
selves  in  being  the   lords  ot  the  sou,  show!     -r'  '      ,      ,  1  ,  ,        ,        "^  ^  ,    j 

^„  „      -y    ■    7-jr  t    %  .•  Ti  fi  hum  should  be  under  than  over  stocked, 

so  much  indinerence  to  its  preservation.     It  >    ^,         .  ,  ,       1       1      ^  •       » 1 

•    1  „,-  _   1        J  T    f        •     Zi     ♦!    ..  1-  I  in  the  neighbourhood   or  my  estate  m   Al- 

ls believed,  and  1   lear  justly,  that  our  cli-',  ,       "  ,  -^   ^       ., 


mate  is  unfavourable  to  the  product  of  po- 


i  bemarle,  we  have  no  resource  for  the  sum- 


tatoes   and    turnips,    which    I    consider   a 


as  to  be   able  to  cultivate  all  our    cleared 
lands  in  succession.     I  do  not  believe  with- 


mer  support  of  cattle,   but  those  furnished 

,  •  <•    ,      „      -i    .    -.    ■         .  .      1    1    *i    i  1  by    our    arable    lands.      We    are   without 

inisrortune      but  it  is  not   pretended    that '    •'  ,  ,  n  . 

„-^i  „    ^      '  -1         1-      .    •      t    11         i  swamps  or  marshes,  and  we  are  so  lortunate 

either  our  sou  or  climate  is  at  all  so,  to  car- :  ^        .  .  '  .  .  ._  .         . 

rots,  parsnips,  scarcity,  Jerusalem  arti- 
chokes, or  the  sweet  potatoe.  cabbage,  rape.  .  •  1  .  -i  ,.  1,-  1  nc 
o:  Swedish  turnips.  We  have  a  great  reli^"  eigh  miles  ot  \\  arren  there  are  fifty 
source,  too,  in  pumpkins,  not  less  valuable  ff^^  *?^  ^^^^^  nninclosed  lands.  Lnder 
■f«,  ♦!,.,  ^.,„i:(.^  .J'  +1  ^  J?  Ii  +1,  +■  *i,  these  circumstances,  we  must  abandon  stock 
tor  the  quality  ol  the  lood,  than  any  01  the         ,          ^      ♦        ,               1       1     •      t    n 

roots,  and   onlv  made   so   by    the    time  ^t  i  °5  ^,^P^'^^  "P^"  ^^^^^  can  be  derived  from 

which  they  must  be  consumed.     Much  of,  ^^^  ^^''^  ^>'  P^^^urage  and  soiling.  - 

our  grain,  both  corn  and  rye,  might  be  fed]  \\ .  ^.  :sirnoLAS. 

to  great  advantage,  by  being  ground   andj 

fed  on  cut  straw,  or  steamed,  and  perhaps 
more  profitably  than  to  sell  it  in  grain,  at 
the  common  prices. 

The  benefit  to  the  farmer  and  to  the  land, 
from  feeding  stock,  is  so  well  understood  in 
Great  Britain,  that  it  has  become  an  agri- 
cultural maxim,  that  whenever  a  farmer 
discovers  he  can  be  as  well  paid,  by  culti- 
vating food  for  cattle  as  for  man,  he  should 
prefer  it,  because  of  the  increased  quan- 
tity of  manure  it  give.'.  Mr.  A.  Young  re- 
marks, that  "  that  country,  that  farm   will 


*  Tlie  followiiiij  is  an  extract  ot'a  letter  frotn 
n  gentleman  of  tlie  first  respectability,  who  is 
tlistiiigiiislied  as  a  farmer,  anil  who  has  improv- 
ed highly  a  tract  of  land  that  liad  been  very 
much  exhausted.  It  is  pid)riil)ed  to  corroborate 
my  opinion  of  tlie  inijiortance  and  value  of  stockj 
both  witli  a  view  to  the  improvement  of  a  farm 
and  the  profit  to  he  derived  from  it : 

"  I  regret  tliat  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  give 
anything  like  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  an- 
cient mode  of  cultivating  tlie  soil  which  it  has 
fnllen  to  my  lot  to  niannge.  The  modern  and 
more  improved  mode  of  farming  had  already 
been  a<lopted   in   part,   when  I  came  here  to  re- 


1S60.]  THE    SOUTHEEX    PLANTER.  77 

From  the  Xetp  York  Ohserxxr      i  part  of  the  excess  will  be  deposited  in  the 
Lecture  on  Stock  Feeding.  tissues  to  add  to  its  weight.     Now,   the 

..     1  .        i-u%-.     -e  ,^     Tj-  11     J  c    quantity  absorbed  depends  upou  the  state 
At  a  late  exhibition  or  the  iliirhlana  i?o-i  ^j?  ^i     •    •      .         i      ^  ,  {  , , 

•  .   •     CM  cc^^•^r\'~\;i  '  "*  the  annual- — a  lean  beast  thorouahly  ex- 

ciety  s  ^how,  of   bcotland,  Dr.  Anderson.  ,         .       .      ^     ,      ,  .,        ,         .    .'    •'     , 
1      o     •   ,   •    ,T,       •  *   J     •  lilt         naustins"  its  tood.  while,  when    it  is  nearly 

the  boeiety  s  Chemist,  dunnc:  an  able  lecture  jr.  ^   -,    ^  i  ,  „ 

c.    '    V-     1-  J     »i      -  M      •  tat,  it   ttiKes  only  a  small  proportion,     bo, 

on  StocK  Jbeedins,  made  the  loilowins  re-  ,.i       •       -f  .u    '        .-        oK^     i   v 
^  ,  ..  "-  "-  likewise,  it  the  quantity  oi  food   be  greater 

"    Tn    k        1  "         •     u  'than  the  dieestiye  or<rans  can  well  dispose 

'•Ail    branches   oi    aonculture   are  now     p  ^  -^  ^..  =  j-      .•    ^    i 

..I  1-  xu-       u  f      ■  ^  J  ot,  a  certain  quantity  escarses  diirestion  al- 

iTOing  through  this  phase  of  existence,  and  <     '     ,  ,  A  "^     •     n    ,     = 

'  -   '^  ,       "     ,    .    ^         ,     „        »  ui-  1,   J    toeether.  and  it  :s  practically  lost, 
principles  are  beinc:  gradually  established.:     ^  t,i    '       i,  \.-  x.  ^\      r     t       i 

W     r.*^  1-        +•    *    7  ^  »i  x-»i,       !         Ihe  problem   which  the  feeder  has  to 

The  leedin?  ot  .stock  is  exactly  one  or  those!     i      •     i        ^  i    i  -         ,^,        •,,         ^ 

,  •     ,      i^--  1  V  ,.    "         f  11      J    solye  IS,  how  to  supply  his  cattle  with  such 

subjects  which  can  be  most  successlully  ad- i-?     ,      ',-  -u  ^    ' 

■'     ,  ,       ^    ,  .       ^,         •     •  1  "i^-  \.  lood.  and  in  such  proportions,  as  to  ensure 

yanced  by  studying  the  principles  on  which'  ,     ,  ,   .  -  i     ..i  n    ,  i 

-,  J  r  111     r        •       1  ^the  largest  increase  with   the  smallest  loss. 


it  depends;  and  though  these  inyolye  many 
most  complex,  chemical  and  physiological 
questions,  we  haye  obtained  .some  founda- 
tion on  which  to  gro.     The  food  which  an 


In  solying  this  problem  we  must,  in  the 
first  place,  consider  the  general  nature  of 
the  food  of  all  animals,  the  constituents  q£ 


,  .  .1         -    -1  .  J        ,1  which    may   be    diyidea    into    three    crear 

animal  consumes   is  partly  assimilated  and  i   ,  .-C       -^  .x  i  •  ^ 

1  .-  J    1    *   -i-    ..  1,  '  classes — the  nitrosenous  matters,  which  go 

partly  excreted,   but,  it  it  be  propeny  pro-  ,      »i      o.  ■      "  i^  a    \      .l  i^     ■* 

'     ^.•'      ,    X     .'  -  X      -5     *  -  1,..  to   the  lormation  oi    flesh;  the  .saccharine 

portioned    to   its   requirements,  its   weisht       j       i  i  •  i  ^  •      •  j 

^       •  *     4.        1   1  1  X  4.  and    oily,    which    support   respiration   and 

remains  constant,  and  hence  we  learn  that  n        pj'    i^  •        ta  ■     ^^      i    -         xt   . 
n     J    1  X  •  .1      •      *i      tormiat.     it  is  sufliciently  obyious  that  as 

rood  does  not  remain   permanently  in  the  ^,      x-  ^    ^      x-        'i-        x  -  •  j 

,1        re  •      1   1-       1   '  •     J     r  the   two   £rreat   lunctions  or    nutrition  and 

body,     it,  now.  an  animal  be   depriyed  ot  .    ^.  •-  ,  i      •      i  i 

r.     ;     .^    1  .  1,         •        X     xu         V    respiration    must    proceed    simultaneously, 

looa,  it   loses   weiirht.  owing   to   the  sub- '  ,  ^         ,      ,       .    ^  i?    j      -n   l     xi    x 

X      J  •       I      u    •     V  •  J  the    most  adyantaireous   food   will  be  that 

stances  stored  up  in  the  boay  beine  used      ,  .  ,  ,.       ,,  "-       .      ^,  ^         ,., 

.   ,  .      ^,     ^  i-         ■     X-"  J   which  supplies  them   m    the  most  readily 

to  maintain-  the  process  ot  respiration  and        •    -i  vi      x-  j    • 

^,  ^       f.  xi      X-  Tu  ,.  assimilable    lorms,  and    in    proper   propor- 

the   wa.«te  or    the  tissues,     i  he  course   ot  ^.  ^  j  \    .v.     £    x     x-  xi  x 

.,.,,,.  f,  ,  tions.     in  re^rard  to  the  lirst  of  these  mat- 

eyents  withm  the   body  is,  so  tar  as  known.   .         -.     -n  u^     i.   •         xi_  x  -^  x       i  •   j      i> 
1    i.     "■  xi,-     I'l      Tu      i-    J    •     J-    ters,  it  will  be  obyious  that  ir  two  kinds  of 
somewhat  or    this  kind,     ihe    tood   is  di-  ,.    j        ^  •     xu  x-x      j? 

,,,,,-         xu     1  I     J  ^  ■     rood  contain  the  same  (luantitv  oi  nutntiye 

arestea,  absorbed  into  the  blood,  a  certain        ^^         u   x    -  li         *  •  x  j 

°        -^     ,    -  1    ^  matters,    but   m    one    they   are   associated 

quantity   being   consumed    to   support  res-      •  i         i  -x       x-  j     xjl 

*.      .    -      re  ?i^    I-    ^  V.  1      J-     X  J  with  a  lareer  quantity  or   woody  nbre  or 

piratiOM.     if  the  looa  be  properly  adjusted     ^,  ^  ^  .}■  •   ^  ,     •,  ^^        .,, 

f    ^,  .  X     x-xi         •      1  -x        •  i,x  other  non-nutritious  matter,  the  latter  will 

to  the  requirements  ot  the  animal.  Its  weight  ,  -j      ui    i  i       xi        xi      x> 

^     ,  J     xi.  x-x      1       u   1   haye  considerably  less  value  than  the  for- 

remains  unchanojed — the  quantity  absorbed  ,p,  '  -x     x>  i_  i 

1    ,    ^  ,^,  ^,     *  •'     ■,  ^  mer.     ihe  necessity  tor  a  proper  balance 

and  that  excreted  exactly  correspond  to  one     <•  xt     x  x    *i  e         -x- 

^,  u   x   •!»  •  xu     J?    J         ot  the  two  sreat  classes  or  nutntiye  con- 

another;    but  it    we   increase  the  rood,   a"     .^       .     .     ^,  rn  •     xi       i_   •         x-     -p 

'  stituents  IS  also  .sutnciently  obvious,  tor  if, 

for  example,  an  animal  be  supplied  with  a 
after  my  arrival, .iiiy  stock  of  cattle  was  consid-  larore  quantity  of  nitrogenous  matters,  and 
erably.lirainlslie.'.  will,  a  view  to  give  the  land  ^  ^^jj^ij  amount  of  respiratory  clements.it 
as  miiih  a.«  posiilile  the  beneht  arijins  from  clo- .  ,    ,  ,  ^•.  '  /•  xi_      i   x. 

ver  con^i-lered  as  a  mere  manure.  For  five  or  ""^^t,  to  supply  a  sufhciencv  of  the  latter, 
six  years  lliave  becQ  nnrsinjr  im- land  carefully,  consume  a  much  larger  quantity  of  the 
and  have  had  some  very  ponr  fields  to  reclaim;  former  than  it  Can  assimilate,  and  there  is 
but  I  am  now  able  to  fatten  50  or  60  beeves  an-  pTraeticallv  a  2;reat  loss.  We  may  deter- 
nually  for  market,  without  sustaining  any  incon-jj^j^g  the'  proper  proportion  of  these  Sub- 
venience:  indeed  1  consider  the  grazing  of  those     ^  .     ^,,  '^        ^._'        ,  ^    . 

fields  which  I  propose  to  fallow  in  any  given  stances  m  three  different  ways :  1st,  we 
year,  as  a  decided  advantage :  because  I  am  en-  may  determine  the  COmpo.«ition  of  the  ani- 
able*i  by  this  means,  to  have  the  plowing  exe-  mal  body ;  2nd,  we  may  examine  that  of 
cuted  more  eiiectiially,  and  to  prepare  a  g»iod  ^}^Q  milk,  the  typical  food  of  the  voun^' 
seed  bed  for  the  wheat.  Ti.e  surface  of  our  ^^^^^^^  ^^d  3rd",  the  results  of  actual  feed! 
couutrr  is  much  broken  and  exhibits  manv  poor   .  '       .  ,  •       i        -r. 

knolls.' where  improvement  has  not  progressed  i°g  experiments  may  be  examined.  But. 
far.  which  are  not  only  a  great  detriment  to  the  however  valuable  the  data  derived  from 
appearance,  but  a  material  drawback  upon  the   these    experiments    may   be,    they    are    less 


have  been  ih  every  way  satisfactory.'  i the   different   substances   are   found   in   the 


78 


THE  SOUTHERX  PLANTER. 


[February 


animal  are  exactly  those  in  which  thej 
ought  to  exist  in  the  food.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  appears  that  while  one-tenth  of  the 
saccharine  and  fatty  matters  are  assimilated 
by  the  animal,  only  one-twentieth  of  the 
nitrogenous  compounds,  and  one  thirty- 
third  of  the  mineral  substances  in  the  food 
are  assimilated  by  the  animal.  On  the  other 
hand,  however,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  particular  compounds  also  exercise  a 
very  different  influence.  Thus  a  pound  of 
fat  in  the  food,  when  assimilated,  will  pro- 
duce a  pound  of  fat  in  the  animal ;  but  it 
requires  about  two  and  a-half  pounds  of 
sugar  and  starch  to  produce  the  same  effect. 
The  broad  general  principle  arrived   at  is, 

«at  we  must  afford  a  sufficient  supply  of 
adily  assimilable  food,  containing  a  pro- 
per proportion  of  each  class  of  nutritive 
substances.  But  there  are  other  matters 
also  to  be  borne  in  mind,  for  the  food 
must  not  only  increase  the  weight  of  the 
animal,  but  also  support  respiration  and 
animal  heat;  and  the  quantity  of  food  re- 
quired for  this  purpose  is  large. 

"  It  appears,  from  Boussiugault's  experi- 
ments, that  in  a  cow,  eighteen  ounces  of 
nitrogenous  matter  are  required  to  counter- 
balance the  waste  of  the  tissues — a  quan- 
tity, coutaine  1  in  about  ten  or  twelve  pounds 


how  the  staple  food  produced  on  fhe  farm 
can  be  most  advantageously  used  to  feed 
the  cattle  kept  on  it,  and  on  this  point 
much  requires  to  be  said.  It  appears  that 
they  can  be  best  made  use  of  when  com- 
bined with  more  highly  nutritious  food, 
such  as  oil-cake  or  rape;  and,  when  this  is 
properly  done,  a  very  great  advantage  is 
derived.  It  appears  from  experiments  that 
sheep,  which,  when  fed  on  hay  only,  attain 
a  weight  of  ninety  pounds,  reach  a  hundred 
when  rape  is  added.  The  subject  cannot 
be  completed  without  referring  to  the  value 
of  the  dung  produced,  which  has  been  vari- 
ously estimated." 

The  experiments  referred  to  in  the  course 
of  the  address,  appear  to  show  that,  of 
food  generally,  about  one-third  to  one- 
fourth  of  the  money  value,  and  seven-eighths 
of  the  valuable  matter,  appear  in  the  dung. 
Dr.  Anderson  concluded  by  saying  that  he 
had  b}'  no  means  attempted  to  exhaust, 
but  had  given  only  a  sketch,  trusting  that 
the  observations  of  others  might  fill  up  the 
details. 


Form  and  Action  of  Saddle  Horses. 


When  a  horseman  sits  on  a  good  roadster, 
jhe  need  not  take  the  trouble  to  pick  his 
of  wheat  flour;  and  it  is  well-known  that  i  way  when  riding  down  a  rough  country  lane 
an  ox  expires  four  or  five  pounds  of  carbon  j  or  over  broken  ground,  because  the  fore 
daily,  to  supply  which  one  hundred  pounds 'feet  of  a  clever  saddle  horse,  be  the  pace, 
of  turnips  are  required.  We  see  from  this  walk,  trot  or  canter,  are  always  well  forward, 
the  large  quantity  relatively  to  that  used  and  fall  flatly  and  evenly  on  the  ground; 
up,  which  is  required  for  the  maintenance  and  when  in  action  the  fore  legs  are  suffi- 
of  these  functions,  and  the  importance  of  cient  but  not  too  much  l)ent,  the  action 
adopting  such  measures  as,  by  restraining  coming  direct  from  the  .'^boulders.  But  the 
them  within  the  narrowest  possible  limits,  .most  agreeable  feature  experienced  in  riding 
produce  a  saving  of  food.  The  diminution  j  perfect  saddle  horses  is,  the  ease  and  elasti- 
of  muscular  exertion,  and  keeping  the  ani-!city  with  which  they  move  in  all  their  paces, 
mals  warm,  so  that  a  small  quantity  of  | thereby  sparing  the  lider  any  feeling  of  fa- 
food  may  be  required  to  act  as  fuel  to  tigue.  Not  only  is  the  number  of  backs 
maintain  the  animal  heat,  are  the  most  im-j  and  hunters  very  limited,  but  those  we 
portant  considerations.  Although  the  pres-jhave — except  a  few  in  the  hands  of  masters 
ence  of  a  sufficient  quantit}-  of  nutritive  of  hounds  and  members  of  hunts — are  too 
matters  is  an  essential  qualification  of  all ;  apt  at  an  early  age  to  display  some  of  the 
foods,  their  mechanical  condition  is  not  un-  infirmities  to  which  their  race  are  now  so 
important,  for  unless  its  bulk  be  such  as  to 'subject,  in  the  shape  of  curbs,  splints  and 
admit  of  the  stomach  acting  upon  it  pro- 1  spavins,  consequent  upon  the  hurry  the 
perly.  there  must  be  an  appreciable  loss ;  j  breeders  are  in  to  bring  them  into  the  mar- 
aud there  is  no  greater  fallacy  than  to  sup-iket  before  they  arrive  at  a  proper  working 
pose  that  the  best  results  are  to  be  obtained  j  age.  Thousands  of  capital  saddle  horses  are 
by  the  use  of  those  which  contain  their ;  annually  sacrificed  from  this  very  cause.  I 
nutritive  matters  in  a  very  small  bulk.  j  partly  attribute  the  downward   tendeticy  of 

"As  a  practical   question,  the  principles  our  breed  of  saddle  horses,  to  the  rage  for 
of    feeding   are    restricted   to   determining, speed,  which  is  now  so  prominent,  a  feature 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


79 


on  the  English  turf;  but  when  we  take  into 
eonsideration  what  long  considered  and  care- 
ful selection  on  our  turf  has  effected,  when 
the  sole  object  was  speed,  we  may  reasona- 
bly anticipate  as  important  and  beneficial 
results  from  equally  judicious  selection, 
when  our  object  is  to  produce  horses  pos- 
sessing that  fine  union  of  qualities  so  essen- 
tial to  good  saddle  horses. 

There  are  a  few  people  who  know  what 
constitutes  good  shoulders  in  a  horse— -a 
good  many  asserting  that  they  should  Jine, 
meaning  by  this,  lean  at  the  withers.  It  is, 
however;  certain  that  the  shoulders  of  a 
young  horse,  intended  to  carry  weight,  can 
hardly  be  too  thick  at  that  place,  provided 
they  are  not  too  thick  at  the  points  or  the 
lower  ends,  while  inclining  their  tops  well 
back,  and  Icavir.g  a  good  space  between  the 
end  of  the  mane  and  the  pommel  of  the 
saddle.  There  is  a  certain  cross-beam  which 
connects  the  lower  end  of  the  shoulder  blades 
with  the  horse's  fore  legs,  which  very  mate- 
rially affects  his  action.  When  this  is  too 
long  it  throws  the  fore  legs  too  much  back, 
causing  the  horse  to  stand  over  like  a  cart- 
horse ;  and  such  an  animal,  besides  being 
unpleasant  to  ride,  when  at  all  tired,  is  very 
likely  to  come  down.  I  am  here  stating 
what  is  well  known  to  good  judges,  but  I 
write  for  the  many.  I  would  also  observe 
that  the  form  of  shoulders  I  here  recom- 
mend only  contribute  to  good  action,  thoy 
alone  do  not  secure  it.  Good  hind-leg  ac- 
tion is  as  important  as  good  action  in  the 
fore  legs.  The  hock  joints  should  bend 
well,  when  in  action,  bringing  the  hind  feet 
well  forward,  but  without  striking  the  fore 
feet,  commonly  called  over-reaching. 

It  is  a  common  practice  to  pay  little  at- 
tention to  the  action  of  the  hind  legs,  so 
long  as  the  horse  possesses  what  is  termed 
"fine  knee-up  action;"  but  all  superior 
horses,  of  whatever  breed,  are  eminently 
characterized  by  good  hind-leg  action ;  lor 
be  the  .«houIders  ever  so  good,  unle.ss  die 
action  of  the  hind  legs  are  also  good,  the 
horse  is  uneasy  to  ride,  becnuse  the  action 
of  the  two  sets  of  legs  are  not  properly 
balanced,  and.  no  matter  hnw  accomplished 
the  rider  may  be,  it  is  with  difficulty  he 
can  accommodate  his  seat  to  the  action  of 
such  a  horse..  Such  a  horse  is  unsafe  to 
ride,  and  his  rider,  if  a  judge  of  action, 
feels  that  he  is  so;  but  if  the  action  of  the 
hind  or  fore  legs  be  properly  balanced,  the 
rider  feels   his   horse  firm  under  him,  and 


that  he  cannot  very  well  come  down.  In- 
deed, in  this  case  he  seems  to  be  riding  np 
hill,  while  under  opposite  circumstances,  he 
seems  to  be  riding  duan  hill.  One  import- 
ant point  which  I  consider  has  been  gained 
by  the  breeding  of  horses  for  speed  is,  the 
great  length  between  the  hip-bone  and  the 
hock,  as  exhibited  in  the  grey-hound ;  and 
although  the  possession  of  this  point  is  not 
so  absolutely  necessary,  yet  I,  for  one,  should 
be  inclined  to  give  its  possessor  the  prefer- 
ence for  a  hunter  of  the  present  day,  for 
the  horse  either  is,  or  ought  to  be,  capable 
of  great  speed.  But  our  hunter  had  not 
formerly  this  shape,  and  did  not  so  much 
require  it.  There  is,  however,  one  objec- 
tion against  any  excessive  length  between 
hip  and  hock,  which  is,  that  it  frequently 
causes  over-reaching,  a  most  disagreeable  in- 
firmity for  either  hunter  or  roadster.  A 
horse's  hips  should  be  wide,  to  carry  weight, 
and  his  loins  highly  muscular,  but  the  lower 
ends  of  his  shoulders  should  be  light.  His 
chest  cannot  be  too  full,  but  it  may  be  too 
wide  for  speed,  as  well  as  ibr  agreeable  ac- 
tion, causing  a  rolling  motion,  very  unpleas- 
ant to  the  rider. 

Great  depth  of  chest  is  a  powerful  recom- 
mendation, and  the  ribs  before  the  girths 
cannot  be  too  long,  but  the  back  ribs  (when 
much  speed  is  required)  should  be  rather 
short.  For  very  fine  action,  the  shoulder- 
blades  must  be  long,  while  they  cannot  be 
so  without  inclining  well  back.  If  a  horse 
so  formed  has  good  hind-leg  action,  he  will 
be  very  valuable  as  an  active  weight-carry- 
ing cob,  because  this  form  of  shoulders  is, 
I  regret  to  say,  now  rarely  to  be  found 
among  our  saddle  horses,  as  in  the  majority 
of  them  that  come  within  the  pale  of  a 
uioderate  price,  the  girths  are  continually 
slipping  forward,  causing  the  rider  to  sit  on 
the  horse's  withers  rather  than  on  his  back ; 
and  this  is  one  cause  of  horses  filling  down, 
as  the  weight  of  the  rider  pressing  on  the 
top  of  their  shoulders  seriously  interferes 
with  their  free  action,  and  when  they  make 
a  slight  tumble  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  re- 
cover their  feet.  The  best  height  for  horses 
intended  as  hacks  of  the  first  class,  is  about 
15  hands.  Tall  horses  are  not  so  good  for 
hacks  as  those  of  lower  stature,  as  they  do 
not  move  with  so  much  ease  and  lightness, 
wearing  their  legs  more,  and  causing  more 
fatigue  to  their  rider.  The  majority  of  tall 
horses  are  now-a-days  tall  only  because  they 
have  long  legs,  which  are  very  objectiona- 


80 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


ble,  as  they  never  wear  well,  and  are  mostly 
allied  with  a  very  shallow  body.  These 
horses  mny  do  well  enough  when  a  showy 
appearance  is  the  only  object  in  view;  but 
they  are  not  calculated  for  hard  work,  or  to 
ride  in  hilly  country.  I  may  dismiss  this 
subject  by  remarking  that  I  would  not  ad- 
vise the  purchaser  to  reject  a  horse  just  be- 
cause he  does  not  happen  to  possess  all  the 
good  qualities  I  have  here  recommended,  as 
they  will  remember  the  old  adage,  "  That 
there  never  was  a  perfect  horse." 

London  Review. 


Froju  the  Jiuial  Ilegiste7~. 

,  Bone  Earth. 

We  are  anxious  to  see  a  more  general  use 
of  CTLshed  bones,  as  we  believe  that  they 
are  the  most  valuable  manure  (so  far  as  per- 
manency is  concerned)  that  can  be  used  on 
most  crops.  The  following  from  Prof  S. 
W.  John.son,  to  the  Connecticut  Agricultu- 
ral Society,  will  be  read  with  interest : — 

Having  lately  been  asked  by  several  agri- 
culturists if  there  is  any  method  known  of 
bringing  whole  bones  into  a  pulverized  con- 
dition, otherwise  than  by  grinding  or  treat- 
ment with  oil  of  vitriol,  I  take  the  oppor- 
tunity to  communicate  to  the  members  of 
the  State  Society  the  process  of  reducing 
them  into  a  convenient  form  by  fermenta- 
'tion. 

This  process  has  been  practiced  in  Eng- 
land, for  ten  years  or  more,  having  been 
brought  before  the  public  there  by  Mr. 
Puso}',  for  many  years  the  editor  of  the 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society, 
of  England  ;  but  it  appears  not  to  have  be- 
come very  widely  known  in  this  country. 

The  process  depends  upon  the  fact  that 
bones  consist,  to  the  amount  of  one-third 
their  weight,  of  cartillage,  or  animal  matter, 
which  under  the  influence  of  warmth  and 
moisture,  readily  decomposes,  (ferments  or 
decays),  and  loses  its  texture,  so  that  the 
bones  fall  to  dust. 

From  the  closeness  and  solidity  of  the 
bony  structure,  decay  is  excited  and  main- 
tained with  some  difficulty.  A  single  bone, 
or  a  heap  of  bones,  never  decays  alone,  but 
dries  and  hardens  on  exposure.  If,  howe- 
ver, bones  in  quantity  be  brought  into  dose 
contact  with  some  easily  fermentable  moist 
substance,  but  little  time  elapses  before  a 
rapid  decay  sets  in. 


'  So  too,  if  fresh  crushc^d  bones  are  mixed 
with  sand  soil,  or  any  powdery  matter  that 
fills  up  the  spaces  between  the  fragments  of 
bone,  and  makes  the  heap  compact,  and 
then  are  moistened  with  pure  water,  the 
same  result  takes  place  in  warm  weather, 
though  more  slowly. 

The  2^'i'c(ct iced pi'ocess  may  be  as  follows  : 
The  bones  if  whole,  should  be  broken  up  as 
far  as  convenient  by  a  sle'Jge-haramer,  and 
made  into  alternate  layers  with  sand,  loam, 
saw-dust,  leached  ashes,  coal  ashes,  or  swamp 
muck,  using  just  enough  of  any  one  of  these 
materials  to  fill  compactly  the  cavities  among 
the  bones,  but  hardly  more.  Begin  with  a 
thick  layer  of  earth  or  muck,  and  as  the 
pile  is  raised,  pour  on  stale  urine  or  dung- 
heap  liquor  enough  to  moisten  the  whole 
mass  thoroughly,  and  finally,  cover  a  foot 
thich  with  soil  or  muck. 

In  warm  weather  the  decomposition  goes 
on  at  once,  and  in  from  two  to  six  or  more 
weeks  the  bones  Avill  have  nearly  or  entirely 
disappeared. 

If  the  fermentation  should  spend  itself 
without  reducing  the  bones  sufficiently,  the 
heap  may  be  overhauled  and  built  up  again, 
moistening  with  liquid  manure,  and  covering 
as  before. 

By  thrusting  a  pole  or  bar  into  the  heap, 
the  progress  of  decomposition  may  be  tra- 
ced, from  the  heat  and  odor  evolved. 

Should  the  heap  become  heated  to  the 
surface,  so  that  ammonia  escapes,  as  may  be 
judged  by  the  smell,  it  may  be  covered  still 
more  thickly  with  earth  or  muck. 

The  larger  the  heap,  the  finer  the  bones, 
and  the  more  stale  urine  or  dung  liquor  they 
have  been  made  to  absorb,  the  more  rapid 
and  complete  will  be  the  disintegration. 

In  these  heaps,  horse-dung  or  other  rapid- 
ly fermenting  manure  may  replace  the  ashes, 
etc.,  but  earth  or  muck  should  be  used  to 
cover  the  heap. 

This  bono  compost  contains  the  phos- 
phates of  lime  in  a  finely  divided  state,  and 
the  nitrogen  of  the  cartilage,  which  has 
mostly  passed  into  ammonia  or  nitrates,  is 
retained  perfectly  by  the  absorbent  earth  or 
muck. 

When  carefully  prepared,  this  manure  is 
adapted  to  be  delivered  from  a  drill-machine 
with  seeds,  and  according  to  English  farm- 
ers, fully  replaces  in  nearly  every  case,  the 
superphosphate  made  by  help  of  oil-of-vit- 
riol. 

Yale  Anal ijtical  Laboratory,  Nov.  22d. 


1860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


81 


From  the  Boston  Cultivator. 

On  the  Culture  and  Use  of  Boot  Crops. 

3Iessrs.  Editors  : — The  business  of  raising 
roots  in  our  country  may  be  fairly  said  to 
be  as  yet  in  a  state  of  iptancy,  when  we 
come  to  compare  the  amount  raised  with 
what  it  is  in  many  foreign  countries.  It 
may  also  be  fairly  argued,  that  we  can  never 
expect  to  cope  with  other  countries  in  this 
branch  of  husbandry,  owing  in  part  to  the 
enhanced  price  of  labour  with  us,  and  possi- 
bly, in  part,  that  our  climate  is  not  as  favour- 
able to  their  growth,  owing  to  its  lack  of 
humidit}'.  Still  there  is  not  the  slightest 
doubt  in  my  own  mind,  but  that  we  can  pro- 
fitably increase  the  amount  of  this  species 
of  animal  food  in  a  large  ratio.  The  fiir- 
raers  of  our  region  are  loth  to  think  that 
the  fields  from  which  an  annual  crop  of  a 
ton  or  two  of  hay  j^er  acre  has  been  taken 
from  time  immemorial,  can  by  proper  tillage 
and  judicious  fertilizing  be  made  to  produce 
in  a  year  or  two  just  ten  times  the  same 
amount  of  good  succulent  winter  food  for 
his  stock,  though  probably  not  as  valuable 
as  his  hay,  pound  for  pound ;  yet  in  the 
aggregate,  no  one  will  deny,  vastly  more 
valuable. 

One  advantage  in  raising  this  crop  is, 
that  they  draw  so  large  an  amount  of  their 
sustenance  from  the  atmosphere,  and  conse- 
quently, do  not  impoverish  tlie  soil  to  that 
extent  that  most  crops  of  the  same  amount 
would  be  like  to.  The  large  broad  leaves 
of  the  turnip  show  this  especially,  and  I 
have  yet  to  learn  that  a  crop  of  roots  ex- 
hausts the  soil  to  a  greater  extent  than  a  crop 
of  corn  or  other  cereal,  while  the  produce  of 
the  former  is  immensely  the  greatest. 

Another  advantage  in  their  cultivation  is, 
that  by  giving  so  large  a  yield,  that  when 
fed  out,  and  the  manure  thus  made  properly 
saved  and  composted,  more  good,  fertilizing 
matter  is  obtained,  I  will  venture  to  say, 
than  from  any  other  crop  raised  on  the  farm. 
A  man  cannot  take  the  product  of  an  acre 
of  roots,  say  from  15  to  20  tons,  and  feed 
them  to  his  stock  in  the  most  careless  man- 
ner without  adding  largely  to  the  pile  in  the 
barn-cellar  or  yard.  This  I  look  upon  as  one 
of  the  greatest  advantages  arising  from  their 
culture,  and  when  persisted  in  for  a  term  of 
years,  cannot  fail  of  showing  its  eflfects  in 
the  increased  fertility  of  the  soil. 

Still  another  advantage  is,  that  they  come 
iifto  use  at  a  season  when  animals  are  de- 
6 


prived  of  food  of  a  succulent  nature,  and 
seem  to  be  just  what  the  system  needs  at 
that  period — acting  in  a  measure  as  a  cor- 
rective and  alterative,  keeping  the  bowels 
loose  and  in  a  healthy  condition.  Especially 
are  their  good  qualities  manifested  when 
fed  to  cows  about  the  period  of  parturition, 
when  the  animal  stands  in  need  of  food  of 
a  laxative  nature.  The  good  effects  of  car- 
rots are  also  shown  when  fed  to  horses  in 
the. winter,  which  are  otherwise  confined  to 
dry  feed,  in  giving  them  a  fine,  sleek  coat, 
and  a  general  healthiness  of  the  system,  act- 
ing with  them  both  as  a  laxative  and  diu- 
retic. For  colts  especially  are  they  highly 
beneficial.  Having  thus  endeavored  to  show 
something  of  the  practicability  of  the  sys- 
tem, let  us  look  for  a  moment  to  their  cul- 
ture ;  and  first,  as  to  carrots  : 

For  this  crop,  a  soil  that  might  be  termed 
a  sandy  loam,  sufficiently  compact  however 
to  retain  manure,  and  resting  on  a  clayey 
I  subsoil,  is  preferred-  A  field  that  was 
cropped  the  previous  season  with  corn  or 
[potatoes  and  kept  c^€«h,  should  be  chosen. 
Fall  ploughing  and  manuring  is  preferable, 
though  perhaps  not  essential,  provided  the 
land  received  iyfo  ploughings  in  the  spring. 
As  early  in  the  spring  as  the  soil  becomes 
sufficiently  dry  to  work,  in  April,  if  possi- 
ble, prepare  the  land  by  first  giving  it  a 
good  coat  of  manure,  evenly  spread  and  well 
pulverized.  If  you  have  both  fine  and 
coarse,  use  the  coarse  at  this  time.  Plough 
to  the  depth  of  12  inches,  provided  your 
land  was  previously  in  good  tilth,  if  not,  two 
or  three  inches  less  will  answer,  and  be  sure 
to  see  that  the  manure  is  well  covered.  If 
it  is  long  and  difficult  to  do  this,  have  a  man 
follow  the  plough  and  push  it  in  the  fur- 
rows, so  it  will  not  choke  the  plough.  Twen- 
ty-five loads  at  least  per  acre  should  be  ap- 
plied at  this  time.  Allow  the  land  to  re- 
main as  left  by  the  plough  until  about  the 
20th  of  May,  when  it  should  be  again 
ploughed  at  the  same  depth  crosswise,  if 
possible,  after  which  a  dressing  of  fine  ma- 
nure should  be  applied  to  the  surface  of  at 
least  15  loads  to  the  acre,  (the  amount  limit- 
ed only  by  the  supply,)  and  well  cultivated 
in.  It  doubtless  will  be  superfluous  to  men- 
tion the  importance  of  bringirkg  the  soil  into 
fine  tilth  for  this  crop.  Not  less  than  half 
a  dozen  applications  with  a  good  long  thirty 
tooth  harrow,  or  what  is  much  to  be  pre- 
ferred, a  good  two-horse  cultivator  on  wheels 
—  such   an   implement   as   the   farmers   of 


82 


THE  SOTTHERX  PLAXTER. 


[February 


Western  New  York  use  in  preparing  their  iconics  from  ten  to  twenty  days  from  the  first 
ioil  for  wheat.  The  soil  will  need  to  be  per-  and  should  be  j)crformed  in  a  like  thorough 
fectly  free  from  stones  and  lumps,  as  they  i  manner.  They  will  ordlna.rily  need  going 
are  a  great  hindrance,  both  in  the  sowing  i  over  the  third  time. 

and  in  after  cultivation.  ;      The  plants  should  be  allowed  to  occupy 

For  marking  out  the  lar.d  for  the  drill —  the  ground  until  about  the  first  of  Novem- 
which  when  the  land  has  been  thoroughly  i  ber,  as  they  make  the  most  growth  in  the 
prepared,  and  in  an  as  fine  tilth  as  an  onion-  j  autumn  months. 

bed.  it  should  be  marked  for  the  drills  by  a  As  to  the  best  mode  of  harvesting,  I  think 
machine  similar  to  an  old  fashioned  horse-  it  is  to  take  long-handled  spades,  not  shovels, 
rake,  having  the  teeth  at  suitable  distances  |  strike  them  in  the  earth  as  close  as  possible 
for  the  rows,  and  drawn  by  hand.  The  I  to  the  roots  in  a  perpendicular  position,  and 
first  rows  can  be  made  straight  by  drawing  pry  the  roots  just  loose  with  one  hand  and 
a  line  across  one  side  of  the  field  and  allow-  wiih  the  other  gra.sp  the  tops  and  jerk  them 
ing  the  outside  tooth  to  follow  it — and  if  at-]from  their  bed.  After  a  slight  experience, 
any  time  the  rows  become  crooked,  by  Using  i  this  can  be  done  in  a  more  rapid  manner 
the  line  matters  can  become  straightened  than  one  would  suppose,  and  with  a  good 
out   anain.     The   proper   distance   for   the  yield,  one  man  will  dig  in  this  way,  having 


drills  to  be  from  each  other  is  about  eigh- 
teen inches  for  carrots.  Now,  with  your 
hand-drill,  which  should  be  first  tried  on  a 
floor  to  see  that  it  works  well  and  discharges 
the  proper  quantity  of  seed,  follow  the  marks 
carefully,  and  if  your  drill  is  provided  with 
a  good  roller,  as  it  should  be,  no  other  eov- 


other  help  th  do  the  topping,  one  hundred 
bushels  in  a  day.  Have  never  made  out 
much  in  the  use  of  the  plough  in  digging, 
as  some  have  suggested.  Caution  must  be 
taken  not  to  dig  more  than  can  be  topped 
and  housed  the  same  day,  as  they  are  very 
susceptible  to  frost.     If  as  yet  you  do  not 


enng  will  be  found  necessary,  but  if  no  |  passess  that  almost  indispensable  apartment 
roller,  it  will  be  needful  to  go  over  them '  to  the  root  grower,  the  barn-cellar,  but  are 
with  one  separate  from  the  db-ill.  The  pro- !  obliged  to  store  them  at  the  house-cellar, 
per  time  for  sowing  in  our  locality,  is  from '.  drive  tj>  the  outside  door  or  gangway,  and 
the  20th  May  to  the  10th  June,  according 'having  laid  some  loose  plank  over  the  stairs, 
to  the  earliness  or  lateness  of  the  seed  sea- 'allow  them  to  roil  down  this,  which  will  tend 


son.  If  sown  quite  late,  however,  they  may 
be  somewhat  thicker,  as  they  will  not  attain 
so  great  size. 

In  just  about  three  weeks  from  the  period 
of  sowing,  if  the  weather  has  been  favoura- 
ble, the  plants  will  be  up  and  of  a  proper 
size  to  begin  the  weeding,  and  now  comes 
the  tug  of  war  I  For  if  the  first  weeding 
is  not  seasonably  and  properly  done,  your 
crop  is  half  ruined  :  indeed,  two  or  three 
days  procrastination  here  may  cost  3'ou  your 
crop.  First,  let  a  careful  hand  hoe  between 
the  drills  as  closely  as  possible,  and  the 
weeds  in  the  rows  must  be  taken   out  by 


to  dispossess  them  of  much  of  the  loose  dirt 
likely  to  adhere  to  them,  and  at  your  leisure, 
throw  them  back  to  the  spot  designed  for 
their  reception.  A  mound  shaped  pile  in 
the  centre  is  best  for  a  large  quantity,  and 
if  the  cellar  is  properly  ventilated,  and  the 
roots  put  in  in  goc>d  dry  order,  which  is  all  im- 
portant, there  will  be  no  fear  from  heating 
in  the  pile.  If,  however,  from  any  cause 
this  should  take  place,  it  can  be  stopped  by 
opening  the  pile  and  allowing  the  air  to  cir- 
culate more  freely. 

As  regards   the  cultivation  of  the  rata 
baga,  or  Swedish  turnip,  the  mode  of  cul- 


hand,  for  there  has  not  yet,  in  all  Yankee- j  ture  is,  in  many  respects,  so  similar,  that 
dom,  been  a  machine  invented  that  could  j  only  a  few  additional  hints  will  be  needed. 


distinguish  between  a  carrot  plant  and  a 
weed.  Beginners  are  very  like  to  fail  here, 
i.  e..  not  to  perform  the  weeding  sufficiently 
early — for  if  postponed  until  weeds  and  car- 
rots have  both  attained  some  considerable 
size,  the  plants  will  be  very  like  to  come 
out  with  the  weeds.  Care  should  also  be 
taken  here  to  get  the  roots  of  the  weeds  out, 
and  not  be  content  to  allow  the  tops  only  to 
be  eradicated.     The  second  weeding  usually 


A  light  clover  sward  of  one  year's  growth 
on  the  clayey  loam,  requiring  a  somewhat 
heavier  soil  than  the  carrot,  is  perhaps  best 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  this  esculent. 

When  the  clover  has  attained  its  growth 
aud  is  part  in  blossom,  say  about  the  .second 
week  in  June,  the  land  should  be  well  turned 
over  at  a  good  depth — not  less  than  ten 
inches — and  fine  manure  applied  at  the  sur- 
face, amount  limited  only  by  the  supply, 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


83 


and   thoroaghly  incorporated  with  the  soil  he  could  not  raise  the  water  within  10  feet 

by  the  nse  of  the  harrow  ;  indeed,  the  ex- 'of  the  surface  :  moreover,  if  he  should  so 

treme  pulveriz.ition   theory  of  Jethro  TuU  to  Quito,  or  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota,  in   South 

comes  in  play  here,  and  nothing  short  of  America,  or  to  Gondar,  the  capital  of  Abys- 

very  thorough  culture  will  answer.     Mark  sinia,  he  would  not  be  able  to  raise  it  more 

with  the  nmchine  as  described  for  carrots,  than  20  feet ;  while  on   the  summit  of  the 

only  let  the  drills  be  two  feet  distant  from  highest  ridge  of  the   Himalayas,  he  could 

each  other,  and  at  this  distance  hors3-labor  scarcely  raise  it  by  the  same  means  to  the 

may  be  used  somewhat  in  their  cultiration,' height  of  10  feet. 

either  by  the  cultivator  or  horse-hoe — the       Without  a  knowledge,  therefore,  of  the 

latter  preferred.  If  of  the  right  kind.  Iprinctjfks  upon  which  the  operation  of  the 

A?  regards  the  amount  of  seed  necessary. 'pump  depentls,  hs  would  be  likely  to  eet  in- 

two  pounds  to  the  acre  is  about  the  right  Evolved  in  as  great  mistakes  as  the  Florentine 

I'juantity,  provided  your  machine  distributes  pump   maker ;  and  this   simple   case   may 

evenly,  and,  I  should  have  stated  before, '  serve  well  to  illustrate  the   value  of  science, 

two  pounds  of  carrot  seed  per  acre  is  used  :  even  in  the  simplest  affairs  of  life,  and  its 

m»re  being  better  than  less,  but  it  must  be  ]  absolute  mdiqf^nmhtlifj/  in  directing  our  op- 

»jtated,  one  advantage  in  raising  the  bag^i  is, 'erations  under  varying  circunistaoces. 

that  vacant  places  can  be  readily  filled  in!  .» ,i.„  .^^,  „r,i,<, -„.,  »k„   ».«-.-.  k 

,  ,     .  I  •'  \A.t  the  level  oi  tae  sea.  the  atmosphere  support* 

by  transplating.  ,      a  coluum  of  water  33  feet  high.' 

W.  J.   PeTTEE.       i  At  24  miles  above  the   level  of  the   sea,  it  will 
We  feel  pleasure  in  savinir,  our  excellent-     on'y  support  one  16^  feet  high. 

friend,  the  writer  of  the 'above  essav,  tookl^^  ^..i*-^*^.  ""^^  ^^^"^  I'/^'*''!'  °'"  "^^  *^' " 

.1      i-    ,      ^  .  f.  1        ^L*       /-ft    I      Will  oDiv  support  0!ie  8i  feet  high. 

the  highest  premium  on  farms  less  than  fifty  ,^^  8  ^j,^-,  ^^^  ^^^  ,^,.^l  ^^  ^^^  ^^^    ;.  ^..,, 

acres  at  the  Connecticut  State  Fair  in  185(3,       only  support  one  4  feet  h^gb. 

owine  mainlv  to  his  success  in  root  culture. I  ..  ... 


Ed; 


The  Common  Pamp. 

In  the  year  1G41,  a  pump  maker  of  Flo-! 
rence  made  an  atmospheric,  or  as  it  was  then '. 
called,  a  Futkinj  pump,  the   pipe   of  which  ■ 
extended  from  50  to  60  feet  above  the  sur-: 
face  of  the  water.     When  put  in   operationJ 
it  was  found  incapable  of  raising  the  water 
10  a  greater  height  than  33  feet.     The  pump  i 
was  examined   for  some  defect  in  its  con-i 
-truction  ;  but  being  found  perfect  in  that 
respect,  it  was  again  set  to  work,  without 
any  better  success?. 

The  difficulty  having  been  submitted  to 
Galileo  ibr  his  advice  and  solution,  and  by 
him  having  been  communicated  to  his  pupil 
Toricelli,  led  to  the  discovery,  by  the  latter, 
in  1643,  that  water  is  raised  in  pumps  by 
the  pressure  or  iccight  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  cotemporarily,  to  the  invention  of  the 
barometer. 

Nearly  every  one  now-a-days  is  acquaint- 
ed with  the  fiict  that  water  e^n  not  be  raised 
from  a  greater  depth  than  33  feet  by  means 
of  the  common  pump  :  but  suppose  an  arti- 
san, who  had  been  brought  up  in  New  York 
or  London,  and  was  perfectly  familiar  with 
this  fact,  should  go  to  the  city  of  ^lexico. 
and  there  construct  a  pump  with  a  pipe  33 
feet  in  length,  he  would  find,  upon  trial,  that 


Ar^cial  Manures. 
rWac 


As  sulphurWacid  is  largely  employed  in 
making  superphosphates  and  other  artificial 
manures,  the  quality  of  this  acid  is  a  sub- 
ject of  considerable  importance.  Sulphuric 
acid  in  England  and  this  country  is  chiefly 
manufactured  from  iron  pyrites,  in  conse- 
quence of  its  great«.'r  cheapness ;  but  it 
would  seem  that  most  of  the  pyritie  sulphiu' 
contains  an  amount  of  arsenic  e>^ual  to  fi-om 
one  fire  hundreth  to  one  eight  hundreth 
part  of  the  acid.  This  arsenic  is  taken  up 
by  the  plants  to  which  the  manure  is  ap- 
plied ;  and  in  a  chemical  analysis  of  vege- 
tables so  manured,  the  presence  of  arsenic 
is  clearly  detected.  Prof  Davy,  of  Dublin, 
has  receutl}-  called  attention  to  these  facts, 
and  urges  upon  manufacturers  of  superphos- 
phates the  necessity  of  caution  in  the  mate- 
rials they  employ,  as  arsenic  is  a  cumulative 
poison  which  is  sooner  or  later  destnjctive 
to  the  animal  system.*  He  mentions  an  in- 
stance where  sheep  refused  to  eat  turnips 
grown  with  superphosphates,  evidently  pre- 
fen-ing  those  grown  with  ordinary  farm- 
yard manure.  The  Professor  recommends 
the  total  abandonment  cf  sulphuric  acid, 
made  from  pyrites,  for  any  agricultural  pur- 
pose ;  and,  the  substitution,  instead  of  acid 
made  from  pure  sulphur  as,  in  his  opinion, 
pyrites  almost  invariably  contain  arsenic. 


84 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[February 


This  plaa  is  actually  adopted  by  many 
manufacturers  of  super  phosphates  who  stip- 
ulate that  the  acid  must  be  made  from  pure 
sulphur.  All  pyrites,  however,  do  not  con- 
tain arsenic.  That  of  the  ''  Belgian  Pyrites 
Company,  of  Antwerp,"  has  been  repeated- 
ly tested  without  ever  showing  a  trace  of 
arsenic  ;  The  Spanish  pyrites  are  also  said  to 
be  free  froiii  it.  It  is  very  desirable  to  have 
the  pyrites,  which  are  imported  from  differ- 
ent places,  thoroughly  tested,  so  that  the 
manufacturers  of  artificial'  manures  may  be 
able  to  give  satisfactory  assurances  that  so 
pernicious  an  ingredient  as  arsenic  is  not 
contained  in  their  otherwise  useful  produc- 
tions, which  are  now  so  extensively  em- 
ployed.— Practical  Machia isi. 


From  the  Farmer  and  Gardener, 

Take  Care  of  the  Implements. 

Mr.  Editor: — Examining  a  Mowing 
machine  a  few  days  since,  I  observed,  pairt- 
ed  upon  a  conspicuous  part  of  it  the  words, 
*•'  Keep  your  Knives  Sharjy."  The  manu- 
facturer had,  I  presume,  learned  to  know 
that  very  many  of  the  failles  on  the  part 
of  farmers  to  make  their  Hoping  machines 
work  satisfactorily,  proceeded  from  a  want 
of  attention  to  the  injunction  contained  in 
the  four  words  so  conspicuously  painted 
upon  the  machine.  It  seems  strange  that 
any  such  admonition  should  be  necessary, 
but  ''  facts  are  stubborn  things,"  and  it  can- 
not be  denied  that  too  little  attention  is  given 
to  our  implements,  when  in  use,  or  when 
not  in  use.  No  nation  expends  so  much 
money  for  implements  as  the  American, and 
none  are  so  careless  of  them.  In  fact,  the 
purchase  of  improved  implements  is  one  of 
the  heaviest  taxes  imposed  upon  us  :  but  it 
is  equally  clear  that  we  double  our  taxation 
in  this  particular  by  our  abu.se  of  them. 
The^leisure  season  of  the  farmer  is  at  hand, 
and  this  is  the  proper  time,  therefore,  to 
direct  their  attention  to  this  matter.  Where 
shall  they  begin  ?  With  the  first  tool  or 
implement  they  meet«ifter  reading  this.  If 
they  have  done  with  plowing  and  harrowing 
for  the  season,  let  every  plow,  harrow,  and 
cultivator  be  taken  to  the  implement  house, 
presuming,  of  cou.se,  that  every  well-con- 
ducted farm  is  provided  with  one  of  these 
indispensables.  Every  shovel,  hoe,  spade, 
or  rake  should  be  similarly  cared  for,  and 
the  first  leisure  hour,  or  rainy  day,  appro- 
priated to  putting  them  in  proper  order  for 


uSe  at  any  moment.  By  this  I  mean,  that 
every  part  of  every  tool  should  be  carefully 
examined  ;  every  nut  and  bolt  should  be 
seen  to;  the  adhering  dirt  should  be  washed 
from  both  iron  and  wood  work ;  and  this 
should  be  done  before  the  bright  or  polished 
parts,  as  mold-boards,  &c.,  begin  to  rust. 
Apply  a  little  tallow  or  oil  to  these  parts ; 
I  procure  some  good  oil  paint,  (the  best  is  the 
cheapest,)  and  give  a  coat  of  it  to  every 
part  of  the  wood-work.  One  coat  of  paiat 
!  is  worth  half  a  dozen  of  varnish,  at  least 
I  such  varnish  as  is  usually  applied  to  agri- 
cultural implements.  Examine  the  mowing- 
machine  knives,  file  or  grind  out  the  nicks, 
put  a  good  edge  on  them,  and  after  oiling 
them  to  prevent  rust,  lay  them  careftjly 
aside.  Remove  all  the  gummed  oil  from 
the  gearing  aad  journals  of  your  mowers, 
thrashers,  corn-shellers,  &c. ;  have  the  blunt- 
ed harrow-teeth  taken  to  the  smith  and 
pointed,  and  do  not  forget  to  have  the  plow- 
share laid  anew,  and  the  coulter  or  cutter  of 
the  plow  sharpened.  In  a  word,  have  every 
thing  in  such  order  that  it  will  be  ready 
when  wanted.  This,  properly  attended  to, 
will  save  to  one-half  of  our  fiirmers  one- 
half  of  the  annual  oully  for  implements. 
Try  it  for  one  season,  and  my  word  for  it 
the  system  will  be  adopted  by  every  one  who 
has  any  disposition  or  desire  to  economise 
his  expenditures.  Abner  Brooks. 


r  /"mm  the  Fnrrner  and  Gardener. 

A  Very  Little  More  About  Bones. 

Mr.  Editor: — I  promised  in  your  first 
number,  that  I  would  probably  have  a  word 
or  two  more  to  sa}-  about  bones.  True  to 
my  word,  I  wish  to  direct  attention  to  a  point 
which  posses.ses  some  interest;  and  as  my 
own  mind  is  not  at  all  clear  upon  the  sub- 
ject, perhaps  some  of  your  seientiSc  readers 
will  relieve  my  doubts.  What  I  wifeh  to 
know  is,  whether  bones,  after  being  boiled 
or  burned,  are  as  valuable  for  manure  as  the 
raw  tone  ?  We  know  that  the  analyses  of 
scientific  men  give  to  the  raw  bone  a  value 
which  the  burned  or  boiled  ones  do  not,  and 
cannot  possess.  All  the  greasy,  fleshy,  and 
fibrous  matter,  of  which  boiling  or  burning 
deprives  them,  are  regarded  as  valuable  fer- 
tilizers, and  it  would  seem  but  reasonable 
that  when  deprived  of  these  ingredients, 
bone  manure  would  be  less  valuable.  Now, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  have  tlie  practical 
experience  of  first-rate  farmers,  which  goes 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN   PLANTER. 


85 


to  prove  til  at  the  burned  or  boiled  bones  are 
superior  to  the  raw.  Here  science  and  prac- 
tice are  at  loggerheads.  Who  shall  decide  ? 
Who  of  our  farmers  have  tested  the  matter 
and  are  prepared  to  report  ?  We  know  that 
science  is  unerring.  If  it  be  science  at  all, 
it  must  be  truthful.  Science  says  raw  bones 
are  best ;  practice,  or  the  results  rather,  of 
som"  practical  experiments,  makes  an  issue 
with  science  upon  this  point,  and  insists  that 
burnt  or  boiled  bones  are  superior  to  the 
raw.  How  are  we  to  settle  the  dispute  ? 
Allow  me  to  offer  a  suggestion.  Both  are 
right,  I  think,  and  both  are  wrong.  The 
action  of  raw  bones,  which  have  not  been 
deprived  of  their  fat  and  gelatine,  is  less 
rapid  than  the  burnt  or  boiled  ones,  hence 
the  conclusions  at  which  pmctice  has  arrived 
are  based  upon  the  more  immediate  action 
of  the  burned  bones.  Science,  on  the  other 
hand,  insists  upon  the  truthfulness  of  her 
premises,  and  only  asks  a  little  more  time 
for  their  verification.  I  do  not  offer  this  as 
an  authoritative  opinion,  but  simply  ask  a 
kind  of  compromise  between  the  disputants, 
and  with  the  hope  that,  if  not  correct,  some 
of  your  learned  readers  will  enlighten  the 
rest  of  us  on  the  subject.  A.  T.  B. 

lO^A  Mo.  8,  1859. 


How  to  Use  a  Horse. 

It  is  not,  after  all,  every  one  who  owns  a 
horse  that  knows  how  to  use  him,  whether 
for  his  own  pleasure  or  the  horse's,  which  is, 
in  other  words,  the  owner's  best  advantage. 
Nor  is  it  very  easy  to  lay  down  rules  how  a 
horse  should  be  used,  considering  the  many 
different  purposes  for  which  horses  are  kept, 
the  different  natures  and  constitutions  of  the 
animals,  and  the  different  oircumstances  of 
their  owners. 

Horses  may,  in  general,  be  divided  into 
two  classes — those  kept  for  work,  and  those 
kept  for  pleasure.  In  the  former  clas.s  may 
be  included  farm-horses,  stage,  coach  and 
omnibus  horses,  team-horses,  employed  in 
the  transportation  of  goods,  and  moving 
heavy  and  bulky  masses,  carmen's  horses, — 
and  lastly,  the  road  horses  of  all  professional 
men,  who,  like  lawyers,  doctors  of  medicine, 
and  the  like,  are  compelled  to  drive  or  ride 
many  hours  p«r  diem,  regularly,  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  business. 

In  the  latter  class  may  be  included  race- 
horses, match- trotters,  private  gentlemen's 
saddle-horses,  carriage  horses,  or  ipadsters, 
and  many  other  animals  belonging  to  busi- 


ness men,  which  being  employed  during  half 
the  time  or  more  in  actual  service,  are  used 
during  spare  hours  on  the  road  for  purposes 
of  amusement. 

With  regard  to  the  first  class  of  these 
horses,  the  exigencies  of  the  business  to 
which  they  are  applied  are,  for  the  most 
part,  such  as  to  supersede  and  override  all 
rules.  In  some  cases  the  natural  hours  of 
the  day  and  night  have  to  be  reversed,  and 
the  animals  are  called  upon  to  do  their  work 
by  night,  and  to  rest  and  feed  by  day.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  it  may  be  laid 
down  as  an  immutable  law.  that  at  whatever 
hour  the  horses  are  to  be  worked,  they  must 
have  full  time,  beforehand,  to  digest  their 
food  and  water;  they  must  be  carefully 
cleaned,  and  made  comfortable ;  they  must 
have  sufficient  intervals  for  halting  and  bait- 
ing, on  the  road,  must  be  cleaned  and  well 
fed  during  the  intervals  of  work,  and  must 
have  ample  time  for  undisturbed  repose. 
The  distance  which  horses  in  perfect  condi- 
tion can  go  upon  the  road,  varies  greatly 
wi«^h  the  powers  of  the  animal,  the  degree 
of  pains  bestowed  upon  him.  the  skill  of  his 
driver,  and  tl^^mount  of  his  load,  as  well 
as  the  state  ^Bhe  roads.  But  it  may  be 
taken  as  a  rule^  that  strong,  able  horses,  of 
moderate  speed,  can  travel  forty  miles  a  day, 
with  a  moderate  load,  without  distress,  for 
many  days  in  succession.  It  may  be  obser- 
ved, that  it  is  the  better  way  to  start  at  an 
easy  pace  when  on  a  journey,  to  increase  it 
slightly  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  again 
to  relax  it  before  coming  in  at  night,  in  or- 
der to  allow  the  animals  to  enter  their  sta- 
bles cool,  in  good  order,  and  ready,  after  a 
short  rest,  and  cleaning,  to  feed  with  an  ap- 
petite. 

It  may  also  be  observed,  in  this  point  of 
view,  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  fancy  ihathorses 
are  benefited  by  being  driven  or  ridden  very 
slowly  when  they  have  a  long  distance  to 
perform.  If  a  horse  have  to  get  over  forty 
miles  in  a  day,  the  roads  being  good,  the 
temperature  of  the  day  pleasant,  and  the 
load  not  excessive,  h^will  do  it  with  more 
ease  and  less  inconvenience  to  himself,  go- 
ing at  the  rate  qf  seven  or  eight  miles  the 
hour,  and  doing  the  whole  distance  in  five 
or  six  hours,  with  a  single  stoppage  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  to  feed  and  rest,  than  if 
he  be  kept  pattering  along  at  the  rate  of 
four  or  five  miles,  and  be  kept  out  of  his 
stable,  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  leg-weary  to 
boot,  for  a  lon2;er  time. 


86 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[Februaby 


Farm-liorses,  whose  work  is  necessarily 
slow  and  continuous,  lasting  ordinarily  from 
sunrise  to  sunset,  with  the  exception  of  a 
mid-day- halt  for  baiting,  are  under  different 
circumstances.  Their  work  being  always 
slow,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  severe,  at  the  mo- 
ment, or  toilsome,  except  from  its  long  du- 
ration, they  need  not  be  subject  to  the  same 
condition  as  fast-working  horses,  of  being 
fed  long  before  they  are  put  to  work,  and 
allowed  to  evacuate  their  bowels  thoroughly 
before  being  harnessed.  They  may,  there- 
fore, be  fed  and  watered  at  the  last  moment, 
and  put  to  slow  work  immediately,  and  will 
rarely  lake  harm  from  traveling  on  full  sto- 
machs. In  the  same  manner,  when  they  are 
loosed  at  noon-day,  being  rarely  overheated, 
after  a  slight  rest  and  a  slighter  rubbing 
down — which,  by  the  way.  they  rarely  re- 
ceive— they  may  take  their  mid-day  feed 
without  delay,  and  without  fear  of  evil  con- 
sequences. In  the  like  manner  may  be 
treated  carmen's  horses,  and  team  horses, 
the  labor  of  which  is  heavy  and  continuous 
rather  than  rapid  All  horses,  however, 
whatever  the  work  to  which  they  are  ap- 
plied, should  have  ample  t^e  to  rest  at 
night,  and  should  be  tho^B^hly  rubbed 
down,  dried,  clothed  and  maoe  comfortable, 
before  feeding  them  and  closing  the  stables 
for  the  night, — and  the  more  so,  the  more 
trying  the  day's  work. 

With  regard  to  pleasure  horses,  which  are 
usually  in  the  stables,  more  or  less,  twenty 
hours  out  of  every  twenty-four,  which  are 
only  taken  out  for  the  gratification  of  the 
ownef  at  such  times  as  it  suits  his  humor  or 
necessity,  they  should  never  be  taken  out 
or  driven  fast  on  full  stomachs ;  which  can 
always  be  avoided  by  letting  the  groom 
know,  in  case  that  they  will  be  required  at 
an  unusual  hour  or  for  unusual  work — when 
he  can  adapt  his  feeding  hours  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case. 

When  harnessed  and  ready  for  a  start,  the 
driver  should  mount  his  seat  quietly,  gather 
his  reins,  and  get  his  horses  under  way, 
slowly  but  gradually ,<l»y  speaking  or  chir- 
ruping to  them  ;  never  starting  them  with 
a  jerk,  or  striking  them  with  a  whip, — 
allowing  them  to  increase  their  pace  by  de- 
grees to  the  speed  required,  instead  of  for- 
cing it  on  a  sudden. 

It  is  far  better  for  horses,  to  drive  them 
steadily  at  a  regular  pace,  even  if  it  be  ten 
or  twelve  miles  an  hour,  than  to  send  them 
along  by  fits  and  starts — now  spinning  them 


over  the  road  at  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles, 
now  plodding  along  at  six  or  seven;  and  of 
two  pairs  of  horses,  driven  the  same  dis- 
tance, after  the  tv.o  different  methods  that 
which  is  driven  evenly  will,  at  the  end  of 
the  day,  be  comparatively  fresh  and  comfor- 
table, while  the  other  will  be  jaded  and  worn 
out. 

In  regard  to  punishment,  the  less  that  h 
administered  the  better.  A  sluggish  or  lazy 
horse  must,  it  is  true,  be  kept  up  to  his  col- 
lar and  made  to  do  his  share  of  the  work, 
or  the  free-goer  will  be  worn  tmt  before  the 
day  is  half  done  ;  and  for  this  the  whip 
must  be  occasionally  used.  Even  goc'd  and 
free-going  horses  will  occasionally  be  seized 
with  fitn  of  indolence,  at  moments,  induced 
i  perhaps  by  the  weather,  and  it  may  be  ne- 
;  cessary  to  stimulate  them  in  such  cases. 
Again,  at  times  when  roads  are  bad,  when 
time  presses,  and  certain  distances  must  be 
accomplished  within  certain  times,  recourse 
must  be  had  to  punishment ;  as  it  must  oc- 
casionally, ^Iso,  in  cases  where  the  animals 
are  vicious  or  refractory,  and  where  the 
'master  must  show  himself  the  master.  Still, 
j  as  a  general  rule,  punishment  should  be  the 
!  last  resort.  It  should  never  be  attempted 
with  a  tired,  a  jaded,  or  an  exhausted  horse ; 
for  to  apply  it  in  such  cases  is  an  utter  bar- 
barity ;  little  or  no  immediate  advantage  is 
gained  to  the  driver,  while  it  may  probably 
result  in  the  loss  of  an  excellent  animal.  It 
is  common  to  see  horses  punished  for  stumb- 
ling, punished  for  starting;  and  whenever 
a  new  horse,  which  one  may  chance  to  be 
trying,  starts  off  into  a  gallop  after  commit- 
ting either  of  these  offences,  one  may  be 
sure  that  he  is  an  habitual  starter  or  stum- 
bler,  and  that  hp  has  frequently  undergone 
chastisement  for  them,  and  undergone  it  in 
vain.  It  is  altogether  an  error  to  punish  for 
cither  starting  or  stumbling;  the  one  is  the 
effect  of  fear,  which  cannot  be  cured  by  the  ' 
whip,  the  other,  in  most  cases,  of  malforma- 
tion or  of  tenderness  in  the  foot,  which  cer- 
tainly cannot  be  treated  successfully  by 
chastisement,  which,  in  fact,  aggravates  and 
confirms,  instead  of  alleviating  or  curing. 

In  speaking  of  driving  at  an  equal  pace, 
we  would  not,  of  course,  be  understood  to 
mean  that  horses  should  be  driven  at  the 
same  gait  and  speed  over  all  roads,  and  over 
grounds  of  all  natures.  Far  from  it.  A 
good  driver  will,  while  going,  always,  at  the 
rate  of  ten  miles — we  will  say — an  hour, 
never,  perhaps,  have  his  horses  going  at  ex- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


87 


actly  the  same  rate  for  any  two  consecutive 
twenty  minutes.  Over  a  dead  level,  the 
hardest  of  all  things  except  a  long  continu- 
ous ascent  bf  luiles,  he  will  spare  his  horses. 
Over  a  rolling  road,  he  will  hold  them  hard 
in  hand  as  he  crosses  the  top  and  descends 
the  first  steep  pitch  of  a  descent ;  will  swing 
them  down  the  remainder  at  a  pace  which 
will  jump  them  across  the  intervening  flat 
r.nd  carry  them  half  way  up  the  succeeding 
hill ;  and  will  catch  them  in  hand  again  and 
hold  them  iard  over  the  top,  as  we  have 
shown  before. 

Horses  in  work  should  be  watered  about 
once,  with  not  to  exceed  two  quarts,  after 
every  ten  miles,  or  every  hour,  if  one  be 
travelling  fast ;  and  if  travelling  far,  they 
should  be  well  fed  once  in  the  middle  of 
their  journey.  This  point,  however,  has 
been  discussed  already  under  the  head  of 
feeding. 

In  closigg,  we  would  say,  always  remem- 
ber, in  using  a  horse,  that  it  cannot  be  done 
with  too  much  coolness,  too  much  gentle- 
ness, too  much  discretion,  or  too  much  kind- 
ness. 

There  is  no  better  beast  in  the  world  than 


straw,  because  the  chip  takes  the  dye  easier. 
The  final  process  is  to  size  or  stiffen  the 
bonnets,  and  put  them  into  shape.  This 
operation  requires  two  ounces  of  best  glue, 
put  into  two  quarts  of  cold  water  overnight, 
and  next  day  completely  dissolved  by  boil- 
ing. TVhen  the  glue  is  melted,  strain  the 
liquor  (then  called  size)  into  an  earthen 
vessel.  Into  this  put  the  bonnets  one  at  a 
time,  till  thoroughly  soaked.  When  the  bon- 
nets are  taken  out  of  the  liquor  all  super- 
fluous size  must  be  sponged  off.  They  are 
then  brought  into  shape  as  they  get  gradu- 
ally dry,  or  they  may  be  dried  on  a  block. 
After  this  sizing  process  the  color  of  the 
dye  is  improved,  and  becomes  black  as  jet. 
To  Clean  and  Re-dip  Black  Feath- 
ers.— Feathers  that  have  become  rusty  iu 
color  may  be  thus  restored :  First,  well 
wash  the  feathers  in  soap  and  water,  using 
the  best  mottled  soap,  and  the  water  scald- 
ing hot  tor  the  purpose;  then  thoroughly 
rinse  them  in  clean  water  and  dry  them. 
Next,  take  half  an  ounce  of  logwood,  and 
boil  in  a  quart  of  water.  When  scalding 
hot,  put  in  the  feathers,  and  there  let  them 
remain  till  the  liquor  is  cold,  after  which 


ahorse,  nor  any  one  which,  though  often! rinse   them   in   cold   clean  water,  and  put 


most  cruelly  misused  by  man,  so  well  de- 
serves, and  so  amply,  by  his  services,  repays 
the  best  usage.  Herbert's  Hints  to  Horse- 
Kcfpi  rs. 


Dying  Hats  and  Feathers. 

To  Dye  Straw  Bonnets  Black. — 
Suppose  there  are  two  bonnets  to  dye,  one 
leghorn  and  one  straw.  Put  an  ounce  of 
sulphate  of  iron  into  a  vessel  with  two  gal- 
lons of  water  ;  make  the  liquid  boil,  then 
put  in  the  bonnets,  and  let  them  boil  for  one 
hour.  Then  take  out  the  bonnets,  and  hang 
them  on  a  peg  to  dry.  When  dry,  rinse 
them  in  cold  water.  This  portion  of  the 
process  of  dyeing  is  called  mordanting,  the 
liquor  being  termed  the  mordant.  After  the 
bonnets  are  thus  mordanted,  the  mordant 
must  be  poured  out  of  the  boiling  vessel, 
and  two  gallons  of  dean  water  made  to  boil 
in  its  place;  into  that  liquor  put  half  a 
pound  of  gall  nuts  (broken)  and  half  a 
pound  of  logW'jod,  together  with  the  bonnets, 
and  allow  the  whole  again  to  boil,  for  one 
hour.  Then  take  them  out  of  the  hct  liquor, 
and  hang  them  to  dry  as  before,  when  they 
will  be  of  dusky  brown-black  color.  Chip 
bonnetts  as  a  rule  uo  not  require  so  long  as 


them  to  dr%'.  Finally,  rub  or  brush  over 
the  feathers  the  smallest  portion  of  oil, 
which  simple  operation  brings  out  the  glis- 
tening jet  appearance  in  a  remarkable  man- 
ner. If  3"0U  draw  a  long  strip  of  paper 
between  the  thumb  and  a  blunt  pen-knife 
blade,  the  paper  will  curl  up.  Feathers 
may  be  treated  in  the  same  way,  using  only 
such  tender  care  as  may  be  expected  to  be 
required  in  "  touching  a  feather." — Scien- 
tijic  American. 


Growing 'Potatoes  under  Straw. 

Having  seen,  in  the  Agricultural  journals, 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  reports  of  ex- 
traordinary success  in  raising  potatoes  by 
covering  them  with  straw,  I  was  induced  to 
try  a  small  experiment,  which  I  will  relate 
for  the  benefit  of  sapie  of  your  readers. 

A  plat  in  my  garden,  about  fifty  feet 
square,  of  well  manured  clayey  loam,  was 
nicely  spaded  up  and  made  fine  and  smooth. 
It  was  then  marked  out  in  shallyw  drills, 
two  feet  and  a  half  apart,  and  potatoes  (of 
the  pink-eye  variety)  planted  whole,  two 
feet  apart  in  the  drills,  and  barely  covered 
with  earth.  The  whole  patch  was  then, 
covered  with  light,  dry  wheat  straw — which 


« 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTEE. 


[February 


had  been  very  much  broken  by  its  passage  f 
through  a  thrashing  machine — and  the  same  • 
spread  lightly  and  evenly  with  a  pitchfork, 
to  the   depth  of  about  two  feet.     Several 
showers    occurred   soon    after   the    potatoes 
were  planted,  which  settled  the  straw  very 
considerably,  and    in    due   time   the   vines 
came  up  through  the  straw,  and  soon  covered 
the  entire  surface  with  the  rankest  vegeta- : 
tion. 

Nothing  more  was  done  to  the  patch  till ' 
the  vines  were  killed  by  frost  in  autumn. ' 
Not  a  weed  appeared  among  them.     At  the ; 
usual   time    of  digging   potatoes   the  dead  i 
vines  were  all  pulled,  and  removed;  then,' 
with  a  potato  fork,  the  layer  of  straw — which 
was  pretty  well  rotted,  and   not  more  than , 
four  or  five  inches  in  thickness — was  care- ' 
fully  removed.     To  my  great  surprise,  there 
lay  the  potatoes  on  the  surface,  literally  cot- 
ering  the  ground,  and  almost  as  clean  as  if. 
they  had  been  washed.     They  were  picked 
up  and  measured,  but  the  quantity  I  do  not, 
remember.     This  much,  however,  I  well  re-; 
collect,  that  I  never  raised  so  good  a  crop 
by  any  other  mode  of  culture.     They  were  j 
of  very  uniform   size,  and   of  good  quality. 
— S.  MosHER,  Latonia  Springs,  Ky,  March, ! 
1858. 

Undoubtedly  the  above  method  of  grow- 1 
ing  potatoes  is  worthy  of  future  trial — espe- . 
cially  by  those  who  live  in  warm  latitudes,  i 
Protected  by  the  straw  from  the  scorching  j 
rays  of  the  sun,  the  ground  would  naturally! 
remain  moist  and  cool — thus  providing  for 
the  potato  roots  those  conditions  of  soil  bestj 
adapted  to  their  growth. —  Ohio  Valley  Far 
mer. 


For  the  SotUhern  Planter. 

Management  of  Tobacco  Crop. 

PiiCHMOXD.   January,  1860. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Southern  Planter: 

Mr.  Editor, — At  the  request  of  several 
planters  of  the  county  of  Fauquier,  who 
have  recently  commenced  the  cultivation  of 
Tobacco,  and  who  hav#but  little  experience 
in  the  curing  and  management  of  this  sta- 
ple, we  hand  you  the  following  communica- 
tion from  one  of  our  most  successful  planters 
of  the  Southside.  As  we  deem  your  valua- 
ble paper  the  most  appropriate  medium  for 
its  circulation,  we  hope  you  will  give  it  a 
place  in  your  next  number. 
Resp'y,  &c., 

Barksdale  &  Bros. 


Prince  Edward  Co.,  Va., ") 
Spring  CVee^-,  Dec'r  13th,  1859.    j 
Gentlemen  :  , 

Your  lavor  of  the  1st  December  is  to 
hand.  You  desire  me  to  give  you  a  de- 
tailed account  of  my  management  of  To- 
bacco, from  the  time  it  is  cut  until  it  is 
prised  in  hhds.  for  market,  which  I  here- 
with give  as  follows: 

All  Tobacco  should  remain  upon  the  hill 
until  it  is  thorov/jhly  ripe,  which  can  be 
readily  ascertained  by  its  thickness  and  yellow, 
grayish,  and  brittle  appearance.  Cut  when 
the  sun  shines  dimly,  if  you  can;  but 
whether  the  sun  shines  dimly  or  not,  (if 
proper  care  is  observed;,  Tobacco  will  faU 
and  icilt  sufficiently  to  handle,  in  v.arm 
weather,  without  breaking.  From  eight  to 
ten  plants  upon  a  stick  will  be  sufficient; 
eight  plants,  if  the  Tobacco  is  large,  ten  if 
medium  size.  Cut  one  or  two  houses-full  if 
you  can,  less  than  a  house-full  tannot  be 
cured  to  advantage ;  and  two  houses  can 
be  cured  more  advantageously  than  on'fe, 
as  you  will  perceive  during  the  process. 
Scaffold  it  about  two  days,  to  give  it  an 
elastic,  tough  quality,  so  much  desired  by 
all  good  judges  of  the  article;  after  which 
time,  commence  housinj;,  bejiinnin":  at  the 
top  and  placing  the  sticks  from  six  to 
eight  inches  apart,  coming  down  tier  after 
tier,  until  you  reach  the  first  firing  tier  at 
bottom.  In  the  same  manner  commence 
and  fill  another  house. 

You  are  then  ready  for  the  curing  pro- 
cess. Half-seasoned  wood,  oah  or  pane,  is 
preferred.  Build  small  fires  all  over  the 
ground-floor  of  the  house,  four  feet  apart; 
let  the ^r^s  he  small,  and,  regardless  of  any 
thermometer,  let  the  Tobacco  be  the  guide 
in  a.5certaining  the  degree  of  heat  to  be  kept 
up  under  it.  Do  not  coddle,  hum,  or  color 
it,  but  let  the  heat  be  sufficient  to  sap  and 
dry  it  out  in  two  or  two  and  a  half  days. 
You  may  then  rai.?e  the  heat,  by  dugreea, 
until  the  leaf  is  cured,  which  will  take  from 
two  to  three  days  more.  Fire  only  in  '  the 
day  time  ;  put  out  all  the  fires  at  night,  and 
begin  again  early  in  the  morning. 

After  the  leaf  is  cured  and  in  supple 
order,  the  best  plan  i^  to  re-hang,  putting 
the  Tobacco  of  two  sticks  upon  one,  and  re- 
placing as  before,  giving  as  much  room  be- 
tween the  sticks  as  at  first.  You  may  have 
the  Tobacco  as  close  upon  the  sticks  as  you 
can  get  it,  but  it  is  very  essential  to  have 
space  between  the  sticks.     You  need  not  re- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN   PLANTER. 


89 


gard  sicoUen  steins,  or  a  few  green  ones;  it 
will  all  cure  up"  finely,  if  jou  follow  out  the 
plan  laid  down.  You  may  frive  it  a  little 
fire  only  in  warm,  damp  weather. 

A  great  many  planters  object  to  re-hang- 
ing, on  account  of  the  time  it  takes  j  but 
my  experience  convinces  me  that,  in  the 
end,  it  saves  a  great  deal  of  time.  It  saves 
sticks,  the  time  of  one  hand,  and  house- 
room  ;  for  you  can  thus  put  two  houses  of 
Tobacco  into  one,  and  then,  by  being  jam- 
rtud  one  way,  it  will  retain  its  original  color. 

About  the  middle  of  November  I  begin 
to  take  down  my  Tobacco  for  stripping, 
which  should  be  done  in  very  supple  order. 

In  assorting  I  make  five  grades:  long 
l/righi,  sliort   hrigJif,  long  dark,  short  dark, 


fer  so  widely,  it  is  unsafe  to  rely  upon  any 
particular  plan  for  the  cultivation  of  a  To- 
bacco crop.  Suffice  it  to  say.  that  you  should 
plant  as  early  after  the  20th  of  May  as  you 
can,  and  be  sure  to  have  a  living  plant  in 
every  hill  by  the  20th  of  June.  Cultivate 
well  with  ploics  and  lioes,  and  never  let  the 
grass  defeat  you.  Stop  plowing  and  hoeing 
about  the  middle  of  August,  and  keep  down 
the  suckers,  and  keep  off"  the  horn-worms. 
yours  in  friendship. 

D.    F.    WOMACK. 

To  Messrs.  Barksdale  <5c  Bros..  Corn- 
merchants,  Shockoe  Slip,  Richmond,  Va. 

[The  foregoing  plan,  and -mode  of  caring 
Tobacco,  was  submitted  by  Capt.  D.  F.  Wo- 
mack  to  two  distinguished   and  successful 
of    his    neishborhood.  for    their 


and  lugs.   '  Tie  four  leaves  to  the  bundle  of . 

the^foH'7.  six  of  the  ^-^<'^/Y,  and  ei<iht  of  %*■,  ;P  ."l^"^      .,     ,  ,         , 

usini?  the  shortest  and  inferior  part  of  the  i«P\"^^'"-  ^^^^  ^he  request  that  they  would 

crop  to  tie  with,  but  alwavs  tie  with  a  whole  ;'^^'^«  '''"J  suggestion  thev  might  deem  im- 

leaf     Strai-hten   and   pack  down  at  ni-ht  P^'^^^*-  ^^ich  we  append  to  this.] 


what  is  stripped  during  the  day,  with  two 
bundles  together,  and  weight  onlv  with  to- 


We,  the  undersigned,  have  read  the  fore- 
going plan   and  mode  of  curing  Tobacco, 


•baeco  sticks.  After  the  Tobacco  has  re- ;  from  the  time  of  cutting  until  it  is  ready 
maiaed  in  bulk  from  two  to  three  weeks,  re-  \  for  prizing,  and  concur  in  the  directions 
bulk  in  supple  order,  straightening  onlt/  ot;*?;  given,  and  think  it  as  good  as  any,  if  not 
hundle  at  a  time,  and  keeping  the  hands  of  the  best  plan  practised  in  the  management 
those  engaged  in  straightening  well  greased  ■  of  the  article. 


with  hog's  lard,  or  fresh  grease  of  any  kin* 
After  your  bulk  is  of  sufficient  height,  cover  j 
with  tobacQO  sticks  or  plank,  and  ic eight  \ 
heavily  with  rock  or  anything  else  conveni- 
ent. Let  it  remain  thus  under  weight  until : 
the  last  of  March,  when  it  should  again  be  ; 
hung  up,  about  twenty-five  bundles  to  the 
stick,  and  four  inches  space  between  the 
sticks,  to  order  for  prizin 


iigned, 


SAMUEL 

Wm.  a. 


F.  Hunt, 

Wo. MACK. 


From  the  Bri  ish  Farmer's  Magozine. 

The  Lois  Weedon  System  of  Husbandry. 
Its  Importance  to  the  Farmer. 

A  few  numbei"s  back  a  review  appeared 
It  will  dry  out,  I  in  this  journal  of  a  work  on  the  TuUian 
leaf  and  stem,  in  a'few  days,  if  the  weather  j  system  of  husbandry,  as  revived  and  illus- 
is  fivorable;  if  not,  it  should  be  dried  outjtrated  in  the  practice  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
h-j  fire.  The  first  season  that  comes  after  :  Smith,  of  Lois  TVeeden,  Northamptonshire, 
this,  take  down  in  dry  order,  when  the  stem  {despite  the  ridicule  and  abuse  of  those  who, 
will  crack  from  end  to  end,  which  ispnzjn^  jlike  the  late  Sir  "William  Curtis,  are  '-quite 
order.  |  satisfied   with  things  as  they    are."      This 

When  ii  is  taken  down  in  prizing  order,  j  gentleman  has  now  given  the  system  a  trial 
coopit,  tail  and  tail.as  high  as  you  can  reach,  of  twelve  consecutive  years,  during  which, 


and  then  buK:  again,  straightening  four 
bundles  at  a  time.  Weight  your  bulks  as 
before,  and  in  two  or  three  days  you  may 
commence  prizing,  which  should  be  done  in 
the  month  of  April,  if  it  suits,  but  should 
be  done,  at  any  rate,  by  the  20th  of  June, 
and  delivered  in  market. 

You  also  request  me  to  give  my  mode  of 
cultivation.  I  could  easily  do  this,  if  every 
year  were  precisely  the  same,  and  every 
season  alike;  but  the  years  and  seasons  dif- 


without  a  "particle  of  manure,  he  has  grown 
wheat,  year  after  year,  upon  half  the  land, 
reaping  an  average  produce  of  thirty-five 
bushels  per  acre.  The  method  of  Mr. 
Smith  is  well  known  to  our  readers ;  the 
land  having  been  kept  open  by  tjie  spade  to 
a  subsoil  depth,  three  rows  of  wheat  are 
planted  or  drilled,  at  one  foot  distance  be- 
tween the  rows,  of  course  occupying  three 
feet.  The  next  three  feet  of  land  being 
left  vacant^  three  more  rows  are  planted  on 


90 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


the  other  side  of  the  void  spt^ces,  and  so  on 
throughout  the  whole  field.  One  great  point 
in  this  husbandry  is,  keeping  the  interven- 
ing fallows  well  tilled  with  the  spade,  and 
clear  of  weeds,  during  the  growth  of  the 
crops  upon  the  planted  parts,  and  using  the 
horsc-hoe  freely  between  the  rows  of  grow-' 
ing  corn.  As  soon  as  this  is  reaped,  the  va- 
cant spaces  are  at  once  planted ;  and  so  on, 
year  after  year,  without  any  change  of  crops, 
application  of  manure,  or  cessation  in  the 
course. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  after 
all  the  efforts  that  have  been  made,  with 
the  aid  of  modern  science,  capital  and  skill, 
to  raise  the  fertility  of  the  earth  to  the 
highest  pitch  it  is  capable  of— -after  all  the 
money  expended  in  the  manufiicture  and 
purchase  of  manure,  in  order  to  draw  from 
the  soil  the  greatest  pos;sible  amount  of  pro- 
duce— after  the  publication  of  innumerable 
books  to  prove  that  if  you  put  nothing  into 
the  land  you  cannot  expect  to  obtain  any- 
thing out  of  it,  and  that  for  every  cereal 
crop  of  grain  grown,  it  is  necessai-y  to  com- 
pensate the  soil  for  the  loss  of  clementaiy 
matters  by  a  fresh  supply  in  the  form  of 
manure;— it  is,  we  say,  remarkable  that  we 
are  called  upon,  in  the  very  zenith  of  our  agri- 
cultural glory,  to  retrace  our  steps,  and  re- 
vert to  the  practice  of  a  speculator,  who,  a 
century  and  a  half  ago,  started  a  principle 
upon  which,  if  true,  the  restoration  of  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  is  based.  Namely,  that 
the  atmosphere  alone  contains  an  abundant 
and  everlasting  supply  of  all  the  elements 
of  fertility  necessary  for  the  growth  and 
sustenance  of  plants. 

This  perfect  competency  of  the  atmos- 
phere to  furnish  a  supply  of  food  for  plants 
must  be  accompanied  with  an  attractive 
power  in  the  soil  itself  to  absorb  and  modify 
these  substances,  and  thus  reduce  them  to  a 
form  in  which  their  assimilation  by  the 
plants  is  promoted.  On  no  other  principle 
can  a  result  so  contrary  to  all  the  hitherto- 
received  opinions  and  practice  jf  agricul- 
turists be  accounted  for.  Every  modern 
writer  on  agriculture,  whether  scientific  or 
purely  practical,  has  maintained  the  neces- 
sity of  a  constant;  application  of  manure,  in 
order  to  compensate  the  soil  for  the  exhaus- 
tion of  a  (fercal  crop.  It  is  for  this  purpose 
that  herds  of  cattle  and  flocks  of  sheep  are 
kept  on  our  farms,  it  boingalmost  universally 
asserted  by  farmers  that  they  only  repay 
the    expense   of  their  maintenance   by  the 


manure  they  produce,  by  which  the  produce 
of  cereal  crops  is  increased.  Without  ab- 
solutely endorsing  this  assertion,  we  may 
safely  assume,  from  all  experience,  that,  on 
the  present  system  of  farming,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  grow  corn  profitably  without 
manure ;  and  that  a  constant  succession  of 
cereal  crops,  without  it,  would  exhaust  the 
■most  fertile  soil  in  the  world.  We  must  * 
therefore  conclude  that  the  secret  of  the 
success  of  the  Lois  Weedon  system,  which 
is  a  copy  of  Tull's,  lies  in  the  constant  stir- 
ring of  the  soil  under  fiillow,  in  order  to 
promote  the  absorption  of  the  elements  of 
fertility.  And  moreover,  the  proportion  of 
that  success  depends  upon  the  degree  and 
the  depth  to  which  the  soil  is  stirred  and 
comminuted.  A  remarkable  corroboration 
of  this  opinion  has  occurred  during  the 
present  season  on  the  land  laid  down  with 
Halkctt's  guideway-cultivator,  at  Wands- 
worth. This  land  had  been  deeply  sub- 
soiled,  and  communited  with  the  Norwegian 
harrow  and  planted  with  potatoes,  without 
manure.  On  each  side  of  it  the  land  was, 
tilled  in  the  common  way,  and  also  planted 
with  potatoes.  The  latter  produced  'one 
bushel  per  rod ;  but  the  former  yielded  21 
bushels  per  rod,  being  an  excess  over  the 
Oither  of  240  bushels  per  acre.  This 
amounts  to  7}  tons,  which,  at  £5  per  ton, 
is  £37  10s.  xV  similar  result  is  obtained  by 
Mr.  Smith's  spade-hnsbandry  over  that  of 
the  plough,  as  practised  by  seven  other  ex- 
perimenters on  the  Tullian  system.  Their 
average  produce  was  24  bushels  3  pecks  per 
acre,  whilst  Mr.  Smith's  was  35  bushels. 
Their  highest  produce,  also,  was  272  bush- 
els per  acre,  whilst  Mr.  Smith's  was  forty 
bushels.  It  is  further  worthy  of  observa- 
tion that  this  system  is  so  far  from  impov- 
erishing the  soil,  that  it  seems  to  improve 
it;  and  that  the  produce,  after  twelve  con- 
secutive years'  trial,  has  increased  rather 
than  diminished,  that  of  J  858  being  forty 
bushels  per  acre.  This  is  a  very  remarka- 
ble feature  in  the  system,  as  it  demonstrates 
the  fact  that  tillage  alone,  by  stimulating 
the  soil  and  proinoting  the  absorption  of  ele- 
mentary matters  from  the  atmosphere,  is 
sufficient  to  sustain  its  fertility. 

It  is  evident  that  if  the  Lois  Weedon  or 
Tullian  system  is  what  it  has  been  repre- 
sented to  be — and  there  is  not  the  slightest 
reason  to  suppose  that  any  deception  or  mis- 
representation has  been  practised — the  ex- 
pense of  farming  upon  it  must  be  much  less. 


1S60.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


91 


and  the    profit    much    greater,   than    on   ther  Frcn  the  British  Farmer's  Magazine. 

common  system.    Accordingly  we  find  that;^j^g  Implement  Trade   at   the   Cape  of 
Tvhilst  the  profit  upon  a  lour-cource  rotation,  c^^a  xr^«^ 

accordincr  to  iJayldon,  ("  Vn  hcnts  ana  lit-j 


per  annum;  Doing  m  ex-^or  wooa  tiope 
cess  of  the  other  of  £2  16s.  9d.,  or  consid- 1  Cape  Town.  As  with  as,  it  was  a  show  of 
erable  more  than  double.  This,  too,  is  un- ;  both  stock  and  implements,  imjwrtcd  cattle 
der  plough  culture;  but  Mr  Smith's  spade 'and  sheep  valued  at  upwards  of  a  thousand 
culture  IS  still  more  profitable;  for  whilst  pounds  being  entered.  Considering  the 
the  average  produce  is  35  bushels  per  acre,  [  prices  at  which  animals  leave  England,  this 
which  at  7s.  per  bu-hel  (Mr.  Smith's  esti- '  is  not  perhaps  saying  much.  The  display 
mate")  is  £12  5s.,  his  expenses  amount  to  of  machinery  was  more  imposing,  and  esti- 
only  £6  Os.  42d.,  leaving  a  balance  of  £6;  mated  at  least  four  times  the  sum  of  that 
4s.  7;d.  per  acre,  without  reckoning  the '  of  the  beasts.  That  is  to  say,  there  were 
straw,  which,  as  no  manure  is  required,  may  four  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  implements 
be  sold  to  increase  still  more  the  profit.  '  on  the  ground  for  the  Cape  farmeri  to  pick 

The  question  then  remains  to  be  solved — jand  choose  from.  Amongst  these  there 
can  this  system,  which  is  so  profitable  on  a ;  were  no  less  than  fort>j-Uco  varieties  of 
small  scafe,  be  made  applicable  on  a  large '  ploughs ;  and  we  can  picture  the  colonists 
one  with  an  equally  favourable  result  ?  We  going  through  the  old  controversy  of  How- 
see  no  reason  whiitever  to  doubt  the  fitcts  ard.  Eansome,  or  Hornsby;  or  Hornsby, 
that  are  stated  in  the  work  we  have  referred  '.  Eansome  and  Howard — Page,  Ball,  or  Bus- 
to,  derived  as  they  are  from  sources  beyond  \  by ;  Busby,  Ball  and  Page.  We  might 
the  suspicion  of  deception,  and  corroborating'  even  go  so  far  as  to  imagine  that  the  several 
each  other.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  subject  is '  representatives  of  these  houses  could  have 
not  taken  up  seriously  by  the  Royal  Agri-' been  spared  for  so  agreeable  an  autumn  trip, 
cultural  Society  or  the  Central  Farmers"  and  that  3Ir.  Sutton,  Mr.  Barrett  and  Mr. 
Club,  and  experiments  on  a  large  scale  in-!  Cole  were  on  the  scene,  politely  distributing 
stituted,  in  order  to  bring  the  system  at  once  \  their  catalogues,  and  decanting  on  the  pre- 
to  the  test  as  the.  most  useful  and  profitable !  mlums  they  had  taken  and  the  wonders 
to  the  farmer,  and  consequently  to  the  pub- '  they  had  done.  Alas  I  however,  it  is  \<yc\ 
lie.  I  well  known  that  some  of  the  finest  flights  of 

There  is  one  other  qxiestion  involved  in '  our  poets,  and  some  of  the  grandest  efforts 
these  experiments,  we  think,  worrhy  of  notice  |  of  our  artists,  have  been  to  depict  their  he-^ 
— namely,  whetlur-r  manures  do  not  act  more '  roes  in  actions  that  they  ronll\-  never  took  a 
Indirectly  as  stimrJants  and  absorbents  of  ^  part  in.  And  so  would  it  be  with  our  pjean 
the  alimentary  mattere  in  the  atmosphere ;  over  what  Grantham.  Ipswich  or  Bedford 
than  dlrtctly  as  fertilizers  per  sef  TTejdidatthe  Caps  Town  ploughing  match — 
know  the  affinity  of  many  chenucal  sub-  for  there  was  not  one  of  them  there.  Of 
stances,  which  causes  them  to  unite  when  these  forty-two  varieties  pf  ploughs  for  the 
.placed  in  juxtaposition.  Thus  common^salt,  English  colonists  to  purchase,  every  one  of 
if  placed  on  a  reeking  dung-hill,  or  on  any  them  was  of  American  manufacture.  In 
substance  emitting  ammoniacal  matters,  will  the  whole  four  thousand  pounds'  worth  of 
be  found   to  effervesce  strongly.      This  is  |  machinery  there  was  scarcejy  anything  wbat- 


caused  by  the  absorption  of  the  ammonia ; 
and  it  will  continue  until  the  salt  is  super- 
saturated, when  it  ceases,  and  the  union 
thus  formed  is  nothing  less  than  the  Siil- 
ammoniae  of  the  chemist.  This  is  a  sub- 
ject worthy  tlic  attention  of  the  scientific 
farmer,  who  will  know  how  to  turn  it  to  his 
advantage,  by  applying  the  principle  to  his 
every-day  practice. 


ever  of  I^nglish  make.  There  were  En« 
lish  horses  of  course,  for  the  breeders  out 
there  are  beginning  to  take  to  them  very 
warmly  at  last,  and,  as  we  have  already 
heard,  there  were  Englislb  cattle  and  Eng- 
lish sheep.  But  with  all  our  knowledge  of 
business,  our  different  plans  of*  pushing  a 
trade,  and  more  than  this,  with  all  our  fierce 
opposition  one  to  the  orher  here  at  home, 
there  was  not  an  English  plough  on  the 
ground !     We  begin  to  fear  we  shall  yet 


92 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


have  to  qualify  what  we  set  out  with,  about!  just  completed  the  first  of  a  batch  of  eight 
there  being  no  people  so  strongly  imbued!  locouiotive  engines  which  they  have  been 
with   the    spirit  of  commercial    enterprise,  i  commissioned  to  mate  for  the  railway  at  the 


and  to  put  America  before  them.  It  is  al 
most  incomprehensible  how  they  can  have 
BO  much  anticipated  us  in  this  direction ;  for 


Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  first  sod  of  which 

was  recently  cut  by  Sir.  G.  Grey.     This  eu- 

;ine  has  been  making  trial-trips  on  the  New- 


if  it  was  worth    the   while   of  the    United  castle  and   Carlisle   railway   line,  and   it  is 
States  to  send  forty-two  sorts  of  ploughs,  it  i  built  on  a  new  principle,"  and  so  on.  Might 

might  certainly  have  been  worth  the  atten-  it  not  be  worth  the  while  of  other  celebrated 

tion  of  the  United  Kingdom  to  send  a  few.  engine-builders  to  ascertain  what  is  wanted 

We  can,  indeed,  very  readily  echo  the  com-  at  the  Cape?     An  agricultural  meeting  at 

mentary  of  the    Judges   on    making   their  i  this  date  rarely  depends  upon  ploughs  only, 

awards,  and  "  the  surprise  they  expressed  at  and  there  are  all  kinds  of  inventions  which 


seeing  English  manufactures  so  badly  rep 
resented." 

Surely,  this  is  a  matter  worth  looking  to. 
With  .some  of  our  best  blood  to  go  on,  the 
Americans  already  declare  that  they  shall 
soon  !•'  grow"  better  Shorthorns  than  we  can. 


the  Cape  farmers  might  patronize  if  they 
only  had  the  chance  of  doing  so.  We  have 
been  rather  inclined  to  pride  ourselves  for 
some  time  past  on  having  as  a  whole  by  far 
the  best  collection  of  agricultural  machinery 
of  any  people  in  the  world.     We  hold  some- 


Their  horses,  by  the  same  system,  are  often  i  what  to  this  opinion  still,  and  are  so  unwil- 
equal  to  our  own,  as  it  is.  The  first  fa- •  ling  to  see  ourselves  •'•' cut  out "  in  any  quar- 
vourite  for  the  Derby  at  this  very  time  is  a ,  ter,  but  more  especially  amongst  our  own 
colt  brought  over  by  Mr.  Ten  Broeck;  and  kith  and  kin.  Depend  upon  it,  if  it  will 
a  Yankee  pugilist  is  coming  to  fight  our  man  ■  pay  xVmerican  houses  to  send  forty  speci- 
for  the  Championship.  In  some  descrip-  mens  of  ploughs  to  a  Cape  show,  it  might 
tions  of  machinery  even,  we  only  follow  answer  the  purpose  of  an  English  firm  to 
their  lead,  and  the  best  of  our  reapers  and  try  a  bout  with  them. 

mowers  are  cither  invented  or  improved  up- ..^,^,-*-* 

on  by  Americans.     But  they  are  too  'cute  a  Poisoning'   Land, 

people   to  slight  any  hint  or  wrinkle  they 

^  •  S  .     .    ,        P  •'        .  ^    ^1        »       •       u         1  ;  BY   PROFESSOR     E.    PIGH,    PII.    D.,    F.    C.    S. 

might  take  irom  us.     At  the  Agricultural  j  '  ' 

Fair  held  at  New  York,  just  about  the  same  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said 
time  as  this  meeting  at  the  Cape,  the  en- 1  and  written  during  the  last  few  years,  upon 
tries  for  implements  were  kept  open  to  the  the  subject  of  agriculture,  the  ideas  of  the 
very  day  previous  to  the  .show,  with  the  es-  .great  mass  of  the  people,  upon  many  points 
fecial  view  of  allowing  strangers  every  op- 1  of  the  highest  importance  to  agriculturists, 
portunity  fur  attending.  We  gave  the  time  j  are  very  much  confased.  Upon  no  ques- 
and  place  of  this  gathering,  one  generally !  tions  is  this  more  marked  than  upon  .those 
known  as  that  of  the  American  In.stitute,  in 'suggested  by  the  words,  nutriment,  stiniu- 
our  List  of  Meetings  to  come.  We  have  lant  and  poison,  in  reference  to  the  growth 
not  yet  heard  how  it  was  responded  to;  but ^  of  plants. 

in  due  course  we  shall  have  the  report  from  ]      Many   farmers   think   that   certain    sub- 
our  own  correspondent  in  those  parts.  There ',  stances  stimulate  the  land  at  first,  and  over-" 
is,  at  any  rate,  scarcely  a  celebration  of  the 'tax  its    powers,  and   ultimately  poison   it. 
kind  on  this  side  of  the  water  but  a  Tians-jSuch  ideas  originate  in   conceptions  obtain- 
atlantic  friend   has  some   new  discoverytOjedfromfal.se  analogies  which  men   are  too 


show  us ;  or,  armed  with  a  pencil«and  a  let- 
ter of  introduction,  something  "  to  remem- 
ber to  remember "  when  he  gets  home 
again. 

It  must  not  ^ther  be  supposed  that  all 
our  leadin^c  manufacturers  are  as  much  above, 


prone  to  draw  between  animal  and  vegeta- 
ble life.  The  earlier  vegetable  Physiolo- 
gists were,  for  a  long  time,  deceived  as  to 
the  true  character  of  vegetable  growth  in 
the  same  manner;  but  at  present,  scientific 
men   are  aware   that  no  aid  is  obtained  in 


or  simply  as  indiflferent  to  the  Cape  market]  studying  vegetable  physiology  by  the  appa- 
as  our  implement  makers  appear  to  be.  It  rent  analogies  afforded  by  animal  physiology, 
is  only  during  this  very  week  that  we  see  A  diff"erence  of  opinion  sometimes  exists, 
that  the  "  Messrs.  Hawthorne,  the  celebrated  as  to  what  is  the  correct  definition  of  a 
engine-builders  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  have  Ujorsc/?!  in   regard   to  animal  life.       And    ai 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


93 


more  difficult  question   might  arise  on  the 
same  subject  with  regard   to  vegetable  life. 

But  waiving  these  difficulties  we  may  get 
at  a  practical  definition  of  what  nutriment, 
stimulant  and  poii^o-.i,  applied  to  vegetable 
food  may  mean,  which  will  throw  some  light 
upon  the  subject  we  are  considering. 

First.     Nutriment. 

Under  this  may  be  included  all  those  ele- 
ments, and  combinations  of  elements,  that 
are  essential  to  healthy  and  vigorous  vege- 
table growth,  whether  obtained  from  the 
soil  or  the"*  air,  which  enters  into  the  plant 
to  form  part  of  its  substance. 

These  embrace  about  13  different  elements, 
all  of  which  enter  the  plai't,  more  or  less,  in 
combination  with  each  other;  eight  of  them 
must  come  fr 0771  the  soil,  and  the  remainder 
way  come  from  the  soil,  or  from  the  air,  or 
from  both.  Indepei^ent  of  vegetable  growth, 

there  is  all  the  time  a  more  or  less  active  I  c^uantity,  and  hence  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
interchange  of  these  latter  elements  between  !  decide  what  is  a  poison  in  the  sense  of  the 
the  soil   and  the  air,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  definition  just  given. 


cause  of  the  disease  to  which  some  plants, 
as  the  potato  or  the  clover,  the  vine,  &c., 
in  America  and  Europe  are  liable,  may  be 
due  to  poisonous  products  formed  in  the 
soil. 

The  theory  of  the  rotation  of  crops,  which 
at  first  was  explained,  simply  by  supposing 
different  plants  absorbed  difierent  substances 
from  the  soil,  and  while  those  of  one  plant 
were  being  removed  by  it,  those  of  another 
were  accumulating,  has  become  more  com- 
plicated of  late,  by  certain  considerations 
which  seem  to  indicate,  that  substances  poi- 
sonous to  one  plant  and  not  to  another,  may 
disappear  from  the  soil,  during  the  growth 
of  the  latter,  and  hence  leave  the  land  ia 
a  state  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  Farmer. 

All  substances  which  are  nutritious  to 
plants  in  ordinary  circumstances,  will  prove 
destructive  to  them  if  presented  in  too  large 


decide  how  far  they  are  obtained  by  the 
plant  directly  from  the  air  through  the 
leaves,  or  indirectly  from  it  at  the  roots, 
through-  the  soil ;  consequently  while  all 
scientific  men  admit  that  these  eight  sub- 
stances 7nust  aliroi/s  he  present  in  the  soil, 
to  ensure  its  fertility,  there  has  been  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  as  to  how  far  it  is  neces- 
sary to  add  some  of  the  remaining  five  to 
the  soil  to  ensure  conditions  "amply  suffi- 
cient for  the  purposes  of  agriculture."     If 


Thirilly.       STIMULANTS. 

None  of  the  substances  which  are  usually 
considered  stimulants,  are  such  in  the  sense 
that  this  is  applied  to  animal  life.  Nothing 
is  more  absurd  and  ludicrous  than  the  com- 
mon notion  that  certain  substances,  as  guano, 
or  plaster  of  paris,  stimulate  the  land  in  any 
sense  of  the  word. 

It  is  not  easy  to  apply  this  term  to  sub- 
stances affecting  vegetable  nutrition,  yet  if  we 
must  use  it,  substances  like  lime,  which  do  not 


all  of  these  substances  are  not  accessible  to\  aSoid  nutriment  directly  to  plants,  in  the 
the  2^1'^nt  in  the  soil,  or  the  air,  it  oo7??/0?  same  degree  that  they  promote  their  growth, 
f/rou-.  At  times  some  of  them  fall  in  the 'could  more  appropriately  be  called  stimu- 
requisite  quantity,  and  it  becomes  the  duty  lants,  than  those  just  noticed.  Some  chem- 
of  the  farmer  to  find  which  they  are,  and  ical  substances  which  promote  the  sprouting 
to  apply  them  in  manures  to  the  soil.  jand  early  growth  of  plants  without  affiarding 

Seccmdly.     PoiSON.  them   any   nutriment,  might  also  be  called 

All  substances  may  be  considered  poison-  s^r»»<?a;i?«,  and  others  which  retard  this  action 


ous  which  are  not  included  above  (that  is 
which  do  not  enter  the  plant  to  form  a*part 
of  the  increase  during  healthy  growth,)  and 
which  when  placed  in  contact  with  growing 
vegetable  matter,  are  absorbed  by  it,  and 
prove  injurious  or  destructive,  to  vegetable 
growth.  This  may  include  many  combina- 
tions of  elements,  which  combined  in  other 
proportions  or  in  difterent  circumstances, 
might  be  nutritious;  acids  or  alkalies  might, 
when  alone,  act  as  poisons,  when  in  the 
combined  state  they  would  be  nutritious. 
The  products  of  decomposition  of  vegetable 
matters  are,  no  doubt,  in  some  instances, 
poisonous  to  vegetable  growth ;  the  ultimate 


might  be  called  sedatives ;  but  as  these 
terms  convey  improper  vreanimjs,  and  imply 
that  we  know  a  great  deal  more  about  vege- 
table physiology  than  we  do,  it  is  best  to 
discard  them  altogether. 

Practical  Consldebations. 

From  the  above  we  might  infer, 
1st.  That  soil  to  be  productive  must  con- 
tain every  one  of  about  eight  diff"erent  sub- 
stances,   and  four  to  five   other   substances 
must  be  present  in  the  soil  or  the  air. 

2nd-  That  if  any  one  of  these  fails  in  the 
soil,  barrenness  will  result,  no  matter  how 
ranch    of  all   the    others   may   be   present. 


94 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


Thou^-h  a  sufficient  number  of  all  the  other i 
substances  were  present  to  proJuce  crops  (or 
one  hundred  years,  did  it  not  fail,    the  ab- 
sence of  this  one  would  render  the  soil  barren. 

3rd.  If  the  soil  contain  a  limited  quanti- 
ty of  any  one  of  these  substances,  and  no 
more  be  added  during  successive  years,  in 
which  crops  are  grown  and  removed  from 
the  land,  this  substance  must  ultimately  all 
be  removed,  and  barrenness  must  result. 

4th.  H  a  soil  be  barren  owing  to  any  of 
the  above  causes,  the  addition  to  it  of  the 
failing  element  will  restore  its  fertility  againj 
and  in  consequence  of  this  fertility  new 
crops  may  be  raised,  and  hence  new  quan- 
tities of  all  the  other  seven  substances  re- 
moved from  the  soil.  If  this  process  be 
repeated,  and  by  successive  additions  of  the 
failing  element,  successive  crops  be  raised, 
a  second  and  a  third  element,  will  all  be 
removed,  and  these,  too,  must  be  replaced 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  first,  in  order  to 
maintain  fertility.  The  soil  will  be  poorer 
after  the  addition  of  these  failing  elements, 
because  with  them  vce  are  enabled  to  raue 
crops  which  remove  from  the  land,  not  only 
the  element  added,  but  about  seven  oilier  ele- 
mcuts  that  icere  in  it  bff'^-re. 

4th.  The  substances  usually  called  stimu- 
lants are  simply  such  as  afford  to  the  soil, 
certain  elements  of  nutrition,  which  are  not 
present  in  an  available  form  for  the  de- 
mands of  vigorous  growth.  They  do  not 
produce  the  crop,  but,  united  with  other 
substances  in  the  soil  and  air,  they  do  pro- 
duce it.  They  form  o  part  of  a  whole, 
without  which  the  plant  cannot  grow,  just 
as  the  axle-tree  of  a  wagon  forms  a  part  of 
the  wagon,  without  which  it  could  not  move. 
Without  the  axle  tree  the  wagon  could  not 
be  worn  out,  yet  it  would  be  1  strange  kind 
of  logic  which  would  infer,  that  because  the 
entire  wagon  was  worn  out  after  the  addi- 
tion of  the  axle  tree,  that  therefore  the 
axle  tree  had  acted  as  a  stimulant  upon 
the  wagon,  and  worn  it  out;  or  that 
because  the  same  result  could  not  be  ob- 
tained with  the  old  wagon  as  with  the  ne^, 
therelbre,  the  axle-tree  had  ymisomd  the 
wagon.  Absurd  as  this  kind  of  logic  would 
seem,. the  farmer  may  rest  assured  that  it  is 
quite  as  rational  as  that  which  supposes  cer- 
tain substtmces  to  stinndate  or  poison  the 
land.  And  the  farmer  might,  quite  as  ra- 
tionally, rel'use  to  replace  the  broken  axle  of 
his  wagon,  because  after  doing  so  the  wagon 
would  be  worn  out,  as  to  refuse  to  supply  I 


the  failing  element  in  his  land  because  the 
crops  that  would  follow  vrould  exluvust  the 
land  of  the  substances  that  it  already  pos- 
sesses. 

These  considerations  may  be  illustrated 
by  an  example. 

Suppose  a  soil  to  contain  enough  of  an 
element  A  to  raise  wheat  for  four  years; 
enough  of  an  element  B  t:>  raise  wheat  for 
six  years ;  enough  of  C  for  eight  years ; 
enough  of  D  for  ten  years ;  and  enough  of 
all  the  other  substances  S  re«juired  for 
twenty  years.  If  such  a  soil  had  been 
grown  with  wheat  since  1856,  we  would 
have  in 

1860,     all  the  A  exhausted, 

sufficient  B  for  two  years, 
"        C'for  four  years, 
"        %for  six  years, 
'•'        S  for  sixteen  years. 

This  soil  is  barren  now  for  want  of  A;  let 
us  add  sufficient  of  A  to  last  two  years,  and 
then  we  get  two  more  crops,  and  we  will 
have  in 

1862,     all  the  A  again  exhausted, 
'•        B  exhausted, 
sufficient  C  for  two  years, 
"       D  for  four  years, 
"        S  for  fourteen  years. 

The  soil  is  now  barren  for  want  of  A  and 
B ;  let  us  add  enough  of  each  for  two 
years,  and  then  we  will  liave  in 

1864,     all  the  A  asain  exhausted, 

"       C     '■•  " 

sufficient  D  for  two  years, 
"        S  for  twelve  years. 
Now  the  soil  is  barren  for  want  of  three 
elements,  A,  B,  and  C.     If  the.se  were  add- 
ed, we  would  have  in 
• 
1866,     all  the  A  again  exhausted, 
B     "  " 

a  p        li  u 

tc  J)        (I  « 

sufficient  S  for  ten  years. 

Fertility  can  now  only  be  restored  by  the 
addition  of  four  elements.  A,  B,  C,  and  D. 

Now,  a  farmer  commencing  to  work  such 
a  soil  in  1856,  might  have  suppo.sed  that  it 
was  inexhaustible,  but  in  1860,  it  becomes 
barren. 

The  addition  of  the  manure  A  to  it,  then, 
restored  its  fertility,  he  now  might  get  the 
idea  that  A  would  do  to  restore  the  fertility 


18G0.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLAXTEE. 


95 


of  all  tconi  out  land ;  but  after  two  years 
more,  A  ceases  to  be  of  any  perceptible 
usej  he  might  then  conclude  that  A  had 
poisoned  the  land,  but  on  the  addition  of  B, 
he  restores  fertility.  He  would,  doubtless, 
now  recommend  B  to  all  his  neighbors;  but 
soou  B  becomes  inoperatiTe,  and  must  be 
set  down  as  a  poison.  We  need  not  here 
dwell  upon  the  fallacy  of  such  conclusions, 
yet  they  are  entertained  by  farmers  all  over 
the  country. 

I  have  avoided  the  use  of  the  names  of 
the  elements  of  fertility  to  soils,  in  order  to 
meet  the  tastes  of  thc>se  who  do  not  ILke  to 
be  troubled  with  scientific  terms.  On  some 
future  occasion  we  may  discuss  the  charac- 
ter of  soils  in  rclaiion  to  these  substances, 
and  to  manures,  the  value  of  which  muse 
be  dependent  upon  how  much  of  them  it 
contains. 


F'om  the  Farmer  and  Gardener.      \ 

Physical  Condition  of  the  Soil.         ; 

1 

BY  WILLIAM  BRIGHT,  LOGAN*  XURSERT,      i 
PHILADELPHIA.  \ 

Too  little  attention  is  given  by  farmers.  [ 
gardeners,  and  amateur  cultivators  of  ail. 
classes,  to  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil. 
Everybody  is  hunting  after  manures  and  [ 
special  fertilizers,  but  few  think  enough  of. 
the  great  advantage  to  be  derived  from  a; 
proper  plowing  and  cultivation  of  the  soil.  | 
It  has  been  recently  proved  by  careful  ex- 
periments made  in  England,  that  deep  plow-j 
ing,  and  thorough  cukivaiion,  is  fully  equal, 
to  free  manuring,  even  in  poor  or  exhausted! 
soils.  One  class  of  chemists  tell  us  that| 
there  is  mineral  matter  enough  in  ail  soils  | 
to  meet  the  wants  of  crops  for  a  hundred! 
years,  if  this  mineral  matter  could  be  ren-; 
dared  soluble  and  fit  for  the  food  of  plants. ; 
Another  class  of  chemists  tell  us  that  ifi 
you  have  mineral  matter  in  proportion  in  j 
the  soil,  plants  can  assimilate  carbonic  acid: 
and  ammonia  enough  from  the  atmosphere  i 
and  rain  to  stimulate  :hein  to  the  highest- 
degree  of  periection.  !Xow  we  know,  as  a! 
practical  fact,  that  when  soil  is  constantly 
stirred,  and  the  purticles  of  matter  are  fre- 
quently thrown  iuto  new  relations  to  each 
other,  ichemical  action  takes  place  more  ra- 
pidly than  vvh.ii  the  particles  remain  for  a 
long  time  in  one  position;  and  hence,  much 
soluble  miiicral  matter  is  produced  by  this 
chemical  action  or  process  of  decomposition. 


Thus  a  barre^bil  may  be  rendered  fertile, 
siniply  by  deep  and  thorough  plowing  and 
cultivatiou.with  the  roller,  harrow  and.  other 
implements.  Jt  may  require  a  little  time 
after  such  plowing  and  cultivation,  fur  the 
chemical  processes  to  become  perfected,  but 
a  good  result  must  follow  such  practice. 

But  soil  must  not  alone  be  plowed,  rolled 
and  harrowed,  to  disturb  the  relation  of 
particles ;  it  mast  also  be  shaded  from  the 
direct  rays  of  the  sun,  to  produce  the  best 
effects.  To  this  end  it  will  be  highly  useful 
in  all  efibrts  to  improve  a  poor  soil,  instead 
of  leaving  it  fallen  and  uncovered,  either  to 
mulch  it  all  over  during  summer  with  Ion" 
litter,  or  to  sow  it  with  some  plant  which 
shall  not  only  shade  it,  but  promote  the  de- 
composition going  on  in  the  field  by  the 
influence  of  its  roots,  and  furnish  a  mass  of 
green  vegetable  matter,  for  after  mulching 
or  turning  under.  Decomposition  of  soil 
can  only  go  on  when  it  is  moist,  warm,  and 
shaded.  Light,  dryness,  and  cold,  all  tend 
to  prevent  decomposition.  Clover  is,  be- 
yond all  question,  the  best  green  crop  that 
can  be  grown  for  improving  exhausted  soils. 
But  sometimes  soil  is  so  poor  that  clover 
will  not  grow  successfully,  and  in  such  eases 
resort  must  be  had  to  corn  sowed  broad-cast, 
or  the  southern  field  pea,  or  the  little  soap 
pea  of  Jersey  and  Delaware,  which  will 
grow,  without  manure,  on  blowy  sand,  and 
produce  several  tons  of  green  matter  per 
acre. 

Soil  in  ite  most  perfect  state  should  be 
wrought  into  *a  condition  of  the  most  mi- 
nute divisions  of  particles;  it  should  bclight 
and  porous,  and  of  a  friable  character,  free 
from  lumps  and  sodden  masses;  dry,  yet 
moist;  sweet,  but  not  strongly  alkaliue ; 
and  so  supplied  with  sand,  or  other  opening 
substance,  that  it  will  not  bake  upon  the 
surface. 

And  here  we  come  to  the  main  point  of 
this  article,  which  is  to  warn  all  young  cul- 
tivators of  the  soil  not  to  work  it,  or  to 
tramp  it,  or  run  horses  or  carts  over  it  when 
wet  or  frosty  but  not  frozen.  !More  harm 
is  done  in  this  country,  by  the  careless  work- 
ing of  the  soil  when  wee  and  slicky  than 
can  be  repaired  by  the  best  cultivatio^nd 
the  most  expensive  manuring.  To  the 
young  farmer  and  gardener  we  say  strongly 
and  tarmst/i/,  never  work  your  soil  or  allow 
your  men  or  carts  to  run  over  it  when  it  is 
wet  and  mueky.  No  matter  how  backward 
may  be  the  season,  icaii,  tcaii  till  the  soil  is 


96 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[Februaey 


in  a  condition  to  be  workedfcbefore  you  at- 
tempt to  plow  it,  or  put  in  ^ur  seed."  The 
whole  advantiio-e  of  plowing  is  destroyed  by 
"  bunging  up"  the  soil  in  wet  weather.  You 
may  break  up  the  old  lumps  of  soil,  but  for 
every  lump  so  broken  you  create  a  dozen 
balls  of  earth  as  hard  as  a  mass  of  mortar, 
which  years  of  after  culture  will  scarcely 
reduce  to  a  state  of  fine  divisions  suitable 
for  the  resting  place  of  plants.  Work  your 
soil  freely  and  constantly  in  fine,  dry  wea- 
ther, when  not  too  windy,  and  you  will  be 
richly  repaid  for  improving  the  physical, 
and  mechanical  condition  of  your  land ; 
but  beware  how  you  touch  it,  or  tread  upon 
it  even,  when  wet  and  pasty.  We  know  of 
no  error  so  fatal  to  good  farming  or  garden- 
ing as  this  of  working  wet  and  half-frosted 
soil. 


Advantages  of  Pulverizing  the  Soil. 

The  effects  of  pulverization  or  stirring  the 
soil  are  numerous  : 

1.  It  gives  free  scope  to  the  roots  of  ve- 
getables; and  they  become  more  fibrous  in 
a  loose  than  in  a  hard  soil,  by  which  the 
mouths  or  pores  become  more  numerous,  and 
such  food  as  is  in  the  soil  has  a  better  chance 
of  being  sought  after  and  taken  up  by  them. 

2.  It  admits  the  atmospheric  air  to  the 
spongioles  of  the  rootrs — without  which  no 
plant  can  make  a  healthy  growth. 

3.  It  increases  the  capillary  attraction  or 
sponge-like  property  of  soils,  by  which  their 
humidity  is  rendered  more  uniform  ;  and  in 
a  hot  season  it  increases  the  deposit  of  dew, 
and  admits  it  to  the  roots. 

4.  It  increases  the  temperature  of  the  soil 
in  the  spring,  by  admitting  the  warm  air  and 
t«pid  rain. 

5.  It  increases  the  supply  of  organic  food. 
The  atmosphere  contains  carbonic  acid,  am- 
monia, and  nitric  acid, — all  most  powerful 
fertilizers  and  solvents.  A  loose  soil  attracts 
and  condenses  thetn.  Rain  and  dew,  also, 
contain  them.  And  when  these  fertilizing 
gases  are  carried  into  the  soil  by  rain  water, 
they  are  absorbed  and  retained  by  the  soil, 
for  the  use  of  plants.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  soil  is  hard,  the  water  runs  off  the 
surAfee,  and  instead  of  leaving  these  gasses 
in  the  soil,  carries  off  some  of  the  best  por- 
tions of  the  soil  with  it.  Thus,  what  might 
be  a  benefit  becomes  an  injury. 

6.  By  means  of  pulverization,  a  portion 
of  the  atmospheric  air  is  buried  in  the  soil, 


and  it  is  supposed  that  ammonia  and  nitric 
acid  are  formed  by  the  mutual  decomposi- 
tion of  this  air  and  the  moisture  of  the  soil 
— heat  also  being  evolved  by  the  changes. 

7.  Pulverization  of  the  surface  of  soils 
.serve  to  retain  the  moisture  in  the  sub-soil, 
and  to  prevent  it  from  being  penetrated  by 
heat  from  a  warmer,  as  well  as  from  radia- 
ting its  heat  to  a  colder  atmosphere  than 
itself.  These  effects  are  produced  by  the 
porosity  of  the  pulverized  stratum,  which 
acts  as  a  mulch,  especially  on  heavy  soils. 

8.  Pulverization,  also,  as  the  combined 
effect  of  several  of  the  preceding  causes, 
accelerates  the  decomposition  of  the  organ- 
ic matter  in  the  soil,  and  the  disintegration 
of  the  mineral  matter;  and  thus  prepares 
the  inert  matter  of  the  soil  for  assimilation 
by  the  plants. —  Genesee  Farmer. 


Advantages  of  Moistened  Food  over  that 
which  is  Dry, 

Besides  the  benefit  secured  by  causing 
the  ground  grain  to  adhere  to  cut  hay  or 
straw  when  wet,  it  has  been  ascertained  by 
Boussingault  in  some  well  conducted  exper- 
iments, that  soaked  fodder  forms  a  more 
suitable  food  than  that  which  is  dry.  He 
found  that  heifers  fed  with  soaked  hay  gain- 
ed in  weight  over  those  fed  during  the  same 
time  with  dry  hay.  By  reversing  the  order 
of  feeding,  the  results  were  the  same.  The 
experiments  referred  to  appear  to  have  been 
simply  to  test  the  advantages  of  moistened 
food  over  that  which  is  dry.  Notwithstand- 
ing i\\G.  moistening  of  hay  will  render,  it 
more  readily  digestible,  yet  the  advantages 
gained  would  hardly  warrant  the  labor.  But 
in  ruminating  animals  a  great  advantage 
results  from  feeding  the  grain  in  combina- 
tion with  the  hay  or  straw,  and  this  can 
only  be  done  bygriiding  the  former,  and 
cutting  and-wetting  the  latter.  But  to  do 
this  economically  all  the  necessary  appli- 
ances must  be  at  hand  for  grinding,  cutting, 
wetting,  &c.  With  these,  arranged  as  they 
may  be,  a  large  number  of  cattle  may  be 
fed  with  no  great  increase  of  labor.  This 
system  of  feeding  in  stalls  affords  the  ad- 
vantage of  saving  and  making  a  greater 
quantity  of  manure  than  by  any  -other, 
which  ought  to  be,  if  it  is  not,  a  matter  of 
the  first  importance  to  every  farmer. 

Valley  Farmer. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


97 


For  the  Soiilhcrn  Phtnttr. 

Advice  to  Young  Farmers. 

In  a  former  article  wc  told  our  young 
farmer  friends  of  the  importance  of  steady 
government,  both  of  one's  self,  and  of  his 
household.  We  told  him  of  our  preference 
in  r^ard  to  the  style  of  building  dwelling 
houses,  negro  quarters,  and  the  importance 
of  cleanliness  about  that  departm^ent  of  his 
premises.  We  told  him  how  we  would 
place  our  stables,  and  of  the  style  of  con- 
struction,— and  now  we  will  go  on  to  speak 
very  briefly  of  the  cow  houses,  the  corn 
houses,  wheat  barns,  wagon  sheds,  wagons, 
carts,  (Src,  tobacco  houses,  the  preparation 
of  plant  beds,  the  cultivation  and  manage- 
ment of  the  tobacco  crop,  the  cultivation 
and  management  of  the  corn  crop — to- 
gether with  the  manner  of  feeding  it  and 
other  grains.  We  will  talk  about  the  cul- 
ture of  wheat,  not  theoretically,  chemi- 
cally, but  as  we  have  seen  it  cultivated, 
and  cultivated  it  ourselves;  of  making  and 
applying  manure, — then  of  sheep,  hogs,  and 
•ther  stock.  But  lest  we  tire  them  with  the 
enumeration,  we  will  jump  right  into  the 
midst  of  things,  and  continue  our  sage  re- 
marks— sage,  we  say,  because  all  old  men 
think  their  observations  and  practices  are 
sage. 

cow    SHELTERS. 

We  prefer  these  to  be  open  sheds,  closed 
up  on  the  north  and  west  side.  Like  the 
stables,  these  also  should  be  built  on  posts  ; 
eight  feet  apart;  seven  to  eight  feet  pitch 
in  front;  let  into  the  ground  two  and  a  half 
or  three  feet ;  twelve  feet  wide,  and  as  low 
behind  as  will  cause  the  water  to  run  off 
readily.  These  shelters  should  be  divided 
into  at  least  three  compartments,  for  the 
milch  cows,  for  the  oxen,  and  for  the  young 
cattle.  They  should  also  be  built  adjoin- 
ing, or  as  near  to  the  stable  and  the  frcfch 
water  as  possible,  for  the  double  reason, 
that  this  kind  of  stock  are  especially  liable 
to  suffer  for  water,  and  because  the  master 
can  take  all  these  things  into  his  eye  at  a 
glance — Avithout  which  eye  daily,  'tis  vain 
for  you  ''  to  sit  up  late,  or  eat  the  bread  of 
carefulness."  Suffice  it — 'tis  more  than 
corn  or  foddering  to  the  poor  beasts ! 

CORN    HOUSES. 

We  would  build  these  at  loasi  twenty  by 
twenty  feet,  in  order  that  full  room   might 
be  had  in  front  for  shellin<;,  &c. ;  this  outer, 
7 


apartment,  how^'er,  might  be  covered  over- 
head with  plank,  so  that  the  corn  thrown 
in  through  an  upper  door  may  fill  overhead 
in  this  space.  We  prefer  these  houses 
framed  in  the  usual  manner,  with  strong 
studding  six  or  eight  feet  apart,  and  strip- 
ped perpendicularly  on  the  inside,  with 
strips  four  inches  wide  and  one  thick. 
Ten  or  twelve  feet  pitch  will  admit  of  a 
vagon  shelter  on  each  side  of  it  sufficient 
for  two  or  more  of  these  important  imple- 
ments in  good  husbandry.  Be  sure,  how- 
ever, to  have  these  sheds  built  so  as  that  it 
is  easier  to  leave  the  wagons  in  them  of 
a  jiight  than  'tis  to  leave  them  out,  or 
you  will  find  the  shelters  comparatively  use- 
less, as  negroes  don't  understand  how  expo- 
sure can  hurt  these  things. 

But  we  have  something  more  to  say  about 
wagons,  carts,  &c.  Will  our  young  friends 
be  warned  by  us,  who  have  had  thirty 
years  experience,  against  buying  old  wa- 
gons, old  carts,  or  anything  old  that  runs  on 
wheels  ?  Aye,  and  we  will  heartily,  most 
heartily,  extend  the  warning  against  any- 
thing that  walks  on  legs,  either  two  or  four. 
No,  we  know  they  will  not,  nevertheless 
we  will  sound  the  warning !  When  (we 
were  younger  then  than  we  are  now)  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee  were  considered  the 
"  ftir  west,"  we  knew  a  very  observant  old 
man,  who  had  made  the  trip  thither  and 
back  some  thirty  odd  times  in  the  removal 
of  families  in  his  wagons,  who  remarked  to 
us  while  talk  ng  on  the  subject,  "  I  make  it 
a  rule  to  get  me  a  wagon  at ,  a  fa- 
mous wagon  factory,  and  never  to  run 
it  after  the  screws  become  loose  in  the 
taps  ;  I  sell  it  immediately, — calculating, 
from  my  experience,  that  when  they  come 
to  the  patch,  they  are  the  most  costly  pro- 
perty a  man  can  own."  This  advice  was 
from  an  old  wagoner  who  had  done  nothing 
else  for  thirty  years;  and  with  our  thirty 
3'ears  experience,  we  testif)'  to  the  truth  of 
the  declaration.  Some  great  writer,  (Car- 
lyle,  we  think,)  .says,  "  Experience  is  an 
excellent  teacher,  but  he  does  charge  such 
a  high  price  I"  We'll  suppose,  however, 
that  our  young  friends  will  be  warned  by 
our  old  wagoner  friend,  Carlyle,  and  OUR- 
SELF, — and  that  because  of  their  apparent 
cheapness  he  has  not  been  taken  in,  but 
has  had  good,  new  vehicles,  of  all  sorts, 
made  by  faithful  workmen, — he  will  find 
these  sheds  worth  to  him  fifteen  times  the 
cost  of  them  in  the  twenty  years  that   a 


98 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


good  -wagon  will  last,  if  he  ^ill  only  pitch 
the  wheels  once  in  a  summer  or  two,  and 
keep  the  running-gear  all  tight. 


have  found  no  substitute  for  hard-burning 
and  Tcry  heavy  covering,  in  the  preparation 
of  plant  land,  whilst  others  have  found  this 
substitute  in  guano.  The  quantity  of  wood  and 
trash  necGSsaiily  consumed  in  yearly  prepa- 
ration of  plant  land  is  iramcrise  ;  but  if  the 
young  planter,  in  opposition  to  the  advice 
of  our  most  esteemed  friend,  Gen.  OoWie, 
will  make  the  "  noxicu.s  weed,"  let  him  go 
at  it  say  we,  as  he  should  at  all   things  else 


WHEAT   BARNS. 

Every  farm  should  have  on  it  one  or 
more  of  these  convenient  receptacles  for 
grain.  We  prefer  thorn  small,  and  in  num- 
ber according  to  the  size  of  the  plantation. 
We  would   build  them    with    the  boarding 

nailed  perpendicularly,  because  it  takes  less  j  of  the  kind  he  may  undertake,  with  the 
framing,  and  because  the  weather-boarding, determined  resolution  to  succeed  if  fore- 
lasts  longer,  especially  when  rough-dressed  •  sight  and  industry  will  take  him  through, 
and  painted.  Having,   then,  as   soon  after  Christmas  as 

TOBACCO  BARNS.  '     possible   or  during  the  month  of  Decen>ber 

prepared  his  beds  on  any  other   but  area 

We  prefer  these  to  be  built  according  to  \  stiff  soil,  and  sowed  them,  let  him  be  sure 
the  convenience  of  the  material — either  of  I  to'  keep  them  well  tramped,  well  covered, 
logs  cut  for  the  purpose  from  the  woods,  j  and  the  leaves  off;  and  have  them  in  the 
or  with  posts  set  firmly  into  the  ground,  I -woods  if  it  can  be  so,  because  the  fly  eat 
and  weather-boarded  as  in  the  manner  pre- !  them  less.  The  land  on  which  he  plants 
scribed  for  our  other  buildings. — leaving  it  should,  if  possible,  be  gray,  or  at  any 
off  the  stripping,  however,  but  having  the  |  rate /(o^  red  and  stiff;  and  before  setting 
plank  straight-edged  and  pressed  closely  to- 'out  the  plants,  which  ought  to  be  done 
gether  in  order  to  allow  for  shrinking.  ]  certainly  by  the  10th  or  20th  June,  the 
This  latter  is  much  the  cheaper  plan  of  land  should  be  thoroughly  pulverized;  if 
building,  if  the  lumber  can  be  obtained:  new  land,  every  root  got  out,  and  if  old 
near  and  cheaply.  We  think  the  size  land,  every  clod  reduced,  until  there  can  be 
generally  preferred  is  twenty  by  twenty  feet 'no  probability  of  the  root  of  the  young 
in  the  clear,  with  four  firing  tier,  and  what  j  plant  coming  in  contact  with  obstacles  of 
is  called  the  ground  tier.  This  with  a  steep  j  this  kind.  If  it  does,  you  not  only  lose  the 
roof  will  house  with  ordinarily  large  to- {plant  which  is  of  vast  import,  but  the  sea- 
bacco  from  1000  to  1200  sticks,  with  from 'son  also;  and  this  makes  it  important,  too, 
eight  to  twelve  plants  on  a  stick.  that  the  plants  be  stuck  with  great  partic- 

PREPARATION    OF   I'LANT    BEDS.  1^     lllf^'.  ,      ,        ,  ,       , 

Having  had  the  land  gotten  into 
It  is  with  diffidence  we  speak  upon  this  |  good  tilth  with  manure,  or  guano,  or  some 
subject,  for,  while  we  have  tried  all  the  va-!aid  of  this  kind,  (for  all  lands  almost,  how- 
rious  plans  suggested  by  others,  as  well  as  |  ever  rich,  want  somethiug  of  the  kind  to 
those  suggested  by  our  ojvn  observation,  j  quicken  the  plant  in  the  ripening  process,) 
we  must  confess  that  we  have  found  it  an,  you  will  find  that  if  it  has  been  planted, 
unce  tain  business.  Our  failures  have  gen-jand  has  grown  as  fast  as  a  well  prepared 
erally,  however,  been  owing  to  our  not  .goU  should  make  it  grow,  that  it  will  have 
having  burned  land  enough.     We  can  say  to  be  stirred  with  the  hoe,   if  possible,  but 


this,  though,  without  the  fear  of  successful 
contradiction,  that  no  man  can  make  a  crop 
of  tobacco  unless  he  has  more  plants  than 
he  wants ;  hence  I  would  say  that  if  your 
land  is  light  and  rich,  and  moist,  and  tho- 
roughly burnt,  and  carefully  covered,  that 
one  hundred  yards  to  every  10,000  hills 
would  be  a  safe  dependence  ;  but  if  the 
land  is  of  a  contrary  character,  4io  matter 
how  well  burned  or  covered  it  may,  (and 
I  have  found  the* covering  to  be  of  the 
greatest  importance,)  the  10,000  hills  will 
require  at  least  one  half  more  plant  land.    We 


certainly  with  the  plow  just  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  harvest  in  Eastern  Virginia  com- 
mences. This  must  be  done,  or  it  will  be 
all  overrun  with  weeds  and  grass  before  the 
wheat  is  secured  ;  and  just  at  this  stage  bf 
the  crop,  let  me  assure  our  young  friends, 
it  is  especially  needful  that  they  remember 
that  one  stroke  of  the  hoe  or  one  hour's  la- 
bour is  worth  at  least  nine  at  another  sea- 
son. If  he  intends  to  be  quick  at  any  time 
during  the  year,  just  about  this  time  he 
should  be  stirring.  Neither  overseer  nor 
negroes  will  be  able  to  comprehend  the  im- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTEE. 


99 


portanco  ,of  this  rush;  but  let  the  master 
be  caught  oace  ■with  a  full  crop  of  tobacco 
spreading  the  hill,  at  this  season,  unwork- 
ed,  without  even  ever  so.  littlo  stirring, 
and  he  will  afterwards  remember  it,  and 
follow  our  advice,  if  he  has  to  do  it  by 
moonshine.  A  single  furrow,  or  two  at 
mosf,  struck  in  the  centre  of  the  row,  will, 
at  thjis  stage  of  the  crop,  greatly  expedite 
the  few  chops  which  will  be  sufficient  now 
for  each  hill.  After  harvest,  as  soon  as 
possible,  it  should  be  worked  thoroughly 
both  with  plow  and  hoe,  and  if  large 
enough  to  top,  it  should  be  primed,  or  have 
the  bottom  leaves  taken  off  about  from  five 
to  si.K  inches  from  the  ground,  and  then 
topped  according  to  the  quality  of  the  land 
or  the  fancy  of  the  planter;  the  high  top- 
ping having  a  tendency  to  make  it  fine, 
and  the  low  topping  making  it  coarse.  Old 
planters  say  that  a  plant  topped  to  eight 
leaves  will  make  more  in  weight  than  when 
topped  to  any  other  number.  If  this  se- 
cond working  has  been  efficiently  done,  un- 
less under  adverse  circumstances,  it  will 
rarely  be  found  necessary  to  do  more  to  the 
crop  than  chop.it  over  again.  When  plant- 
ed, as  the  crop  should  have  been,  pretty 
much  at  the  same  time,  (and  in  this  is 
showed  the  necessity  of  an  abundance  of 
plants,)  the  land  having  all  been  prepared 
with  equal  care,  the  crop  will  come  in  about 
half  and  half,- — that  is,  when  the  first  half 
is  ripe,  the  other  half  will  just  about  allow 
you  time  to  get  that  in  and  well  cured 
down,  when  you  may  proceed  to  take  in 
the  remainder.  Another  advantage  of 
making  but  two  cuttings  of  a  crop  is,  that 
it  is  cured  with  much  more  uniformity,  both 
as  regards  colour  and  quality.  AVe  prefer 
to  let  it  all  stand,  however,  unless  it  fires, 
as  long  as  the  season  will  justify,  being 
fully  persuaded  that  we  much  oftencr  cut 
it,  at  last,  green  than  ripe.  From  the  hot 
Bun  of  the  season — latter  part  of  August 
and  first  September — when  the  first  cutting 
is  made,  the  tobacco  will  burn  frequently 
before  it  will  fall  enough  to  take  up  ;  great 
diligence  should  be  used,  therefore,  to  pre- 
vent this,  as  it  destroys  the  plant  entirely 
if  thus  suflered  to  be  sun-buvnt ;  better  run 
the  risk  of  breaking  it  than  burn  it.  It 
may  either  be  hung  at  this  stage,  and  put 
on  scaifolds  in  the  field  for  a  week  or  ten 
days,  if  the  weather  will  permit,  or  taken 
immediately  to  the  house  as  it  is  hung  from 
the  piles,  and  placed  away  there.     If  this 


latter  plan  is  adopted,  however,  not  more 
than  a  day  or  two  at  farthest  should  be  suf- 
fered to  elapse  before  little  bark  fires,  a 
double  handful  in  a  place,  should  be  kin- 
dled all  over  the  floor,  so  as  to  create  in  the 
house  about  as  much  warmth  as  is  produced 
by  a  warm  sun  of  a  summer's  day.  Under 
this  process,  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two, 
the  tobacco  will  have  become  sufficiently 
yellow  to  begin  to  cure,  when  these  little 
fires  may  be  increased,  carefully,  however, 
as  the  tobacco  cures  until  they  may  take 
large  logs  on  them,  or  the  heat  may  be  so 
great  that  'tis  disagreeable  to  be  in  the 
house.  In  from  four  to  five  days  from  the 
time  of  commencing  to  cure,  the  operation 
will  have  been  completed.  When  begin- 
ning to  cure,  the  heat  should  be  increased 
gradually,  and  the  tails  of  the  tobacco 
watched  carefully,  as  to  the  lower  tiers,  for 
the  slightest  extreme  of  heat  will  coddle  or 
turn  them  black.  Before  any  of  this  pro- 
cess begins,  we  should  have  remarked,  the 
house  should  have  been  made  tight,  by 
cramming  mud  into  the  interstices  of  the 
logs.  If  the  planter  cure  by  charcoal  or 
by  flues  in  the  house,  the  same  temperature 
will  have  to  be  observed  during  the  whole 
process,  as  if  lie  had  used  the  common  wood 
fire  plan. 

A  very  great  advantage,  which  we  omit- 
ted to  mention  in  the  proper  place,  of  suf- 
fering the  tobacco  to  stand  in  the  field  to 
as  late  a  season  as  circumstances  will  ad- 
mit, is  that,  the  riper  the  plant  becomes, 
the  more  disposed  it  is  to  become  yellow, 
and  the  more  easily  is  it  made  to  assume 
that  colour  after  being  housed.  Indeed,  its 
being  of  that  colour  is  generally  considered 
by  the  purchaser  as  evidence  of  the  stam- 
ina, or  full  maturity  of  the  plant.  This, 
then,  is  an  important  consideration  in  suf- 
fering the  tobacco  to  remain  iu  the  field  as 
long  as  circumstances  will  admit.  Being 
entirely  cured,  'tis  well  to  take  it  down  in 
November  or  December  at  farthest,  and 
pack  it  away  in  a  tight  room  to  prevent  it 
"  going  and  coming,"  and  thereby  losing 
much  of  its  qualities.  To  take  it  down,  a 
warm  season  should  be  sought,  and  care 
taken  that  there  is  not  too  much  moisture 
in  it.  The  planter  need  never  fear  its  spoil- 
ing if  the  stems  will  crack  when  the  fingers 
are  applied  to  ihem. 

If  our  advice  in  regard  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  article  has  been  carefully  ob- 
served, and  the  tobacco  nicely  assorted  and 


100 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[February 


stripped,  and  grown  on  the  right  sort  of 
land,  we  will  introduce  our  young  friend  to 
the  gentleman  who  will  pa}-  liiui  from  S2'.> 
to  §50  per  hundred  for  his  crop,  if  he  will 
come  to  us  in  the  month  of  June  next. 

But,  fie  I  fie  upon  us  I  we  have  been  so 
wordy  upon  this  subject,  the  which  is  so 
objectionable  to  some  of  our  readers  that 
we  wot  of  that  we  shall  not  now  be  able 
to  talk  on  those  other  subjects  to  the  ex- 
tent we  wished. .  We  would  like  to  say  a 
word  to  our  young  farmer  friends  about 
making  and  applying  manure,  which  is  to 
the  farm  what  Mrs.  Jenkins  said  '•  grease" 
Wiis  to  religion.  ''  Ah,  Mary,"'  says  she. 
'•'  remember  there  is  i;o  religion  without 
grease  !"  So  there  is  no  fiirming  without 
manure.  AVe  would  like  to  talk  about 
sheep,  about  the  hogs,  the  attention  needed 
for  each  kind  of  stock ;  then  we  should 
have  to  talk  of  the  culture  of  wheat  and 
corn — whew  !  Will  our  dear  young  friends 
sufiier  us  ^o  bore  them  with  another  trea- 
tise, devoted  to  these  inexhaustible  themes  ? 
We  will  risk  it. 

Jan.  7tk,  1860.  L.  M. 


The  Early  English  Agricultural  Authors. 

BY  CUTHBERT  AV.  JOHNSON,  ESQ.,  F.  R.  S. 

That  the  early  inhabitants  of  our  island 
practised  agriculture  is  well  known.  That 
the  districts  bordering  on  the  English  Chan- 
nel were  better  cultivated  than  those  of  the 
interior  of  the  island,  we  learn  on  the  autho- 
rity of  Cajsar,  After  his  expedition  to  Eng- 
land, B.  C.  bo,  he  described  the  Cantii,  or 
inhabitants  of  Kent,  and  the  Belgae,  inha- 
biting our  counties  of  Hants,  Wilts,  and 
Somerset,  as  the  most  advanced  of  our 
island  tribes  in  the  habits  of  civilized  life. 
They  cultivated  the  soil,  employed  marl  as 
a  manure,  stored  their  corn  unthrashed,  and 
separated  it  from  the  chafi"  and  bran,  onl}- 
as  their  daily  demands  required.  The  inte- 
rior inhabitants  lived  chiefly  upon  milk  and 
flesh,  being  fed  and  clothed  by  the  produce 
of  their  herds.  ^-The  country,"  adds  C!T>sar, 
'•  is  well  peopled,  and  abounds  in  buildings 
resembling  those  of  the  Gauls,  and  they 
have  a  great  abundance  of  cattle.  They 
are  not  allowed  to  eat  either  the  hen,  the 
goose,  or  the  hare;  yet  they  take  pleasure 
in  breeding  them."  Cicero,  in  one  of  his 
letters,  remarks,  "  There  is  not  a  scruple  of 
money  in  the  island ;  nor  any  hopes  of  j 
booty  but  in  slaves" — a  description  that  the^ 


industry  and  intelligence  of  succeeding  ages 
have  rendered  singularly  inapplicable. 

Such  are  the  earliest  yet  meagre  allusions 
to  the  farming  of  our  island,  in  our  posses-' 
sion.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  our  ances- 
tors had  more  agricultural  knowledge  than 
we  are  always  willing  to  believe.  And  that 
this  skill  in  the  art  of  tiDage  did  not  dimin- 
ish in  succeeding  Saxon  and  Xorman  days, 
is  equally  certain.  To  the  very  earliest  ex- 
isting notices  of  the  farming  of  Saxon  times 
I  do  not,  however,  propose  now  to  direct  the 
reader's  attention.  My  intention  is  to  com- 
mence these  retrospective  glances,  with  some 
of  those  writings  or  official  notices  which 
appeared  from  the  ninth  or  tenth  centuries 
to  about  the  year  1532 — the  year  when  old 
Fitzherbert  published  his  work  on  the  Eng- 
lish farming  of  those  days. 

The  conciseness  and  spirit  with  which 
these  early  English  writers  addressed  their 
contemporaries  is  well  worthy  of  our  notice. 
They  had  evidently  little  faith  in  the  effect 
of  long  arguments  or  haif  measures.  Their 
works  could  only  be  known  in  manuscript. 
Printing  was,  in  the  days  to  which  I  refer,. 
either  unknown  or  merely  rudely  commenced. 
Our  earliest  authors,  therefore,  imitated,  al- 
most of  necessity,  the  terseness  of  our  e<irly  law 
givers,  who  practised  brevity  to  admiration. 
Now  it  is  in  the  statute  books  of  England, 
Wales,  and  the  sistcr-kiugdoms,  that  we  find 
some  of  the  earliest  notices  of  the  agricul- 
ture of  our  islands.  And  it  is  not  only  an 
amusing  but  an  instructive  inquiry  to  trace 
in  these  laws  the  primitive  notions  of  oar 
ancestors  with  regard  to  husbandry — how 
bravely  former  English  senates  endeavoured 
to  teach  farming  by  acts  of  parliament ; 
tried  to  keep  not  only  the  prices  of  food  be- 
low its  market  vabie,  but  of  labourers"  wages 
also;  how  they  earnestly  strove  to  protect 
his  growing  corn  from  vermin,  from  tres- 
passes of  all  kinds,  excepting  game,  and 
how  they  even  endeavoured  to  teach  the 
men  of  those  times  what  they  should  est, 
what  clothes  they  should  wear,  and  in  what 
rural  sports  they  should  indulge. 

Their  very  limited  knowledge  of  the  true 
princijJes  of  political  philosophy,  indeed, 
more  recent  senates  have  not  always  ex- 
ceeded, and  modern,  parliaments  have  rarely 
equalled  in  their  laws  even  the  vigor  of 
those  of  the  Houses  of  Plantagenet  and 
Tudor. 

The  reader  when  he  is  following  me 
through    some    of    these    early   legislative 


I860.] 


THE    SOU THE EX    PLANTER 


101 


writings,  must  remember  that  in  those  days 'so  increase  the  produce  of  grain  as  to  render 
the  population  of  England  was  in  all  proba-{ their  country  quite  independent  of  foreign 
bility  not  much  larger  than  that  of  London  corn ;  for  only  a  quarter  of  a  century  after- 
now.  That  the  country  was  undrained,  ilL  wards,  we  find  the  first  symptom  of  protect- 
cultivated.  and  that  only  the  richest  portions  ing  duties. 

of  the  land  were  enclosed,  commons  andj  In  14.53,  by  the  3rd  of  Edward  lY..  c.  2, 
forests  occupying  the  remainder.  Of  the  [  it  was  declared  that  "  the  labourers  and  oc- 
produco  of  that  portion  under  the  plough,  I  cupiers  of  husbandrie,  within  the  realme  of 
every  notice  which  has  escaped  to  us  be- 'England,  be  dayly  grievou.sly  endamaged  by 
trays  the  poverty.  For  instance,  in  13S7,  bringing  of  earn  out  of  other  lands  and 
on  the  manor  farm  of  Hawstead  in  Suffolk,! parts,  into  this  realme  of  Encjland,  when 
66  acres  of  wheat  produced  69  quarters  of  corn  %f  the  growth  of  this  realme  is  at  a 
grain,  26  acres  of  barley  yielded  52  quar-|low  price."  It  then  proceeds  to  enact  that 
t^rs  2  bushels  of  seed.  And  about  the  corn  shall  cot,  under  pain  of  fjrfeitnre,  be 
same  period  the  manor  farm  of  Dorking,  in  |  imported  into  England,  until  wheat  exceeds 
Surrey,  produced  from  30  V  acres  of  barley  fin  price  6s.  8d.  per  quarter,  rye  4s.,  and 
41  quarters  4  bushefe  of  grain,  28  acres  oft  barley  3s. 

oats  only  38  quarters  4  bushels.  Our  old  British  ancestors  long  before  this 

The  writers,  whose  works  I  propose  to  time  had.  however,  absolutely  prohibited  the 
hereafter  notice,  are   Greathead   or  Grote- 1  exportation  of  com. 

head  and  Fitzherbert.  But  previous  to  this '  By  the  old  laws  of  Wales,  made  certainly 
it  w!ll  be  well  to  take  heed  of  the  laws '  not  later  than  the  tenth  century,  {Ancient 
which  before  and  during  their  time  were '  iair-s  and  Institutes,  p.  655,)  it  was  ordered 
made  to  regulate  the  proceedings  of  the! that  "three  things  are  not  to  be  conveyed 
fanner.  '  '  to  a  foreign  country,  without  the  permission 

The  value  of  his  corn  early  attracted  the '  of  the  country  and  the  lord — gold,  books, 
attention  of  our  parliaments.  In  a  statute  '  and  wheat.  And  three  things  that  an  aillt 
supposed  to  have  been  made  in  1266,  the  (alien)  is  not  to  sell  without  the  permission 
51st  of  Henry  III.,  the  municipal  authori-lof  his  proprietory  lord,  lest  he  should  want 
ties  of  towns  were  thus  directed  : — "  Fii-st, '  to  buy  them  of'  him — wheat,  money,  and 
they  shall  enquire  the  price  of  wheat,  that  is :  horses.  And  where  his  lord  shall  not  buy 
to  wit.  how  a  quarter  of  the  best  wheat  was  them  of  him,  he  is  at  liberty  to  sell  them 
sold  the  last  market  day,  and  how  the  second  wherever  he  willeth,  so  that  he  do  not  sell 
wheat,  and  how  a  quarter  of   barley  and 'them  to  a  foreign  country." 

In  1533,  the  act  of  25  Henry  YIIL,  c. 
2,  for  a  time  put  an  end  to  the  exportation 
of  English  com,  and  absurdly  enough  gave 
the  lords  of  the  council  the  power  to  declare 
by  proclamation  the  prices  at  which  farmers 
and  others  should  be  compelled  to  sell  their 
commodities,  although,  as  the  preamble  of 
the  act  much  more  wisely  allows.  '*  dearth, 
scarcity,  good  cheap,  and  plenty  of  cheese, 
butters,  capons,  kc,  and  other  victuals,  hap- 
peneth,  riseth,  and  chanceth,  of  so  many 
and  divers  occasions,  that  it  is  very  hard 
and  difficult  to  put  any  certain  prices  to  any 
such  things."  • 

Long  before  the  resolute  days  of  stout  old 
Harry  the  YIIL,  the  legislature  had  been 
at  work  heartily  endeavouring  to  reduce  the 
price  of  provisions  below  their  market  value, 
for  in  1266,  by  the  51  Henry  III.,  it  was 
ordained  (and  this  statute  was  not  repealed 
until  the  8th  of  Ann,  c.  18)  that  "  when  a 
q-.  arter  of  wheat  is  sold  for  lid.  then  wastel 
bread  of  a  farthin?  shall  weish  6  lbs.  and 


oat; 

In  1360.  by  the  34th  Edward  HI.,  c.  20, 
the  exportation  of  com  was  prohibited.  It 
was  33  years  after  that  time,  that  in  1398, 
by  17  Richard  II.,  c.  7,  all  the  king's  sub- 
jects were  allowed  to  export  corn  to  any  but 
to  the  king's  enemies.  This  act  was  not 
repealed  till  the  year  1603. 

In  1436,  15  Henry  YL,  wheat  was  allow- 
ed to  be  exported  when  it  was  6s.  8d.  per 
quarter  at  the  place  of  shipment,  and  the 
preamble  of  the  act  indicates  that  the  pro- 
duce of  wheat  had  increased  beyond  the 
demands  of  the  population,  since  it  says, 
when  alluding  to  the  restrictions  on  the  ex- 
portation of  corn,  "For  cause  whereof,  far- 
mers and  other  men  ichkh  use  manim.ment 
of  their  land,  may  not  sell  their  com,  but  of 
a  bare  price,  to  the  great  damage  of  all  the 
realm." 

It  is  evident  from  this  statute  that  '"nly 
some  of  the  most  enterprising  fanuer-  then 
manured  their  corn  land.     Still  thev  did  not 


102 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[Februaky 


16  pennyweights,  (a  pennyweight  round  and 
without  any  defacing,  was  to  weigh  32  wheat 
corns  in  the  midst  of  the  ear,  and  22  pen- 
nies do  make  one  ounce,  12  ounnes  a  lb."') 
And  by  the  same  stiitute  it  is  provided  that 
''when  a  quarter  of  wheat  is  sold  for  os.,  or 
3s.  4d.,  and  a  quarter  of  barley  for  Is.  Sd.. 
or  2s.,  and  a  quarter  of  oats  for  Is.  4d.,  then 
•brewers  in  cities  ought,  and  may  well  afford 
to  sell  two  gallons  of  beer  or  ale  for  a  penny, 
and  out  of  cities  three  gallons  for  a  penny." 
The  parliament  of  those  times  were  evi- 
dently in  earnest  in  their  endeavours  to  keep 
the  bakers  and  brewers  in  order,  for  diiring 
the  same  year  (12(36)  was  passed  the  "stat- 
ute of  the  pillory  and  tumbrel,"  which  also 
continued  in  force  till  the  time  of  Queen 
Anne.  This,  like  all  our  early  statutes,  es- 
chewed all  unnecessary  verbiage.  The  stout 
barons  of  that  year  thus  commenced  their 
act :  "  If  a  baker-  or  brewer  oe  convict  be- 
cause he  has  not  observed  the  assize  of  bread 
and  ale,  the  first,  second,  and  third  time,  he 
shall  be  amerced  according  to  the  offence,  if 
it  be  not  over-grievous;  but  if  the  offence 


for  in  the  act  of  13G3,  (37  of  Edward  III., 
the  statute  of  Westminster,  made  by  the 
king,  lords,  and  commons,)  we  find  that 
,'  for  the  greath  dearth  that  is  in  many 
places  of  the  reaime  of  poultrie,  it  is  or- 
dained that  the  price  of  a  young  capon  shall 
not  pass  threepence,  and  of  an  olde  capon 
fourpence,  of  a  pullet  one  penny,  of  a  goose 
fourpence,  and  in  places  where  the  pi-ises  of 
such  vittailes  bee  less,  they  shall  holde  with- 
out being  enhanced  b}'  this  ordinance.  And 
that  in  the  townes  and  markets  of  upland, 
they  shall  be  soulde  at  a  less  prise  according 
as  may  be  agreed  upon  between  the  seller 
and  the  buyer."  This  wise  law  was  not  re- 
pealed until  the  year  1624. 

Mbre  than  two  centuries  after  this  absurd 
poultry  statute,  we  find  the  parliament  imi- 
tating this  necessarily  abortive  attempt  to 
run  counter  to  market  prices,  by  an  act  to 
regulate  the  price  of  butchers'  meat.  In 
the  year  1532,  by  the  24  Henry  YIII.,  c. 
3,  an  act  which  was  not  repealed  till  the 
year  1541,  it  was  declared  in  "an  act  con- 
cerning flesh  to  be  sold  by  weight,'"  that  all 


be  grievous  and  often,  and  will  not  be  cor- j  beef,  mutton,  veal,  and  pork,  should  be  sold 
rected,  then  he  shall  suffer  punishment  of;  by  '•  haberdepois"  weight,  and  moreover 
the  body,  that  is,  to  wit,  a  baker  to  the  pil-Uhat  no  person  should  thereafter  take  "for 


lory,  the    brewer   to   the   tumbrel   or 
other  correction." 

We  may  suspect  by  this  marked  distinc- 
tion between  the  punishment  of  the  bakers 
and  the  brewers,  that  even  then  brewers 
were  held  to  be  in  a  larger  and  more  digni- 
fied way  than  the  bakers,  since  they  were  to 
be  allowed  the  privilege  of  riding  in  a 
tumbrel. 

A  certain  degree  of  humanity  was  dis- 
played by  the  legislature,  even  in  punishing 
rascally  bakers,  for  by  another  statute  made 
about  this  time,  (Ru'ffhead,  vol.  i.,  p.  186,) 
it  was  provided  that  a  baker  should  only  be 
amerced  "if  his  bread  be  found  lacking  one 
farthing  in  two-and-sixpence  :"  but  if  his 
ehort  weight  exceeded  this,  he  was  to  be 
placed  in  the  pillory.  And  further,  it  was 
humanely  provided  that  "  every  pillory,  or 
stretch  neck,  must  be  made  of  convenient 
strength,  so  that  execution  may  be  done 
upon  offenders  without  peril  to  their  bodies." 
The  unprincipled  butcher,  by  another  stat- 
ute, {ibid, -p.  IS")  was  subjected  to  the  same 
punishment,  "who  selleth  swine's  flesh  mea- 
zled,  or  flesh  dead  of  the  murrain." 

The  lawgivers  of  the  iron  days  of  Cressey 
and  Poitiers  had  evidently  an  interest  in 
other  viands  beyond  mere  beef  and  mutton, 


any  pound  weight  of  flesh  of  the  carcasses 
of  beefe  or  porke,  above  the  price  of  an 
halfpenn}',  and  of  mutton  or  veale,  above 
the  price  of  one  halfpenny  and  half  farth- 
ing," and  after  endeavouring  to  enforce 
these  prices  by  a  penalty  of  3s.  4d.,  it  grave- 
ly continued  :  "  Provided  alwaies  that  the 
heads,  necks,  inwards,  purtenances,  legs,  nor 
feet,  shall  be  counted  no  part  of  the  car- 
casses aforesaid,  but  such  to  be  sold  for  a 
lower  price." 

The  parliament  were  not  content  with 
fixing  the  price  of  calves'  meat:  they  even 
declared  what  a  butcher  should  not  kill;  for 
instance,  in  1529.  we  find  in  the  old  statute 
books  (the  21st  Henry  VIII.),  "An  Act 
against  the  Killing  of  Calves''  for  three 
years,  because,  as  the  framers  of  the  Act 
gravely  inform  us,  "of  late  yeeres  now  pass- 
ed the  breeders  of  such  calves,  of  their 
covetous  minds,  have  used  to  sel  their  calves 
young  sucking  to  butchers,  weining,  roar- 
ing, and  bringing  up  few  or  none,  whereby 
the  increase  of  the  old  cattell  is  marvelously 
minished  and  decreased."  A  penalty  of  6s. 
8d.  is  then  imposed  upon  any  one  who 
should  kill  a  calf  during  the  next  three 
years. 

As  might  be  reasonably  expected,  the  far- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER. 


103 


mers  evidently  evaded  this  act  very  exten-f  that  even  as  kte  as  the  seventeenth  century 
eively.  But  the  Legislature  was  not  to  bo  the  flockmasters  of  Ireland  and  Scotland 
turned  aside  from  their  grave  resolves;  so.  had  a  summary  way  of  gathering  the  wool 
in  1532,  by  the  Act  of  the  24th  Henry  from  tlie  sheep,  which  their  rulers  were  en- 
VIII.,  t;.  vii.,  after  explaining  in  its  pream-  lightened  enough  to  restrain.  Thus,  by  the 
ble  that  the  act  of  1529  was  intended  to  act  of  the  Irish  pailiament,  (11  and  12 
provide  '-that  calves  once  wained  should  i  Charles  II,  c.  15,)  entitled  "  An  act  against 
not  be  put  to  slaughter  before  they  were  of:  plowing  by  the  tail  and  pulling  the  wool  off 
convenient  yeeres  and  meete  for  beefe,"  but  living  sheep,"  it  is  declared  that  "  in  many 
that  since  the  last  act  divers  bad  persons  ^  places  of  this  kingdome  there  hath  been  a 
had  continued  '"to  kill  young  beasts  called  ^  long  time  used  a  barbarous  custome  of  plough- 


wainlings,  steers,  bullocks,  and  heifares,  of 
one  or  two  yeeres  old,  or  little  more,"  it  gees 
to  enact  that  no  person  shall,  under  a  penal- 
ty of  6s.  8d.,  cause  any  cattle  to  be  killed 
under,..two  years  old. 


ing,  harrowing,  drawing,  and  working  with 
horses  by  the  tayle,  whereby  (besides  the 
cruelty  used  to  the  beast)  the  breed  of 
horses  is  much  impaired  in  this  kingdome. 
And   also  divers  have,  and  yet  do  use  the 


Then,  again,  the  same  parliament  had  like  barbarous  custome  of  pulling  off  the 
evidently  discovered  another  mare's  nest; 'wool  yearly  from  living  sheep,  instead  of 
they  deemed  the  increase  in-  the  price  of  clipping  or  shearing  them."  These  miser- 
mutton  to  have  arisen  from  the  flocks  of  able  practices  were  then  declared  to  be  ille- 
England  having  become  too  large  :  so,  as  gal,  and  to  b'e  punishable  with  fine  and  im- 
usual  with  them,  they  were  prompt  in  at-  prisonment. 

tempting  the  remedy  of  an  Act  of  Parlia-  It  is  evident,  however,  that  there  had 
ment.  been  a  previous  Irish  ordinance  on  this  sub- 

In  1533,  therefore,  the  25th  Henry  YIII,  jcct,  since  such  a  reformation  is  referred  to 
c.  13,  is  an  act  entitled,  "  Concerning  the  in  a  letter  written  to  his  Scotch  council  by 
number  of  sheep  one  should  keep."  After  King  James,  in  1617.  Chambers'  (Annals 
describing  at  some  length  the  several  enor-'of  Scotland,  vol.  i.,p.  471,)  gives  an  extract 
mities  that  do  .ensue  by  the  greedy  desire  from  a  curious  entry  in  the  Scotch  Privy 
of  having  many  sheep — some  persons  then  I  Council  Record.  The  document  states  that 
having  24,000  and  20,000  sheep — *' by  j  "  In  some  renwte  and  uncivil  places  of  this 
which  a  good  sheep  for  victual  that  was  ac-i  kingdom  an  old  and  barbarous  custom  was 
customed  to  be  sold  for  2s.  4d.,  or  os.  at  stiW  kcTpt  mp  of  plucking  the  icool  from  sherp 
most,  is  now  sold  for  6s.,  or  4s.,  or  3s.  4d., '  instead  of  dip>p>ing  it."  The  king  hearing 
at  the  least;"  it  goes  on  to  enact  that  no '  of  the  practice,  wrote  a  letter  to  his  Council, 
one  shall  have  more  than  2,000  sheep  in  |  denouncing  it  as  one  not  to  be  suffered  ;  tell- 
future,  under  a  penalty  of  3s.  4d.  for  every  ling  them  that  it  had  already  been  reformed 
sheep  above  that  number.  And  by  sec.  14 1  in  Ireland,  under  a  penalty  of  a  groat  on 
ef  the  same  act,  it  is  provided  that  no  one  every  sheep  so  used,  and  was  "  fiir  less  to  be 
shall  hold  more  than  two  farms,  under  a  endured  in  you."  The  Council  iramedi- 
penalty  of  3s  4d.  per  week  they  shall  hold  ately  (March  17,  1617)  made  an  order  to 
any  land  contrary  to  the  act.  the    same    effect;    and    after    stating   that 

And  the  legislatures  of  those  days  were  many  sheep  died  in  consequence  of  this 
not  content  to  regulate  the  number  of  sheep  cruel  treatment,  concluded  with  a  threat  of 
a  farmer  should  keep,  and  the  price  he '  severe  fines  on  such  as  should  hereafter  con- 
should  obtain  for  his  mutton,  but  they  reg-  tinue  the  practice.  "It  is  remarkable," 
ulated  the  trade  in  his  wool.  It  was  not  to  adds  Mr.  Chambers,  "  that  in  the  Faroe 
be  exported,  or,  when  it  was  allowed  to  be  Islands  there  is  to  this  day  no  other  way  of 
sent  out  of  the  kingdom,  it  was  carefully  [  taking  the  wool  from  sheep  than  that  which 
provided  that  it  should  be  sent  only  to  the  was  then  only  kept  up  in  remote  parts  of 
staple   at   Calais.     I  have  not  found  in  the  j  Scotland." 

English  statute-book  any  direction  as  to !  It  was  as  early  as  the  year  1337  that  we 
how  he  should  shear  his  sheep;  but  the:  find  the  exportation  of  English  wool  pro- 
Scotch  government  early  issued  directions  hibited.  The  same  measure  of  injustice  to 
similar  to  that  of  the  Irish  parliament  of  the  farmer  was  conferred  in  1521.  And  in 
1634.  1696  the  u-ischvi  of  Parliament  was  evinced 

The  public   acts  of  those  days  inform  us  by  the  prohibition   of   the   export  of  wool 


104 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


from  England,  or  even  from  Ireland  into 
England.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1824 
that  the  Acts  of  Parliament  restraining  the 
exportation  of  wool  were  repealed. 

The  Scotch  Parliament  were  by  no  means 
to  be  outdone  by  tliat  of  England ;  for  so 
late  as  the  year  1581,  in  the  seventh  Par- 
liament of  James  VII.,  of  Scotland,  it  was 
enacted,  "  That  no  manner  of  wool  be 
transported,  or  put  in  schippes  or  boates  to 
be  transported,  furth  of  this  realm  ill  time 
cumming."  -  A  law  had  been  previously 
made,  in  1467,  that  no  cattle  or  sheepe 
should  be  sold  out  of  the  realm  of  Scotland  ; 
and  again  in  1535,  by  the  fourth  Parliament 
of  James  V.,  of  Scotland,  it  was  directed, 
with  all  becoming  gravity,  "  That  na  man- 
ner of  men  in  time  cumming  sell  nolt, 
sheepe,  or  other  cattle,  auld  nor  young,  to 
ony  English-men,  be  himselfe  or  ony  other 
mediate  person,  nor  have  nor  send  the 
samin  in  England  to  be  sauld." 

It  sounds  strange  in  our  ears  to  read  in 
these  Scotch  acts  the  title  of  "  James,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  King  of  Scotland,  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Ireland." 

We  have  seen  how,  previously  to  1634, 
the  Irish  were  wont  to  fasten  their  horses  to 
the  plough  by  their  tails  ;  and  there  is  some 
reason  to  conclude,  from  a  print  in  a  Saxon 
manuscript,  now  in  the  Harleian  collection, 
that  our  Saxon  ancestors  did  the  same.  I 
find  no  act  in  the  English  or  Scotch  statute- 
books  relating  to  so  barbarous  a  custom : 
not  but  that  the  Caledonian  senate  legislated 
upon  the  horse  ;  they  regulated  his  shoeing, 
and  restrained  his  owner  from  over-feeding 
him.  For  in  1477,  by  the  tenth  Parlia- 
ment of  James  III.,  it  was  enacted,  "  be- 
cause ignorant  smithes,  through  ignorance 
or  diankennesse,  spillis  and  enrickis  mennes 
horse,"  that  a  smith  shoeing  a  horse  in  the 
quick  should  pay  the  cost  of  the  horse  till 
he  be  whole,  and  furnish  the  owner  with 
another ;  and  if  the  horse  will  not  mend, 
that  the  smith  hold  the  horse.  And  in 
1581,  by  the  seventh  Parliament  of  James 
VI.,  of  Scotland,  "  that  none  under  a  baron 
or  landed  man,  worth  a  thousand  merks  of 
yearly  free  rent,  keep  horse  at  the  hard 
meat  after  the  15th  of  May,  or  take  them 
in  before  the  15th  of  October,  on  pain  of 
forfeiting  the  horse."  And  the  reason  as- 
signed is  "  that  amangis  the  monie  uther 
occasions  of  deurth  of  victuallers,  there  is' 
ane  speciallie  very  unprofitable  to  the  com-! 
monweill,  quhilk  is  the  holding  of  horses  at^ 


hard  meat  all  the  summer  season,  used  com- 
monlie  be  personnes  of  mean  estaite,  cowp- 
pers  of  intention  to  make  merchandise  of 
the  said  horsis,  being  for  the  maist  part 
small  nagges,  and  na  horses  of  service." 

The  parliament  who,  in  1533,  regulated 
the  number  of  sheep  a  farmer  should  keep, 
had  more  enlightened  views  in  regard  to  the 
encouragement  of  the  linen  manufacturers. 
They  erred  strangely,  however,  when  they 
tried  to  enforce  the  cultivation  of  flax  on 
all  soils.  It  was  in  1532  that,  by  the  24th 
of  Henry  VIII.  (repealed  in  1592  by  the 
35th  Eliz.,  c.  7),  it  was  enacted,  after  a  well- 
drawn  preamble,  setting  furth  the  advanta- 
ges of  encouraging  the  home  manufacture 
of  linen,  that  every  person  having  arable  or 
pasture  land  "  apt  for  tillage"  should  every 
year  for  every  sixty  acres  in  their  possession 
sow  "  one  rode  or  one  quarter  of  an  acre 
with  line-seed,  otherwise  called  flax-seed  or 
hemp-seed." 

Here,  again,  the  Scotch  parliament  had 
long  preceded  that  of  England  in  regulating 
the  husbandman's  crops.  In  1426,  by  the 
fifth  parliament  of  James  I.  of  Scotland,  it 
was  enacted  that  "  ilk  man  tailand  with  a 
plauch  of  aucht  oxen  sail  saw  at  the  least 
ilk  zeir  a  firlot  of  cjuheatQ,  half  a  firlot  of 
pease,  and  forty  beanes,  under  the  paine  of 
ten  shillings  to  the  baronne  of  the  lande 
that  he  dwellis  in." 

When  the  English  Parliament  regulated 
the  crops  and  the  prices  of  the  farmer's  pro- 
duce, they  proceeded  to  consider  what  (hey 
deemed  the  enemies  of  his  growing  corn. 
We  find,  indeed,  that  they  thought  of  the 
crows,  for  in  1532,  by  the  24th  Henry  VIII. 
c.  10,  intituled  "  An  Act  for  the  Destruction 
of  Crows  and  Rooks,"  the  preatnble  informs 
us  that  "  Forasmuch  as  innumerable  num- 
bers of  rooks,  crows,  and  choughs  do  daily 
breed  and  increase  throughout  this  realm, 
which  do  yearly  destroy,  devour,  and  con- 
sume a  wonderful  and  marvellous  great  quan- 
tity of  corn  and  grain  of  all  kinds,  in  the 
sowing,  ripening,  and  hemelling,  and  over 
that  a  marvellous  destruction  and  decay  of 
the  covertures  of  thatched  houses,  barns, 
reeks,  stacks,  and  other  such  like,  to  the 
great  damage  and  undoing  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  all  the  tillers,  husbands,  and  sowers 
of  earth  ;"  it  therefore  provides  that  every 
town  and  hamlet  shall  provide  crow-nets ; 
and  that  takers  of  crows  have  two-pence  a 
dozen  by  way  of  reward.  This  sage  law 
was  repealed  in  1576,  by  the  18th   Eliz.,  c. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER. 


105 


15.  It  is  noticeable  that  a  century  before 
this  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  had  made 
an  onslaught  on  the  poor  rooks,  for  in  1424 
was  passed  an  act  against  the  "  bigging  of 
Ruikes  in  Trees,"  because,  as  the  statute 
adds,  they  "  dois  greate  skaith  upon  cornes." 

Straying  cattle  were  not   neglected.     It 
might    be   moreover   concluded,   from    the 
great  minuteness  with  which   the  damage 
done  by  stray  cattle  is  specified  in  our  old 
Welsh  laws;  that  either  the  farmers'  fences 
in  those  times  were  generally  in  a  dilapida- 
ted  state,  or  that  the  Welshmen   were  as 
litigious  then,  as  sometimes  they  are  suppo- 
sed to  be  now.      By  the  laws  of  Howell 
^Dda,  made  in   the  early  part  of  the  tenth  I 
century,  it  is  provided  that,  "  to  release  an 
animal   impounded,  money  payment  only  is! 
due — a  penny  for  a  horse,  a  half-penny  for' 
a  bullock^  for  a  colt  14  days  old  one  penny. ; 

Every  crop  that  a  person  shall  harvest  he  1 
is  to  look  after,  and  the  cattle  are  free.  By 
the  crop  is  understood  cojrn  after  it  is  sever- 
ed from  the  land,  wherever  it  grew,  the  pro- 
duce of  an  orchard,  cabbage,  flax  after  it  is 
out,  or  in  a  garden  uncut,  tedded  hay,  thatch 
for  houses,  and  their  fences,  leeks,  and  eve- 
rything that  pertains  to  a  garden.  '-'Let 
him  fence  so  strong  about  his  garden  that 
beasts  cannot  break  into  it ;  and  if  he  do 
not,  and  it  should  be  broken  into,  he  is  not 
to  be  compensated ;  except  for  the  trespass 
of  poultry  and  geese,  because  it  is  not  possi- 
ble to  fence,  so  as  to  exclude  them,  since 
they  can  fly."  Then  t  e  law  continued : 
''  The  barns  are  to  be  open  from  the  time 
the  first  sheaf  is  brought  into  them  until  the 
calends  of  winter,  to  admit  the  air;  and  if 
the  corn  be  damaged  during  that  period,  the 
owner  is  to  be  compensated.  From  the  ca- 
lends of  winter  onwards,  the  barns  shall  be 
closed  in  the  manner  required  :  they  are  to 
be  closed  by  three  eatherings  on  the  sill,  and 
a  wattle  upon  the  doorway,  with  three  bands 
therecJn,  two  on  the  back,  and  one  on  the 
front;  and  if  that  be  broken,  the  corn  and 
the  barn  are  to  be  compensated,  the  corn  in 
the  barn  by  giving  a  whole  sheaf  for  every 
damaged  sheaf."  (Ancient  Laics  atid  In- 
stitutes, p.  158.) 

Former,  and  indeed,  all  subsequent  Par- 
liaments, have  treated  other  enemies  of 
growing  crops,  viz.,  game,  much  more  gin- 
gerly tiian  they  did  the* cattle  and  the  crows. 
Jhis  is  shown  "by  their  forest  and  their  game 
laws.  The  abhorrence  of  poachers,  in  fact,! 
amongst  the  landowners  of  those  iron  days,  [ 


was  evidently  as  great  as  in  our  more  silken, 
or  cotton  times.  They  took  very  decisive 
measures,  however,  in  the  13th  century  to 
abate  such  unqualified  destroyers  of  game. 
In  1293,  by  the  21st  Edward  I.,  it  was  en- 
acted, "  To  the  intent  that  trespassers  in  for- 
ests, chases,  parks,  and  warrens,  may  more 
warily  fear  hereafter  to  enter  and  trespass  in 
the  same  than  they  have  heretofore,"  that 
they  might  be  hilled  if  they  refused,  on  de- 
mand, to  surrender  themselves  to  the  keeper 
or  his  assistants.  This  slaying,  however, 
the  statute  gravely  and  humanely  provided, 
must  not  be  done  by  the  keepers  out  of 
malice,  and  merely  on  the  pretence  of  a 
trespass. 

A  centuiy  afterwards,  we  find  that  even 
slayinc;  poachers  did  not  stop  f>oachino',  for 
in  1494,  11th  Henry  YIL,  c.  17.  It  was 
provided,  that  no  one  should  set  "snares, 
nets,  or  other  engines,"  to  take  "  fesants  or 
partridges."  And  a  quarter  of  a  century 
nearer  our  own  time,  bv  another  act,  that  of 
1522  (14th  and  15th  Henry  YIIL,  c.  10), 
the  hares  were  protected,  since  it  was  then 
rendered  feFony  to  kill  hares  by  tracing  them 
in  the  snow  ;  the  fine  being  6s.  8d.  upon  all 
breakers  of  the  law. 

The  treatment  of  the  farm  labourers  in 
the  times  of  which  I  am  speaking  was  evi- 
dently harsh  and  unfeeling.  They  were,  in- 
deed, serfs,  who  only  very  slowly  participa- 
ted in  that  freedom  for  which  the  Commons 
of  England  so  long,  and  at  last  so  success- 
fully struggled.  But  the  state  of  the  poor 
labourer  from  the  time  of  which  lam  speak- 
ing-down to  the  days  of  Henry  A'^IIL,  was 
still  that  of  serfdom.  Runaway  idlers  were 
to  be  enslaved  ;  sturdy  incorrigible  beggars 
might  be  executed  as  felons.  This  unhappy 
state  of  the  poor  labourer  in  husbandry 
must  be  remembered,  when  we  read  the 
harsh  statutes  by  which  their  work,  their 
wages,  and  even  their  dress,  was  regulated 
by  grave  acts  of.  the  rude  Parliaments  of 
other  days.  The  labourers  were  then  not 
even  allowed  to  abstain  from  *vork  when  they 
did  not  require  to  be  hired  ;  for  1349,  23rd 
Edward  III.,  by  "  the  statute  of  Labourers," 
it  was  provided,  as  the  preamble  states,  in 
consequence  of  the  great  pestilence  having 
carried  off  so  many  of  the  ploughmen,  and 
labourers  having  increased  their  demands 
for  wages,  that  "  every  person  able  of  body 
under  the  age  of  60  years,  not  having  to 
live  upon,  being  required,  shall  be  bound  to 
serve  him  that  doth   require  him,  or  else 


106 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


committed  to  the  gaol  uutil  he  find  surety  to  j 
serve,"  at  the  old  wages.      And  he  was  not 
allowed  to   learn   any  craft  or  trade ;  for  in 
1388,  by  the  12th  Rich.  II ,  it-was  ordered,' 
that  whosoever  served  in  hiisbaudry  until  he 
was  twelve  years  of  age,  should  so  continue.' 
The  Irish  Parliament  in  1447  passed  an  act 
to  the  same  efiect ;  and  in  1425,  the  Scotch 
Parliament,  to  prevent  idlers  in  rural  popu- 
lations, made  a  law  ''  that  ilke  man  of  sim- 
ple estate  that  suld  be  of  reason  labourers 
have  onther    (either)    halfe-an-oxe   in    the 
pleach,  or  else  delve  ilk   day  seven   fute  of 
length  and  seven  of  breadth  under  the  paine 
of  ane  oxe  to  the  king." 

Seldom  was  the  husbandman  to  have  the 
market  value  of  his  labour,  for  in  1350  by 
the  Act  of  the  25th  Edward  III.,  e.   1, 
which  remained  unrepealed   until  the  year^ 
1563  (Eliz.  c.  4),  it  was  enacted  "That car- j 
ters,    ploughmen,    drivers    of    the   plough, 
sheapheardes,  swineheardes,  and   all  other 
servantes,  shall  take   liveries  and  wages  ac-l 
castomed  the   soil  twenty  yeeres,    or   four 
yeeres  before  (by  the   previous  acts  of  the 
same  reign),  so  that  in  the   country  where 
wheat  was  wont  to  be  given,  they  shall  take 
for  the  bushell  ten   pence,  or  wheat  at  the 
will  of  the  giver,  till  it  is  otherwise  ordain- 
ed.    And  that  they  be  allowed   to  serve  by 
an  whole  year,  or  by  the  other  usual  termes, 
and  not  by  the  da}'.     And  that  none  pay  in 
the  time  of  sarcling  or  heiumaking  but  a 
penny  the  day;  and  a  mower  of  meadowes 
for  the  acre   fivepence,   or  by  the   day  five- 
pence  ;    and    reapers  of  corn    in    the   first 
weeke  of  August  twopence,  and  the  second 
weeke  three-pence,  and  so  on  till  the  end  of 
August ;  and  less  in  the  country,  where  less 
was  wont  to  be  given,  without  meat  or  drinke 
or  other  courtesie  to  be  demanded,  given,  or 
taken.     And  that  all  workmen  bring  openly! 
in  their  hands  to  the  merchant  towns  their! 
instruments,  and  there   shall  be  hired  in  a' 
common  place  and  net  private.     Item — Tliat 
none  take  for  the  thrashing  of  a   quarter  of 
wheat  orrie  ov^r  2id.,  and  the  quarter  bar-i 
lie,  beans,   peas,  and  otes  lid.  if  so  much! 
were  wont  to  be  given  ;  and  in  the  country' 
where  it  is  used  to  reape  by  certain  sheeves, 
and  to  thresh  by  certain  bushells,  they  shall  j 
take  no  more,  nor  in  other  manner  than  was' 
wont  the  said  twenty  yeare  and  before.  And  i 
that  the  servants   bee  swornc   two  times  in 
the  year  before  lord  stewards,  baillifis,  and 
constables  of  every  town,  to  holde  and  doe 
these  ordinances.     And  that  none  of  them  I 


go  out  of  the  towne  where  he  dwelleth  dur- 
ing the  winter  to  serve  the  summer,  if  he 
may  serve  in  the  same  towne,  takeing  as 
before  is  said.  Saving  that  the  people  of 
the  counties  of  Stafford,  Lancaster,  and 
Derby,  and  the  people  of  Craven,  and  of 
the  marches  of  Wales  and  Scotland,  and 
other  places  may  come  in  the  time  of  Au- 
gust and  labour  in  other  countries,  an  d  safely 
return  as  they  were  wont  to  do  before  this 
time.  And  that  those  who  refuse  to  take 
such  oath,  or  perform  that  that  they  be  sworn 
to,  or  have  taken  upon  them,  shall  bee  put 
in  the  stocks  by  the  said  lord  stewards  or 
constables,  by  three  dayes  or  more,  or  sent 
to  the  next  gaol,  there  to  remaine  till  the^ 
willjustifie  them.selves.  And  that  stockes 
be  made  in  every  towne  by  such  occa.sion 
betwixt  this  and  the  feast  of  Pentecost" 
j  By  the  same  statute, threshers,  "  tyler  and 
other  coverers  of  feme  or  strawe,  were  to 
have  3d.  per  day,  and  their  knaves  Id." 
!  We  might  reasonjibly  conclude  with  such 
w^ages  there  could  be  little  fear  of  the  labour- 
ers decking  themselves  in  fine  garments; 
but  it  seems  that  the  Parliament  of  that  time 
thought  differently,  for  in  1363,  by  the  oTth 
of  Edward  III.,  it  was  enacted  ''  That  cart- 
ers, ploughmen,  drivers  of  the  plough,  oxe- 
herds,  kowherds,  shepherds,  and  all  other 
keepers  of  beasts,  threshers  of  corne,  and  all 
manner  of  people  of  the  estate,  of  a  groorae 
attending  to  husbandry,  and  all  other  people 
that  have  not  fortie  shillings  of  goods  nor 
chattels,  shall  not  take  nor  wear  no  manner 
of  cloth,  but  blanket  and  russet  wool,  of 
twelve  pence,  and  shall  weare  the  girdles  of 
^  linnen,  according  to  their  estate,  and  that 
\  they  come  to  eate  and  drinke  in  the  manner 
pertaineth  to  them,  and  not  excessively ; 
and  it  is  ordained,  that  if  any  weare  or  doe 
;  contrary  to  any  of  the  points  aforesaid,  that 
I  he  shall  forfeit  again.st  the  King  all  the  ap- 
parel that  he  hath  so  worne  against  the  form 
,  of  this  ordinance."  This  wise  statute  was 
!  not  repealed  till  the  year  1533,  24th  Henry 
i  VIII.,  c.  13.  The  Scotch  labourers  in  hus- 
1  bandry  were  probably  more  economical  in 
their  dre.-^s,for  it  was  not  till  about  a  century 
after  this  English  Act,  that  the  Parliament 
of  Scotland  in  1457,  resolved  "  That  na 
labourers  nor  husbandmen  weare  on  the 
warke  day,  bot  gray  and  quhite,  and  on  the 
halie  dale  bot  light  Wew,  greene,  redde  ;  and 
their  wives  right  swa,  and  courchies  of  their 
awin  making,  and  that  it  exceed  not  the 
price  of  xi  pennyes  the  elne.     And  that  na 


1S60.]  THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER.  107 

•woman  cum  to  Kirk  nor*  niercat  with  her .' suddenly  discharging  his  labourer  j  but  in 
face  nius^alled  or  covered  that  she  may  not;  1444,  by  the  Act  23  Henry  VI.,  cap.  12.  it 
be  kend."  j  was  ordained  that  all  servants  in  husbandry 

But  not  only,  it  seems,  did  the  English :  should  give  warning  before  thoy  left  their 
pcasiintrv  of  that  time  indulge  in  fine  |  service,  and  that  the  wages  of  a  bailiff  should 
clothes ;  but  they  had,  it  seems,  a  taste  for  |  be  24s.  4d.  by  the  yeare,  and  cubing  price 
wearing  arms  and  bucklers,  and  for  certain !  of  five  shillings,  with  meate  ana  drinke ;  of 
amusements.  As,  in  13S8,  (^by  the  12  Eich-  a  chiefe  hind,  a  carter,  or  chief  shepherd, 
ard  II.,  c.  4,  made  at  Canterbury.)  it  was ;  20s..  and  clothing  4s.,  with  meate  and  drinke; 
enacted  that  "no  servant  of  husbandrie  or; a  common  servant  of  husbandry  15s.,  and 
labourer  Lhall  henceforth  wear  any  buckler,  i  clothing  3s.  4d. ;  a  woman  servant  10s.,  and 
sword,  or  dagger ;  .  .  .  .  but  such  servants '  clothing  4s.,  with  meate  and  drinke." 
shall  have  bowes  and  arrowes,  and  use  thel  Long  before  this  time — even  as  early  as 
same  the  Sundayes  and  holy  dayes;  and  the  tenth  century — the  laws  of  Wales  regu- 
leave  off  playing  at  tennis  or  football,  anfl  lated  the  ploughman,  placed  a  value  upon 
other  games,  called  coytes,  dice,  casting  of  his  gear,  and  protected  him  at  his  work, 
the  stone,  kailes,  and  other  such  importune ^^One  law  says,  '"There  are  three  common 
games."  i  protections  :  The  protection  of  a  session,  or 

is  time  wore  on — it  became  necessary  to  court  of  counti^- ;  the  protection  of  a  place 
alter  in  some  degree  the  wages  of  the  rural '  of  woi-ship ;  and  tlie  protection  of  a  plough 
population  and  to  decide  the  length  of  their  and  team  at  work. ' — Ancient  Zaics  ami  In- 
working  hours.  So  the  Parliament  again  sti'tittes  of  'SVa.lfs,  p.  666. 
interfered;  aud  in  1513,  by  the  6  Henry'  By  another  law  it  was  ordained  that '-the 
YIIL,  cap.  3,  i^repealed  very  soon,  however,;  legal  value  of  a  yoke  and  its  bows  shall  be 
the  wages  of  a  bailiff  were  slightly  raised  to  one  legal  penny,  a  beam  Id.,  a  coulter  4d., 
26s.  8d.  per  annum,  and  meat  and  drink,  a  cleansing  hurdle  Id.,  a  cleansing  spud  Id., 
with  5s.  for  clothing ;  and  a  common  farm  a  harrow  Id.,  a  thorn  harrow  Id." — lltid.^ 
labourer  16s.  Sd.,  and  meat  and  drink,  aud  p.  150. 

7s.  for  clothing ;  but  then  the  labourers  of;  By  a  third  law  it  was  declared  that  nei- 
those  days  were  evidently  not  very  fond  of.  ther  horses,  mares,  or  cows  were  to  be  put 
their  hard  work,  .so  it  was  resolved  to^try4othe  plough;  and  again,  '•  Xo  one  is  to 
aud  stimulate  them  by  a  section  of  the  Act,  undertake  the  work  of  a  ploughman,  unless 
in  the  following  word  :  •'  Aud  furthermore  he  know  how  to  make  a  plough,  and  nail  it; 
were  divers  artificers  and  labourers  retained  for  he  ought  to  make  it  wholly  from  the  first 
to  work  and  serve,  waste  most  part  of  the  nail  to  the  last,  or  from  the  smallest  to  the 
day  and  do  not  deserve  their  wages,  some-  largest." — IhiL.,  p.  156. 
times  in  late  coming  to  their  work,  early  de-  The  value  of  domestic  animals  was  also 
parting  therefrom;  long  sitting  at  ther  fixed  by  the  ancient  laws  of  the  Cymri, 
brakefaste,  at  their  dinner,  and  at  theirj  (/tj'<7.,  p.  128.)  A  foal  till  fourteen  day3 
noone  meate,  and  long  time  of  sleeping  at 'old  was  to  be  deemed  worth  4d..  afterwards 
afternoone  to  the  losse  and  hurt  (of  their  i  2s. ;  at  a  year,  4s.  A  working^  horse  that 
masters.")  It  then  proceeds  to  enact,  that  [shall  draw  a  car  and  a  harrow,  60  pence;  a 
from  the  middle  of  March  to  the  middle  cow  calf,  4d. ;  of  a  cow  ready  to  calve,  40 
of  September  every  labourer  "  Shall  bee  at,  pence;  of  a  steer,  16d. ;  a  lamb,  Id.;  of  a 
worke  before  five  o'clock  in  the  morning, } sheep,  4d.;  of  a  sucking  pig,  2d.;  of  a 
and  that  he  have  but  half  an  hour  for  his;  pig.  Is.  3d.;  of  a  kitten  Id. ;  of  a  cat,  2d. ; 
breakfast  and  an  hour  and  a  halfe  for  his ■  of  bees,  an  old  stock,  24  pence;  of  a  Ist 
dinner,  at  such  time  as  he  hath  season  for  j  swarm.  Is.  4d. ,  of  a  "bull  swarm,"  Is. ;  of 
sleepe  appointed  him  by  the  said  statute,  and ,  the  ord  swarm,  Sd. 

at  such  time  as  it  is  herein  appointed  that  The  old  Welsh  laws  also  limited  the 
he  shall  not  sleepe ;  then  he  to  have  but  an  amount  of  grass  land  which  a  farmer  should 
hour  for  his  dinner,  and  that  he  depart  not  hold,  and  the  trees  he  should  cut  down.  By 


from  his  work  till  between  the  hour  of  seven 
and  eight  in  the  evening."  And  then  the 
labourer  was  not  to  give  up  his  service  with- 
out due  notice  to  his  master.  There  was 
no  provision,  however,   against  the   master 


one  law  :  ••  No  one  except  a  lord  was  to 
have  more  than  two  reserves  of  grass — a 
field  and  a  meadow  ^land  appropriated  for 
hay  only,  and  enclased  by  a  fence;)  and  if 
he  will  to  keep  it,   let  him  obtain  a  cross 


I 


108 


THE    SOUTHEPtX    PLANTER. 


[February 


from  the  lord ;  and,  under  sanction  of  that,  [cattle  are  supericTr  to  the  average  quality  of 
let  him  keep  it." — (Ant.  Laics  of  Wales,' those  in  our  midst.  But  admitting  that  su- 
p.  160.)  Another  declares  that  there  are  perior  results  in  the  niceties  of  form,  quali- 
"  three  trees  that  it  is  not  free  to  cut  with-  ty,  color,  or  all  of  them,  have  been  wrought 
out  the  permission  of  the  Countrey  and  the  ■  out  by  English  breeders,  are  there  not  rea- 
Lord  an  a^rn  tree  or  oak,  and  a  birch  tree, 'sons,  cogent  and  numerous,  against //e^iera^ 


i|j»rn  tree  or 
tch  elm."— ( 


with  a  witch  elm." — {Ibid.,  p.  G76.) 

The  breadth  of  the  ancient  roads  of  our 


importing  thorou_h-bved  cattle  ? 

It  is  the  prevalent  sentiment  of  most  corn- 
island,  as  fixed  by  the  ruling  powers,  indi-  peteut  English  breeders  and  judges,  that  no 
cates  the  limited  extent  of  the  traffic  they  national  improvements  have  for  several  years 
were  intended  to  accommodate.  One  law  :  been  effected  in  the  three  old  breeds  of  Here- 
declared  that  '•  The  measure  of  a  lawful!  fords.  Herons  and  Short-Horns ;  and  it  was 
road  is  a  fathom  and  a  half,  (9  feet;)  of  a  the  accumulated  evidence  of  this  fact  which 
bye-road,    seven    feet.       Every    habitation  led  to  a  change  in  the  long  established  poli 


ought   to   have    two    footpaths,    one  to  its 
church  and  one  to  its  watering  place." 

I  have  continued  my  notices  of  these  le- 
gislative interferences  with  the  farmer  and 


cy  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society — 'Such 
change  consisting  in  the  offering  of  premi- 
ums for  specimens  of  new  breeds,  instead  of 
limiting  their  patronage  to   those  in  which 


the  labourer  down  to  the^tinle  of  Groteland,  no  further  real  excellence  appeared  likely  to 
Fitzherbert,  and  Henry  ..the  Eighth.  Be- 'be  developed.  It  is  contended  that  not  only 
fore  their  age  there  were  no  English  writ-  j  has  no  improvement  of  importance  been 
ings  on  agriculture  that  can  give  us  any  ma-  effected  by  giving  white  faces,  for  instance, 
terial  information  with  regard  to  the  prac-  to  the  Herefords, — which,  however,  does  not 
tice  of  our  early  husbandry.  (Of  Grote- 1  affect  their  intrinsic  value  ;  and  greater  ten- 
head  and  Fitzherbert  I  shall  speak  in  a  sub-  derness,  probably  resulting  from  more  gene- 
sequent  paper.)  Those  doings  of  our  early !  ral  confinement,  with  a  slight  increase  of 
Parliaments,  which  I  have  been  endeavour- ;  size,  perhaps,  in  the  Devons,  but  that  actual 
ing  to  trace,  do  not  irive  us,  it  is  true,  a  very !  deterioration  has  taken  place  in  the  Short- 
elevated  opinion  of  either  the  state  of  the  Horns — the   most  numerous  of  the  whole. 

In  view  of  this  result,  the  Royal  Agricultu- 
ral reviewer,  Robert  Smith,  in  his  review  of 
the  Chester  exhibition,  says  of  this  breed, 
that  "  it  would  be  well  if  more  attention  was 


tillers  of  the  soil  in  the  olden  times  of  Eng- 
land, or  of  the  wi.sdom  of  their  Parliaments. 
These,  however,  yield  us  not  only  considera- 
ble information  with  regard  to  some  of  the 
practices  and  habits  of  farmers  at  a  distant  |  paid  to  their  lean  meat,  and  less  to  superflu- 
period  ;  but,  moreover,  they  may  well  serve '  ous  fat.     *     *     *     Rather  than  to  encour- 


to  warn  the  Parliaments  of  after  and  more 
enlightened  times  that  the  less  the  agricul- 
turists of  England  are  interfered  with  b}' 
acts  of  Parliament,  the  better  it  will  be  for 


age  male  animals  of  a  smart  heifer-like  cast, 
without  lean  meat-quality  with  substance  be- 
ing really  essential."  This  to  our  view  is 
affirmation,  not  only  of  depreciation  but  also 


their  prosperity,  and  that  of  the   country] of  the  necessity  of  an  improved  method  of 


they  so  admirably  cultivate. 


From  the  American  Stock  Journal. 

Importing  Stock  instead  of  Breeding  it 
at  Home. 

Editor  American  SlocJc  Journal  : 


breeding  the  Short-Horns.  And  if  the 
British  breeders,  whose  skill  we  so  much 
patronize,  have  committed  such  radical  er- 
rors, what  can  be  expected  of  the  imported 
animals  so  bred  ?  What  but  the  repetition 
of  similar  errors,  already  abundant  here  ? 

If,  however,  the  present  standing  of  these 
breeds  was  entirely  satisfactory,  still  the  fact 


As  it  is  supposed  that  none  but  animals  remains  that  for  many  years  they  have  been 
of  superior  excellence  are  imported,  it  will  I  bred  in  sufficient  numbers  in  this  country  to 
be  understood  that  the  following  remarks  j  admit  ample  selections  being  made,  without 
apply  to  animals  procured  on  account  of  j  risking  deterioration  from  too  close  breed- 
apparent  superiority,  which  however  may  or!  ing.  Thus  for  years  there  has  been  no  par- 
may  not  ultimately  prove  to  be  a  matter  ofiticular  necessity  requiring  the  importation  of 
fact.  We  are  one  of  many  who  denj'  that  i  animals  for  the  sake  of  new  or  better  selec- 
either  as  to  appearance,  quality,  size,  health  jtions.  But  if  there  were  .such  a  necessity, 
or  intrinsic  value,  the  average  of  British  j  there  is  still  the  fact  of  mtir/afefc  deteriora- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PL  AN  TEE. 


109 


tion  generally  in  the  animals  thus  introdu- 
ced, not  necessarily  so  much  in  consequence 
of  excess  a?  of  great  changes  in  the  natural 
qua'lity  and  bulk  of  feed,  unless  in  some  ex- 
cepted instanoes,  from  fivorable  local  resour- 
ces and  great  care,  is  to  be  checked  for  at 
least  a  while,  and  in  instances  such  as  here 
contemplated  deterioration  be  partially  pre- 
vented, the  product  of  breeding  in  such  con- 
ditions would  not  be  a  means  of  general  im- 
provement, because  similar  deteriorations 
from  causes  of  the  same  nature  must  inevi- 
tably befall  such  animals  when  transferred 
to  our  general  quality  of  feed  and  conditions 
of  climate  ;  and,  moreover,  animals  produ- 
ced in  unusually  favorable  conditions  obtain 
a  fictitious  reputation  that  couU  jiot  accrue 
to  them  nor  be  justified  under  less  favorable 
but  more  usual  circumstances. 

It  is  reported  that  Mr.  Alexander,  of  Ken- 
tucky,— the  largest  breeder  in 'the  South — 
believes  he  has  bred  a  better  bull  for  his 
purpose  (which  is  that  of  raising  stock  for 
breeding  from,)  than  he  could  import;  and 
in  this  he  is  most  likely  correct,  and  certain- 
ly his  spirit  and  judgment  in  this  matter  are 
most  admirable,  and  cannot  be  imitated 
without  advantage  on  all  hands.  The  gen- 
eral superiority  of  the  American  horses  is 
admitted,  of  which  the  creditable  achieve- 
ments of  some  of  them  on  English  Turf  is 
an  illustration  at  hand.  Then  as  to  fine 
wooled  sheep,  England  itself  is  certainly  not 
up  with  us.  If  we  consider  the  extent  of 
intelligence  and  capital  of  our  successful 
horse  breeders — generally  by  no  means  of 
unequalled  amount — what  in  these  respects 
is  lacking  to  prevent  our  breeders  of  good 
cattle  achieving  equal,  or  even  more  impor- 
tant improvements  ?  All  that  is  attainable 
by  importing  the  old  breeds  is  novelty — not 
iuinrovement — a  mere  economical  fiction. 
For  no  material  advance  having  been  made 
in  them  for  years  in  England,  it  is  absurd 
to  anticipate  further  advantage,  from  that 
quarter,  except  on  the  principle  of  "light 
from  no  light,"  which  is  equivalent  to  hug- 
ging a  most  egregious  illusion. 

Ve  export  pork,  and  beef,  and  grain  in 
large  quantities.  Should  we  not  rather  con- 
vert a  portion  of  our  grain  into  improved 
stock,  and  export  it  in  a  more  concentrated 
and  livino;  form,  equally  for  economical  rea- 
sons, and  to  illustrate  American  skill  in 
breeding  animals,  as  entitled  to  rank  with 
that  of  other  arts  ?  Must  American  breed- 
ers of  stock  accept  a  position  not  only  de- 


pendent as  to  British  skill,  but  also  a  secon- 
dary, as  practical  men  in  their  own  day  and 
country?  We  hope  not,  for  we  believe  that 
from  its  number  and  aggregate  value,  every 
le  ding  branch  of  agriculture  should  be  dis- 
tinguished by  the  skill  displ  yed  in  .t  as 
much  beyond  that  of  other  professions  as  it  is 
more  general  and  vital  in  importance  in  every 
respect. 

When  improvement  is  a  proWible  result, 
:he  importation  of  anjmals  of  ne?c  breeds 
cannot  reasonably  be  objected  to;  but  on  the 
other  hand,  caution  and  judgment — such  as 
Sanford  Howard  appears  to  have  exercised  in 
making  examinations  and  selections  of  recent 
importations,  are  highly  necessary  in  deci- 
ding on  the  probabilities  of  improvement: 
for  as  failure  will  ensue  in  some  cases,  it  is 
necessary  to  know  beibrehand  the  reasons 
why  success  should  follow  in  others.  Im- 
porting under  such  circumstances,  is  not  a  • 
one-sided  dependent  policy,  like  that  of 
constantly  importing  old  established  breeds, 
for  reasons  frequently  humiliatingand  absurd. 
Importations  of  this  character  are  made 
either  because  Britain  is  supposed  to  have 
greater  skill,  or  a  better  climate,  if  that  of 
England  be  really  better — of  which  we  say 
nothing  here — then  it  is  nothing  less  than 
sheer  recklessness  to  transfer  their  animals  to 
the  inferior  and  consequently  deteriorating 
conditions  of  a  dift'erent  climate,  and  the  ne- 
cessarily equal  different  character  of  its  pro- 
ductions— devoted  to  feeding  stock.  A 
little  credulity  is  doubtless  a  very  good 
thing,  because  the  "  pleasure  is  as  great  of 
being  cheated  as  to  cheat."  But  to  say  that 
a  great  stock  country  like  this,  can  most  ad- 
vantageously import,  instead  of  produce  su- 
perior animals  for  the  purpose  of  general 
improvement — which  construction  is  justi- 
fied by  the  present  practice — is  a  little  too 
much  trifling  and  dallying  with  a  too  con- 
fiding creduHty, 

The  policy  of  importing,  having  too  slen- 
der grounds  to  avail  by  reason  of  the  nu- 
merous weighty  objections  against  it,  ought 
to  be  changed  as  that  of  the  Royal  Society 
has  been — a  precedent  for  you,  Messrs. 
breeders — or  more  properly,  reversed.  And 
this  because  while  imported  stock  will  inev- 
itably continue  to  deteriorate  generally,  stock 
sent  from  here  to  England  would  as  certain- 
ly improve,  and  consequently  create  a  de- 
mand for  more  of  our  animals.  This  would 
result  because  their  crisp,  watery,  sweet  and 
tender  root  feed  and  grasses  must  produce 


110 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[Febru.iky 


greater  bulk  and  rotundity  in  the  animal, 
and  more  tenderness  and  juciness,  though 
not  nutriment,  in  his  meat.  The  handling 
qualities  of  American  animals  would  gene- 
rally much  improve  with  English  feed,  from 
the  increase  of  suppleness  in  their  hides, 
and  mellowness  of  flesh,  resulting  from,  and 
corresponding  to,  the  greater  nutrition  of 
feed.  Moreover,  the  manufacturing  "beef 
eaters"  of  ?lngland  would  be  sure  to  pay 
"  Brother  Juhnathan'.'  a  good  price  and  find 
him  a  steady  market  for  a  superior  article. 
A  creditable  degree  of  spirit,  and  the  gen- 
eral interest  alike  dictate  the  policy  of  at 
least  reciprocal  exchange,  rather  than  ex- 
clusive importation  on  our  part;  and  if 
American  breeders  cannot  produce  cattle 
with  equal  skill  to  that  of  English  breeders, 
and  with  points  and  qualities  peculiarly 
American,  after  a  fair  trial,  let  us  know  the 
.reaso;i  why?  for  a  great  flock  country  like 
this,  ought  to  produce  its  own  breeders,  and 
at  least  some  peculiar  breeds,  and  the  sooner 
this  is  -done  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  gen- 
eral stock  interest  and  all  parties  concerned. 

J.  W.  CLARKE. 


Vegetable  Ivory. 

The  Ivory  Nut  Tree,  or,  as  it  is  popularly 
called  by  the  natives  of  South  America,  the 
Tagua  Plant,  is  common  in  that  country, 
and  we  believe  also  in  the  southern  portion 
of  our  State.  H  this  siiould  prove  to  be 
the  fact,  and  from  the  testimony  before  us 
we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  it,  it  will  even- 
tually form  no  small  element  among  the  re- 
sourses  of  our  still  wealth-prolific  country. 
It  is  a  tree  which  belongs  to  the  numerous 
family  of  palms  :  and  in  one  division  of  that 
order  denominated  by  botanists,  the  Screw 
Pine  Tribe.  In  South  America,  where  they 
are  found  in  great  absndance  the  natives  use 
them  to  cover  cottages,  and  from  the  nuts  they 
make  ornaments,  buttons,  ani  various  other 
articles.  In  an  early  state,  the  nuts  contain 
a  sweet,  milky  liquid,  but  afterwards  a.ssHme 
a  solidity  nearly  or  quite  equal  to  ivory,  and 
will  admit  of  a  high  polish.  Europeans  and 
our  own  countrymen  call  it  the  Ivory  Nut 
Tree,  or  Vegetable  Ivory;  and  it  has  re- 
cently been  introduced  into  the  bone  and 
ivory  manufactories  of  both  England  and 
the  United  States,  where  it  is  brought  into 
use  quite  successfully,  for  various  purposes 
as  a  substitute  for  ivory. — Ex. 


The  "Prof."  Done  Over. 

A  few  weeks  since  we  copied  from  the 
Homestead,  a  sterling  agricultural  paper 
published  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  the  analyses 
by  Prof  S.  W.  Johnson  of  four  specimens 
of  Prof.  Mapes'  Super-phosphate  of  Lime. 
It  was  the  report  of  Prof.  J.  to  the  State 
Agricultural  Society  of  Connecticut. 

In  that  table  Prof.  J.  demonstrated  that 
the  actual  value  of  Mr.  ^tapes'  compounds 
ranges  from  §12  10  to  §22  24  per  ton, 
while  the  price  charged  for  t  e  same  by 
Mr.  Mapes  is  from  840  to  $50  per  ton! 

For  placing  this  reliable  ai.d  valuable 
information  before  our  readers,  Mr.  Mapes 
addressed  :r  lon^  communication  to  us  charg- 
ing us  with  attacking  him,  a.sking  us  to  pub- 
lish a  column  or  two  in  laudation  of  this 
same  compound,  which  Prof.  Johnson  had 
shown  to  be  worth  not  half  the  price  charg- 
ed for  it. 

In  reply,  we  assured  Mr.  Mapes,  that 
should  he  furnish  the  Homestead  with  the 
evidence  of  error  on  the  part  of  Prof.  John- 
son, we  should  take  pleasure  in  transferring 
such  communication  to  our  paper.  3Ir. 
Mapes  saw  fit  to  forward  to  the  Homestead 
the  paper  addressed  to  us.  We  therefore 
give  him  the  full  benefit  of  the  article,  with 
the  commentary  of  the  Homestead. 

Prof.  Johnson  tried  Mr.  Mapes'  super- 
phosphates in  the  crucibles  of  the  Labora- 
tory of  Yale  College.  The  iesults  are  far 
more  favorable  than  in  the  experiments  we 
made  ourselves  in  the  great  laboratory  of 
nature.  In  our  greenness  with  such  special 
manures,  we  paid  Mr.  Mapes  one  hundred 
dollars  for  two  tons  of  his  ''super-phosphate 
of  lime,"  and  caused  the  same  to  be  care- 
fully applied  to  various  crops,  but  without 
the  evidence  that  the  first  dollar  of  benefit 
was  derived  from  its  use. 

In  applying  it  to  the  corn  crop,  two  rows 
through  the  middle  of  a  large  field  were 
omitted  in  its  application.  At  harvest  these 
two  rows,  with  the  two  beside  them,  were 
carefully  hu-sked  and  measured  separately, 
and  without  the  first  half  bushel's  difference. 
The  application  was  made  by  the  "  Prof.'s" 
own  rule  I  No  more  advantage  was  seen  in 
its  application  to  any  other  variety  of  crop, 
as  it  was  applied  to  several.  Science  and 
nature  decide  against  it. 

We  purchased,  the  same  season,  super- 
phosphate prepared  in  Connecticut,  which 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


Ill 


gave  a  decided  increase  to  the  crops  where 
it  wos  applied. 

What  Mr.  Mapes  chooses  to  call  "a  his- 
tory" of  Prof.  Johnson's  "conduct  towards" 
him,  is  substantially  the  history  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  editors  of  a  large  number  of  the 
leadinp:  agricultjiral  papers  of  our  country 
for  years  past.  Till  now,  we  have  remained 
silent. — Eds.  Observer. 


MAPES    ON    PROFESSOR    JOHNSON. 

We  have  recently  received  a  letter  from 
"  Prof."  Mapes,  of  super-phosphate  (with 
the  super-phosphate  left  out)  notoriety,  re- 
questing us  to  publish  an  article  addressed 
to  the  editor  of  the  New  Yqfk.  Observer, 
who  some  weeks  since  transferred  to  the 
columns  of  the  Observer  the  report  of  the 
chemist  of  the  Connecticut  State  Agricul- 
tural Society,  upon  a  class  of  fertilizers,  of 
somewhat  varying  qualities  and  prices,  which 
are  known  as  "  Mapes'  Super-pho.sphates  of 
Lime."  This  report  originally  appeared  in 
The  Homestead,  and  was,  as  our  readers  re- 
member, in  no  way  calculated  to  increase 
the  confidence  of  the  public,  either  in  the 
manufactures  or  the  representations  of  the 
Mapeses,  father  or  son. 

Mr.  Mapes  writes  :  "  You  have  seen  pro- 
per to  attack  me  in  your  paper." 
tack  no  one,  but  comment  freely  on  the 
public  statements,  actions,  and  pretensions 
of  men,  as  well  as  the  principles  they  advo- 
cate, and  the  facts  they  adduce  in  support 
of  their  views.  If  a  man  proves  himself  a 
charlatan,  it  is  no  attack  if  we  show  up  the 
truth  so  that  he  can  deceive  fewer  people. 
We  beg  our  readers  (and  Mr.  Mapes  is  one 
of  them)  <o  note  our  position  ;  it  is  purely 
defensive,  in  warning  the  public  and  putting 
farmers  and  others  on  their  guard  against 
just  such  abominable  impositions  as  those 
exposed  in  the  report  referred  to.  Errors 
of  theory  or  practice,  however,  we  are  always 
happy  to  attach,  acting  on  the  offensive  as 
long  and  as  far  as  there  is  any  fight  left  in 
them,  or  as  there  is  any  advantage  to  accrue 
to  our  readers. 

As  for  the  testimonials,  so /ar  as  we  know, 
they  are  from  very  respectable  people :  seve- 
ral of  them  we  are  personally  acquainted 
with  ;  but  what  are  they  worth  ?  Are  they 
testimonials  in  favor  of  the  application  of 
ammonia  to  certain  soils  ?  Yes.  Arc  they 
in  favor  of  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  ? 
Yes.     Of  gypsum  ?     Yes.     Of  soluble   or 


sifjjer-phosphate  of  lime  ?  In  some  cases, 
yes;  in  others,  probably  no — for  we  know 
that  the  material  sent  to  Hartford  and  sold 
by  J.  W.  Royce  &  Co.,  had  no  super-phos- 
phate in  it,  at  most  no  appreciable  amount. 
AH  these  various  substances,  each  valua- 
ble where  needed,  are  in  Mapes'  manures; 
they  may  be  of  very  great  agricultural  value 
if  needed,  but  of  ver}'  little  if  not  needed. 
Nobody  doubts  their  value,  but  the  question 
only  is,  are  they  worth  §13,  or  $50.  A  ton 
of  plaster  may  be  applied  so  as  to  increase 
the  yield  of  grass  land,  or  other  crops,  the 
value  of  $100;  yet  who  will  say  that  man 
is  not  a  hiave,  who  sells  plaster  to  the  owner 
of  such  land  for  $50  per  ton  ? 

But  Mr.  Mapes  attacks  with  misrepresen- 
tations and  false  imputations  a  gentleman, 
and  man  of  science,  who,  even  in  these  days 
of  elastic  consciences,  is  as  firm  and  inflexi- 
ble for  right  and  truth,  as  if  he  got  bless- 
ings instead  of  curses  for  it.  Our  readers 
know  and  respect  Prof-  Johnson,  and  we 
publish  this  letter  that  they  may  the  more 
effectually  know  Mr.  Mapes. 

Editors  of  the  JVr  w  York  Observer  : 

Gentleman  :— *  *  *  Taking  it  for 
granted  that  in  common  with  many  others 
W^e  at-'y*^"  have  suffered  yourselves  to  be  deceived 
by  Prof  S.  W.  Johnson,  I  beg  to  give  you 
something  of  a  history  of  his  conduct  to- 
ward me. 

In  the  early  part  of  1853,  one  of  the  im- 
itators of  my  Phosphate  caused  to  be  pub- 
lished an  analj-sis,  {a')  said  to  have  been 
made  by  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson,  of  Yale 
College,  (b)  of  my  Phosphate,  in  which  he 
makes  the  value  to  be  846,  for  which  I 
charge  850,  and  also  stating  the  sulphate  of 
lime  necessarily  formed  by  the  action  of 
the  sulphuric  acid  on  calcined  bones,  in 
the  making  of  Super-phosphate,  as  Plaister 
of  Paris ;  leaving  it  to  be  inferred,  that  I 
had  added  crude  plaster  in  the  manufac- 
ture. I  wrote  to  Prof.  Silliman,  senior,  to 
ascertain  who  Prof.  Johnson,  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, was,  and  then  learned  that  no  person 
of  that  name  held  a  Professorship  in  Yale 
College,  nor  was  there  even  a  student  in 
the  College  of  that  name,  (c)  I  subse- 
quently learned  that  this  self-styled  (6) 
Professor  S.  W.  Johnson,  was  a  student  in 
the  analytical  laboratory  in  the  yard  •  of 
Yale  College,  the  use  of  which  had  been 
given  to  Mr.  Porter,  to  enable  him  to  re- 


112 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


ceive  pupils  in  chemistry.  The  associate 
pupil  of  S.  W.  Johnson  was  Mr.  Sol'n 
Mead,  who  informed  nie  that  Johnson  was 
a  fre.sh  student  at  chemistry,  and  that  this 
analysis  was  among  the  first  that  he  had 
made,  and  that  he  acknowledged  to  Mr. 
Mead  that  my  phosphate  was  better  than 
any  of  the  others  he  had  tried,  which  in- 
cluded two  specimens  of  English  phosphates. 
This  analysis  by  Mr.  Johnson  was  full  of 
evident  errors,  {d)  all  of  which  were  point- 
ed out  by  Dr.  Charles  H.  Enderlin,  the 
former  associate  of  Baron  Liebig,  ■  and  a 
well  known  chemist  of  high  standing. 
This  paper  will  be  found  in  tlie  Workiufj 
Farmer,  vol.  v.  p.  121,  avid  most  clearly 
shows  S.  W.  Johnson  to  be  cgregiously  in 
error.  For  a  long  time  this  gentleman  was, 
we  believe,  absent  in  Europe ;  on  his  re- 
turn, vituperation  seemed  to  be  his  aliment, 
and  he  immediately  published  a  statement, 
that  although  my  phosphate  was  of  exceed- 
ing good  quality  when  he  first  examined  it, 
it  had  detcrioriated,  giving  a  new  analysis, 
and  evidently  repeating  the  errors  pointed 
out  by  Dr.  Enderlin  ;  he  also  attached  the 
result  of  my  experiments  carefully  made  on 
my  own  farm,  with  the  mineral  [ihosphates 
from  Dover,  Crown  Point,  and  elsewhere, 
which  I  pronounced  to  be  valueless  in  prac- 
tice, and  which  have  proved  so  in  England 
and  elsewhere,  where  they  have  been  ship- 
ped. In  a  book  lately  published  by  Prof. 
John.son,  called  his  "  Essays  on  Commercial 
Manures,"  (e)  he  clearly  states  that  min- 
eral phosphates  are  as  valuable  as  those 
from  bones;  consequently,  in  his  opinion, 
the  chlorapatite  or  phosphatic  rock  of  New 
Jersey,  containing  ninety  per  cent,  or  more 
of  phoshate  of  lime,  must  be  superior  in 
quality,  when  finely  ground,  to  the  best 
bone  dust ;  instead  of  which  these  mineral 
phosphates,  even  after  being  finely  ground 
and  treated  with  sulphuric  acid,  have  no 
value  as  manure. 

All  the  attacks  of  this  gen*^leman  we 
have  passed  by  unnoticed,  not  only  those 
written  over  his  signature,  but  his  anony- 
mous communications  published  in  the 
Homestead.  (/)  We  published  the  affi- 
davit of  the  foreman  and  all  the  workmen 
at  the  factory,  that  no  change  in  quality 
had  ever  taken  place  in  the  Phosphates 
there  manufactured,  and  supposed  this  to 
be  an  entire  refutation  to  the  assertions  of 
S.  W.  Johnson,  founded  upon  an  analysis, 
the  correctness  of  which  had  been  entirely 


disproved,  not  only  by  the  communication 
of  Dr.  Charles  H.  Enderlin,  but  by  the 
analysis  (,y)  of  Dr.  Enderlin,  Prof.  Hos- 
ford,  of  Cambridge,  Dr.  A.  A.  Hayes,  of 
Mass.,  Dr.  Antisell,  and  others,  and  by  the 
opinion  of  Prof.  Shepard,  formerly  of  Yale 
College,  Prof.  Higgins,  of  Baltimore,  and 
others,  and  still  further  disproved  by  the 
certificates  of  hundreds  who  had  used  the 
Phosphates  for  a  scries  of  years. 

In  the  article  referred  to  in  your  paper. 
Prof.  Johnson  commenoes  thus  : 

"  Of  all  the  many  fraudulent  and  poor 
manures  wnich  have  been  from  time  to 
time  imposed  upon  our  farmers  during  the 
last  four  years,  there  is  none  so  deserving 
of  complete  exposure  and  sharp  rebuke,  as 
that  series  oi'  trashy  mixtures  known  as 
Mapes'  Superphosphate  of  Lime.  It  is  in- 
deed true  that  worse  manures  have  been 
offered  for  sale  in  this  State,  but  none  have 
ever  had  employed  snch  an  amount  of 
persistent  bragging  and  humbuggery  to 
bolster  them  up,  as  has  been  enjoyed  by 
these." 

Now  permit  me  to  ask  whether  this  lan- 
guage is  befitting  the  office  of  a  chemist 
who  wishes  to  do  a  service  to  the  public, 
or  that  of  a  special  puff"er,  which  Prof. 
Johnson  has  most  undeniably  proved  him- 
self to  be,  of  volcanic  Guanos,  which  are 
valueless  as  compared  with  Superphos- 
phates. In  his  recent  writings  he  has  lost 
no  opportunity  for  puffing  these  misscalled 
guanos,  and  his  late  book  is  but  a  card  for 
the  venders  of  these  inferior  products  in 
his  neighbourhood.     He  then  says  : 

"  Seven  or  eight  years  ago,  Mapes'  im- 
proved Superphosphate  was  almost  the  only 
manure  of  the  kind  on  sale  in  our  north- 
ern markets;  then  it  was  of  good  quality," 
etc. 

He  afterwards  says : 

"  And  had  a  value  (calculated  on  pres- 
ent prices)  of  §44  per  ion;  it  was  sold  at 
$50  per  ton." 

Why  should  Prof  Johnson  calculate 
present  prices  on  an  article  which  he  states 
was  sold  at  $50  per  ton  seven  or  eight 
years  ago.  (A)  Jn  his  accompanying  analy- 
sis, after  admitting  the  presence  of  .sulphu- 
ric acid,  he  denies  the  presence  of  soluble 
phosphates.  This  is,  as  he  is  well  aware 
chemically  impossible. 

My  answer  to  the  whole  of  this  tirade  is, 
that  the  sale  of  Superphosphate  in  the  very 
district  where    he   resides,  and  where  the 


18G0.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


113 


paper  is  published  in  which  he  has  written  I 
most,  namely,  Hartford  and  New  Haven, ! 
have  been  five  times  as  great  in  the  yearj 
1859  as  any  former  year,  (/)  and  the  fol-j 
lowing  certificates  from  men  of  the  highest] 
standing  as  agriculturists  iti  his  State  and : 
elsewhere,  received  within  the  current  | 
year,  are  better  evidences  of  the  value  of 
the  Phosphates,  than  any  analysis  or  opin- 
ion which  may  be  oflfiered  by  this  self-con- 
stituted servitor  of  the  public,  (k) 

As  you  have  given  place  to  this  unwar- 
rantable attack  upon  me,  I  ask  in  common 
fairness  that  you  will  publish  the  above, 
together  with  the  following  abridged  cer- 
tificates :  (I) 

Yours,  respectfully, 

James  J.  Mapes. 

NOTES. 

a.  This  analysis  was  made  by  Mr.  John- 
son when  he  was  an  assistant  in  the  Yale 
Analytical  Laboratory^  shortly  after  the 
publication  of  sundry  papers  on  manures 
by  Prof.  Way,  chemists  of  the  Royal  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  (if  we  mistake  not,)  in 
which  papers  the  author  adopted  certain 
standards  of  valuation  for  the  different  in- 
gredients of  high  priced  fertilizers ;  and 
the  analyses  referred  to  were  made  with  a 
view  to  apply  the  rule  suggested,  and  com- 
pare xVmerican  superphosphates  with  Eng- 
lish. The  importance  of  the  knowledge 
obtained'  to  agriculturists  led  Mr.  J.  to  send 
them  for  publication  to  the  Country  Gen- 
tlemcui.  We  are  familiar  with  the  facts  be- 
cause we  were  at  that  time  connected  with 
the  College. 

h.  The  title  Professor  was  by  error  given 
to  Mr.  Johnson  at  that  time  in  some  agri- 
cultural paper  in  which  the  article  was  pub- 
lished. He  never  %ised  the  title  till  he  was 
elected  to  the  chair  he  now  so  ably  fills, 
though  previously  he  had  occupied  a  posi- 
tion which  would  have  authorized  its  use 
had  he  chosen.  [What  college  is  "  P>'oj[." 
Mapes  a  Professor  in  ?] 

c.  He  was  an  assistant,  not  a  student. 
A  mere  quibble  to  draw  attention  from  the 
real  issue. 

d.  This  analysis  was  the  best  for  the  man- 
ufacturer ever  made  of  any  manure  bearing 
Mapes'  name,  so  far  as  we  have  seen  pub- 
lished analyses,  for  the  reasons  that,  first,  it 
showed  it  to  be  a  first  rate  article,  and  sec- 
ond, it  waa  expressed  in  the  simplest  possi- 


ble form,  names  being  used  that  everybody 
understood,  and  the  statement  was  so  ex- 
plained that  everybody  could  understand  it, 
just  as  they  now  can  understand  every  analy- 
sis which  we  publish  from  Professor  John- 
son's Laboratory.  Dr.  Enderlin  was  em- 
ployed by  Mr.  Mapes  to  find  the  analysis 
and  the  statement  of  it  at  fault,  and  did  his 
best  to  do  so.  All  the  basis  for  fault  find- 
ing was  in  the  use  of  simple  terms  instead 
of  chemical  terms,  and  the  doctor  succeeded 
in  throwing  some  dust  in  the  eyes  of  a  few 
people,  perhaps.  The  analysis  was  not  only 
scientifically  accurate,  but  it  conveyed  to 
every  one  who  read  it  exactly  the  just  view 
— a  very  favorable  view  too — of  the  manure. 
Mr.  Mapes  did  not  know  enough  to  know  it; 
and  so  went  directly  counter  to  his  own  in- 
terests, in  employing  a  chemical  attorney^  so 
to  speak,  to  do  for  him  what  he  thought 
ought  to  be  done,  but  could  not  do  himself. 

e.  See  Prof.  Johnson's  reports  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Conn.  State  Agricultu- 
ral Society,  1857  and  1858,  and  the  same 
embodied  in  the  work  alluded  to,  published 
by  Brown  xt  Gross,  Hartford— -the  most  val- 
uable publication  on  manures  ever  issued 
from  the  American  press. 

f.  No  anonymous  communications  from 
Prof. /Johnson  have  ever  appeared  in  our 
columns. 

(J.  Were  they  analyses  of  the  can  samples 
or  of  the  manure  as  found  in  the  market  ? 
For  the  fact  must  be  known  to  our  readers 
that  Mapes  furnishes  samples  in  cans  of  a 
very  fair  quality  for  trial,  and  far  superior  to 
the  common  stock  in  market.  Whatever 
certificates  of  actual  trial  on  the  land  or  of 
chemical  analyses  of  his  manures  Mr.  Mapes 
publishes  hereafter,  or  now  asks  us  to  take 
in  evidence,  he  must  prove  that  he  has  not 
had  them  prepared  as  he  did  the  can  sam- 
ples, of  a  superior  quality  to  what  he  offers 
for  sale  in  the  market.  How  a  man  who 
was  caught  doing  such  a  trick  as  that  has 
the  face  to  ask  us  to  publish  such  an  article 
as  this,  we  cannot  conceive.  We  do  not 
doubt  Mr.  Mapes  can  make  an  article  of 
super-phospliatc  equal  to  anything  in  the 
world,  or  that  anybody  in  the  world  can 
make,  and  can  get  it  analyzed,  etc., — but  the 
question  is,  Dne^  he  send  it  to  market?  and 
to  this  we  answer,  No^  he  does  not ;  and 
more  than  that,  he  docs  send  an  article  which 
deserves  the  criticism  of  Professor  Johnson, 
which  Mr.  Mapes  sees  fit  to  quote. 


114 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[February 


Ji.  In  order  to  compare  it  better  with  that] 
in  market  now,  and  calculated  on  present 
prices,  of  course. 

i.  This  maybe  true,  but  the  sales  have 
been  very  small  in  Hartford  at  any  rate, 
amounting  to  onh'  four  tons  all  told,  as  sta- 
ted by  Mr.  Mapes's  agents  here.^ 

k.  The  State  Agricultural  Society,  in  ap- 
pointing Mr.  Johnson  their  chemist,  impose 
upon  him  certain  definite  duties,iu  fulfilment 
of  which  he  certainly  is  no  s.;'//'-constituted 
servitor  of  the  public. 

h  We  shall  not  publish  the  certificates, 
except  as  an  advertisement,  if  Mr.  Mapes 
chooses  to  present  them  to  our  readers  in 
this  form.  The  Connecticut  men  from  whom 
they  come  arc — A.  Bagley,  New  Haven ; 
Morris  Ketchum,  AVestport;  John  S.  Beach, 
New  Haven ;  Nathaniel  Weed,  Darien  ; 
Nathan  Moore,  Jr.,  Stafford,  and  A.  Wet- 
more,  Jr.,  Stamford.  We  should  be  happy 
to  hear  from  these  gentlemen  as  soon  as  con- 
venient, or  from  an}'  other,  in  regard  to  their 
use  of  this  manure — where  they  obtained  it, 
of  whom  they  obt^ained  it,  how  much  they 
used,  the  character  of  the  soil,  its  previous 
culture,  manuring,  etc.,  the  effect  of  plaster. 
lime,  guano,  or  any  other  concentrated  or  spe- 1 
cial  manure  on  the  same,  if  known,  etc. 
IN.  Y.  Observer 


Poultry  House. 

A  good,  warm  poultry  house  for  fowls  in 
winter,  and  a  cool  one  in  summer,  is  a  ixse- 
ful  structure  to  every  man  who  keeps  a  dozen 
or  more  fowls. 

We  annex  some  good  suggestions  from 
one  of  our  exchanges,  as  follows  : 

''  In  selecting  a  site  for  a  poultry  house, 
attention  should  le  paid  to  the  quality  of 
the  soil  on  which  it  is  to  be  erected,  as  also 
its  aspect.  The  soil  should  be  of  a  warm 
and  dry  character,  and  gently  sloping  from 
the  front,  that  the  wet  may  easily  run  off. 
The  aspect  should  be  such  as  will  secure  the 
greatest  possible  average  (juantity  of  daily 
sunshine  ;  and  it  should  be  as  sheltered  as 
possible  from  sharp  or  biting  winds,  or  from 
the  driving  rain.  Every  house  should  be 
provided  with  a  sufficient  quantity  ot  small 
sand  ;  or,  if  such  cannot  be  procured,  clean 
ashes  are  a  good  substitute ;  pieces  of  chalk 
are  also  a  useful— nay,  necessary  adjunct ; 
crude  lime  acts,  however,  as  a  poison.  Some 
hbrse-dung  or  chaff,  with  a  little  corn  through 
it,  is  also   a   source  of  amusement  to  the, 


birds ;  and  recollect,  that  (imusemcnt.  even 
in  the  poultry  yard,  is  materially  conducive 
to  health.  The  ashes  and  litter  should  be 
frequently  changed,  and  had  better  also  be 
kept  in  little  trenches,  in  order  that  they  may 
not  be  scattered  about,  and  may  not  thus 
contribute  to  give  a  dirty  or  untidy  appear- 
ance to  the  yard.  When,  however,  your 
fowls  Ivive  run  in  a  garden  or  field,  of  aver- 
age extent,  this  artijicud  care  will  be  repla- 
ced by  nature. 

If  the  court  be  not  supplied  with  a  little 
grass-plot,  a  few  squares  uf  fresh  grass  sods 
should  be  placed  in  it,  and  changed  everj 
two  or  three  days.  If  the  court  be  t-oo  open, 
some  bushes  or  shrubs  will  be  found  u.seixd 
in  affording  shelter  from  the  too  perpendic- 
ular beams  of  the  noonday  sun,  and  proba- 
bly in  occasionally  screening  the  chicken 
-from  the  rapacious  glance  of  the  kite  or 
raven.  If  access  to  the  sleeping  room  be, 
as  it  oushi,  denied  during  the  day,  the  fowls 
should  have  some  shed  or  other  covering, 
beneath  which  they  can  run  in  case  of  rain; 
this  is  what  is  termed  "  a  storm  house  ;''  and 
lastly,  there  should  be  a  constant  supply  of 
jnire,  fresh  water. 

Keep  your  yard  as  clean  as  j..ossible. 
Fowls  frequently  suffer  mucli  annoyance 
from  the  presence  of  vermin,  and  a  hen  will 
often  quit  her  nest,  when  sitting,  in  order  to 
get  rid  of  them.  This  is  one  of  the  tises  of 
the  sand  or  dust  bath  ;  but  a  better  remedy, 
and  one  of  far  speedier  and  more  certain 
efiicac}',  has  been  discovered  at  Windsor  by 
her  Majesty's  feeder.  The  laying  nests  at 
Windsor  are  composed  of  dry  heather  (Erica 
tetrais)  and  small  brzinches  of  hawthorn, 
covered  over  with  white  lichen.  These  ma- 
terials, rubbed  together  by  the  pressure  and 
motion  of  the  hen,  emit  a  light  powder, 
which,  making  its  way  between  the  leathers 
to  the  skin,  is  found  to  have  the  effect  of 
dislodging  every  sort  of  troublesome  para- 
site. 

Lichens  may  easily  be  collected  from  rocks 
an^l  trees,  and  the  uesti^  furnished  with  them. 
Rotten  wood,  thoroughly  dried,  produces  a 
powder  equally  destructive  to  vermin. 

The  fowl  house  should  also  be  frequently 
and  thoroughly  cleaned  out.  and  it  is  better 
that  the  nests  be  not  fixtures,  but  formed  in 
little,  flat  wicker  baskets,  like  sieves,  which 
can  be  frequently  taken  down,  the  soiled 
straw  thrown  out,  and  themselves  thoroughly 
washed  ;  hay  is  objectionable,  as  tending  to 
the  production  of  a  parasite    of  the    louse 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


115 


tribe,  thii  annoyance  of  which  will  often  [ 
drive  the  hen  from  her  nest.  Fumigation  [ 
at  no  very  remote  intervals,  is  also  highly  to  ; 
be  commended.  Nothing  is  of  more  impor-l 
tance  to  the  well-being  of  your  poultry,  than  | 
u  good,  airy  walk.  I 

•  Cleanliness,  a  free  circulation  of  the  air,  j 
and  sufficient  room,  with  proper  kinds  and  | 
quantity  of  food,  are  the  conditions  oh  which  ' 
success  iu  raising  poultry  pi-incipally  de-  j 
peuds. 

Among  the  most  necessary,  appendages  to 
every   poultry  house,   is   the   Hen  Ladder.  < 
This  is  a  sort  of  ascending  scale  of  purehes . 
onp  a  little  higher  than  the  other;  yet  not , 
exactly  ahove  its  predecessor,  but  somewhat  I 
in  advance.     By  neglecting  the  use  of  this  j 
very  simple  contrivance,  many  a   valuable! 
fowl  may  be  lost  or  severely  injured,  by  at- 
tempting to  fly  down  from  their  roost — an  j 
attempt,  from  succeeding  in  which  the  birds 
are  incapacitated,  in  consequence  of  the  bulk  j 
of  theii-  body  preponderating  over  the  power 
of  their  wing.     This  would   not,  of  course,  i 
take  place  among  wild  birds  ;  but  we  are  not  j 
to  forget  that  our  improvemenls  in  the  breed  • 
of  all  animals  tend  to  remove  the  varieties  \ 
on  which  we  expend  our  care,  gradually  far- 
ther and  farther  from  their  primitive  condi- 
tion, and  conduce  to  deprive  them  of  much 
of  their  native  activity,  and  as  our  improve- 
ments proceed    to  render  them   ultimately 
almost  useless  ;  hence  the  necessity  for  such 
artificial  aids  as  the   hen   ladder ;  and  per- 
haps, even  in   the  stable,  this  accessory  is 
more  absolutely  required  than  in  less  hum- 
ble poultry  houses,  on  account  of  the  great 
height    of    the    roosting-place." — Southern 
Homestead. 

Results  of  Art  and  Science. 

Sir    David    Brewster,   the    eminent 

Scotchman,  whose  successful  researches  into 
natural  science  have  covered  his  name  with 
universal  honor,  was  lately  inducted  into  the 
office  of  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, to  which  he  had  been  unanimously 
elected.  On  that  occasion  he  addressed  the 
professors,  graduates,  and  matriculated  stu- 
dents of  the  University,  as  well  as  a  large 
crowd  of  other  dwellers  in  the  Scottish 
metropolis.  What  he  said  upon  the  indebt- 
edness of  mankind  to  the  arts  and  sciences 
is  so  true,  that  we  take  pleasure  in  present- 
ing it  here.  Speaking  to  the  students,  Sir 
David  Brewster  said  : 


"  There  is  only  one  other  branch  of 
study  to  which  I  am  anxious  to  call  your 
attention.  The  advances  which  have  re- 
cently been  made  in  the  mechanical  and 
useful  arts,  have  already  begun  to  influence 
our  social  condition,  and  must  afiect  still 
more  deeply  our  systems  of  education. — 
The  knowledge  which  used  to  constitute  a 
scholar,  and  fit  him  fur  social  and  intellec- 
tual intercourse,  will  not.  avail  him  under 
the  present  ascendency  of  practical  science. 
New  and  gigantic  inventions  mark  almost 
every  passing  year ;  the  colossal  tubular 
bridge,  conveying  the  monster  train  over 
an  arm  of  the  sea;  the  submarine  cable, 
carrying  the  pul^c  of  speech  beneath  two 
thousand  miles  of  ocean  ;  the  monster  ship, 
freighted  with  thousands  of  lives ;  and  the 
huge  rifle-gun,  throwing  its  fatal  but  un- 
christian charge  across  miles  of  earth  or  of 
ocean.  New  arts,  too,  useful  and  ornamen- 
tal, have  sprung  up  luxuriantly  around  us. 
New  powers  of  nature  have  been  evoked, 
and'  man  communicates  with  man  across 
seas  and  continents,  with  more  certainty 
and  speed,  than  if  he  had  been  endowed 
with  the  velocity  of  the  race-horse  or  pro- 
vided with  the  pinions  of  the  eagle. — 
Wherever  we  are,  in  short,  art  and  science 
surround  us.  They  have  given  birth  to 
new  and  lucrative  professions.  Whatever 
we  purpose  to  do  they  help  us.  In  our 
houses  they  greet  us  with  light  and  heat. 
When  we  travel,  we  find  };hem  at  every 
stage  on  land,  and  at  every  harbor  on  our 
shores.  They  stand  beside  our  board  by 
day,  and  beside  our  couch  by  night.  To 
our  thoughts  they  give  the  speed  of  light- 
ning, and  to  our  time-pieces  the  punctuality 
of  the  sun  ;  and,  tljough  they  cannot  pro- 
vide us  with  the  boasted  lever  of  Arehimi- 
des  to  move  the  earth,  or  indicate  Uie  spot 
upon  which  we  must  stand  could  we  do  it, 
they  have  put  into  our  hands  tools  of  match- 
less power,  by  which  we  can  study  the  re- 
motest worlds  ;  and  they  have  furniished  us 
with  an  intellectual  plummet  by  whioh  wc 
cau  sound  the  depths  of  the  eartt,  and 
count  the  cycles  of  its  endurance.  In  his 
hour  of  presumption  and  ignorance,  man 
has  tried  to  do  more  than  this ;  but  though 
he  was  not  permitted  to  reach  the  heavens 
with  his  cloud-capt  tower  of  stone,  and  has 
tried  in  vain  to  navigate  the  aerial  ocean,  it 
was  given  him  to  ascend  into  Empyrean  by 
chains  of  thought  which  no  lightning  could 
£ace  and  no  comet  strike ;    and  though  he 


116 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[February 


ton  in   a  chariot  which  can  never  be  over 
turned." — Christian  Observer. 


The  Farm  and  the  Farmer. 

"  Much  of  the  character  of  every  man 
may  be  read  in  his  house."  This  was  a  re- 
mark of  the  late  Dr.  Downing,  and  though 
true  in  the  main,  must  be  taken  with  some 


has  not  been  allowed  to  grasp  with  an  arm  i  There  is  no  opportunity  for  concealment — 
of  flesh  the  products  of  other  worlds,  or  no  chance  for  disguise.  If  the  farmer  is 
tread  upon  the  pavement  of  gigantic ;  an  enterprising,  diligent  man,  it  is  told  by 
planets,  he  has  been  enabled  to  scan,  with ;  the  horses  and  cattle  in  their  rounded 
more  than  an  eagle's  eye,  the  mighty  crea  j forms,  sleek  coats  and  bright  eyes;  in  their 
tions  in  the  bosom  of  space,  to  march  intcl-|  playful,  happy  freaks,  and  in  their  quiet, 
lectually  over  the  mosaics  of  sidereal  sys- ;  comfortable  repose.  It  is  read  in  the  gro'rt'- 
tems,  and  to   follow  the  adventurous  Phae-  ing  crops  and  the  well  filled  barns — related 

to  every  traveller  by  the  fences  and  the 
gates,  the  barns  and  the  stables.  It  is 
heard  in  the  lowing  of  the  sheep,  and  satis- 
fied grunts  from  the  pig-pen,  and  proclaimed 
from  the  very  house-top  in  the  clarion  notes 
of  the  cock.  It  is  seen  in  thrifty  orchards, 
I  in  the  air  of  neatness  and  thoroughness 
I  that  pervades  the  whole  domain.  The  farm 
;may  be  small,  the  land  naturally  none  of 
j  the  best,  the  buildinirs  cheap;  but  natural 
modification.  Many,  had  they  the  ability, !  (j;g^g^^iti^,s  ^re,  as  far  as  possible,  overcome, 
would  cause  their  houses  to  tell  a  far  difl"er-|  jj^d  the  owner,  it  is  very  plainly  to  be  seen, 
ent  story  of  their  character  than  they  now  \  j^  j^jg  master,  instead  of  the  slave  of  cir- 
do.     The  log  cabin  or  the  cottage  that  has }  cumstances. 

weathered  the  storm  for  a  score  of  years,  j  r^^^  slothful,  negligent  farmer  cannot 
would  soon  come  down,  and  on  'ts  rums  a  j^j^g  |^ij,jself  jjjg  character  and  his  faults 
mansion  would  arise  bespeakmg  its  owners  j„.g  emblazoned  on  the  dead  tops  of  his 
man  of  taste  and  munificence,  with  a  spice  o^ehard  trees,  chattered  by  the  loose  boards 
of  vanity  and  love  of  display.  In  one  half  ^hat  dangle  in  the  wind ;  bleated  by  the 
the  cases,  persons  who  build  are  dissatisfied  half  starved  calves;  told  in  the  pitiful  looks 
with  the  work  after  it  is  completed,  rnd  too  .,„(j  speaking  eyes  of  forlorn  horses  and  cat- 
late  to  make  a  change  without  subjecting' ^i^  r^^^  ^^^^  fences  and  poorer  crops,  the 
themselves  to  great  expense.  The  house  g„g  ^^^^8  among  the  corn  and  potatoes, 
may  show  the  character  ot  the  architect, '  ^^d  finer  thistles'in  the  meadow,  speak  in 
but  not  of  the  proprietor,  unless  it  is  accord-  ^—^^„  ^^^ds  the  habits  and  character  of 
ing  to  his  taste.  Not  one  in  a  thoustmd,  if  ^^e  owner.  The  farm  may  be  naturally 
under  the  nece.ssity  of  rebuilding,  would  i  ^^e  best  in  the  countv,  the  buildings  costly, 
make  the  second  house  like  the  first,  while  ^ut  these  things  onfy  set  off  in  more  bril- 
many  who  build  fine  hoases,  have  little  to  ij^^^t  colors  the  forlornness  that  pervades 
do  with  the  work  aside  from  furnishing  the  ^he  whole.  Were  this  truth  ever  remem- 
-™^^"^-  j  bered,  that  the  character  of  the  farmer  is 

The  character  of  the  FARMER,  however,  ■  seen  in  the  farm,  we  think  many  would 
maybe  read  in  his  farm,  in  the  most  un-  strive  to  have  their  flirms  speak  for  them 
mistakable  language.  He  may  write  most  better  things  than  they  now  do. — Rural 
elegantly  and  truthfully,   lay  down  the  best  JVeto  Yorker. 

of  rules,  and   exhort   all    to   observe  them  j  

with  energy  and  zeal;    he  may  talk  most  ' ' ' " ' 

fluently,  deliver  agricultural  lectures  for  the  I  Thick  Wind. 

enlightenment  ofjhis  fellow  farmers,  which!  ^^  ^^    ^    bowler,  v.  s. 

ail  may  hear  with  pront ;  lay  down  maxims,  | 

which,  if  followed,  would  make  every  man  i      This  disease,  though  very  common  in  the 

a  good  farmer,   but   all  this  tells  not  the  United  States,  is  more  particularly  confined 

character  ot  the  man.     He  may  violate  his  to  those  horses  owned  by  farmers. 

own  rules,  disregard  his  own  maxims,  and, ;      It  is  an  affection   which  prevails  more  or 

like  the  drunkard  who  preaches  temperance,  less  in  every  village,  and  the  true  nature  of 

be  a  living  example  of  the   evils  which  he  the  disease  appears  to  have  been  buried  in 

condemns.     But  the  farm  tells  the  charac-  obscurity.     The   causes  assigned    by  many 

ter  of  the  man  in  language  so  truthful  and  authors,  are  too  numerous  to  mention..    A 

anmistakable  that  "  he  who  runs  may  read."  horse  may  be  what  is  termed  thick  winded 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


117 


from  a  great  many  diflferent  causes.  But 
what  I  allude  to,  is  the  afflictiou  under  which 
animals  are  suflFering  to  such  an  extent  at 
the  present  time. 

We  have  horses  that  are  thick  winded  or 
as  they  are  termed,  roarers;  which  arises 
generally  from  a  malformation  of  the  larj-ux. 
Again  we  see  horses  so  affected  arising  from 
a  collection  of  lymph  in  the  trachea,  thereby 
acting  as  an  impediment  to  the  free  passage 
of  air  into  the  lungs. 

We  also  see  it  in  cases  where  the  lungs 
are  slightly  tuberculous.  But  the  common 
every  day  thick  wind  arises  from  no  such 
cause.  It  is  simply  brought  on  by  the  neg- 
lect of  the  person  who  raises  or  has  charge 
of  the  animal.  This  may  at  first  sight  appear 
rather  strange,  and  saying  a  great  deal. 
But  from  my  own  personal  obseiTations,  Ij 
iiave  found  that  the  greater  number  of 
cases  of  thick  wind,  arises  from  no  other 
cause.  We  have  other  diseases  before  us 
daily  which  arise  from  similar  neglect,  but 
take  on  a  different  form :  I  allude  to  staggers. 
Some  animals  are  affected  by  this  treatment 
earlier,  and  in  a  different  form  to  others. 

That  the  staggers,  as  it  is  termed,  arises 
from  overloading  the  stomach,  does  not 
admit  of  a  doubt.  And  in  the  same  way  is 
thick  wind  brought  ton.  The  stomach  and 
intestines  become  overloaded  with  food; 
which  has  the  effect  in  course  of  the  time, 
of  increasing  the  capacity  of  both  the 
stomach  and  intestines,  from  their  being 
continually  overcharged  with  a  mass  of  un- 
digested food.  Evidence  of  this  may  be 
seen,  if  we  only  observe  the  vapor  which  is 
so  frequently  passing  from  the  animal. 

The  enlarged  states  of  the  stomach,  and 
intestines,  has  the  t-ffect  of  causing  pressure 
on  the  diaphragm  and  lungs,  thereby  caus- 
ins:  an  impediment  to  the  free  action  of  the 
lungs,  and  producing  the  difficulty  in  respi- 
ration which  is  observed  in  animals  thus  af- 
fected. The  continued  exertion  to  inflate 
the  lungs  with  air,  has  the  effect  in  some 
cases  of  producing  a  rupture  of  the  air 
cells,  and  when  this  has  taken  place  the 
animal  is  forced  to  suffer  on,  so  long  as  he 
lives.  Let  mure  attention  be  paid  to  feed- 
ing your  stock  at  regular  hours,  and  with  a 
ivasonable  quantity  of  food,  and  you  will 
^oon  find,  that  thick  winded  horses  will  be 
as  scarce  as  gold  at  Pike's  Peak. — Farmer 
and  Gardner. 


Elje  5^out|rrn  |!(:intcr. 


RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 


Diseases  in  Horses. 


We  take  it  for  granted  that  every  Virginian 
(as  he  ought  to  be)  is  Ibnil  of  horse-flesh,  and 
that  he  is  always  glad  to  have  "a  new  wrinkle'' 
added  to  his  stock  of  knowledge  in  veterinary 
science.  Consequently,  we  owe  no  man  any 
apology  for  devoting  some  of  our  time  and 
space  to  an  endeavour  to  improve  the  condition 
of  that  most  noble  animal,  the  horse.  In  speak- 
ing of  "swinney,"  we  do  not  propose  to  do 
more  than  explain  the  philosophy  of  the  causes 
which  lead  to  the  disease ;  the  existence  of 
which,  to  our  utter  amazement,  is  entirely  ig- 
nored by  some  English  veterinary  surgeons  of 
acknowledged  eminence  in  their  profession.  It 
is  hard,  however,  to  convince  a  man  that  a 
thing  does  not  exist,  when  his  eyeS  so  often 
prove  to  him  the  contrary,  and  a  satisfactory 
cause  is  presented  for  the  phenomena  to  which 
his  attention  is  directed.  Every  man  in  Vir- 
ginia, who  has  ever  owned  a  horse,  knows  that 
"swinney"  is  of  freque-.u  occurrence,  part4cu- 
larly  on  farms  whose  -'force"  is  composed  of  a 
negligent  overseer  and  careless  negroes.  Horses 
and  mules,  improperly  geared,  with  collars  too 
large,  and  employed  at  any  hard  labor,  are 
almost  sure  to  have  it. 

Causes. — Pressure  applied  to  the  shoulder  at 
improper  points,  produced  by  large  collars,  or 
badly  adjusted  hames ;  lameness  from  any  inju- 
ry, or  '-splint,"  which  may  "throw  him  off  his 
feet''  for  a  while. 

Thus,  if  a  horse  stands  for  any  length  of  time, 
with  one  fore-foot  resting,  he  is  almost  sure  to 
have  "swinney"  in  the  shoulder  of  that  side. 

Anything  which  obstructs  the  proper  circu- 
lation of  the  blood  through  the  muscles  of  the 
shoulder,  will  as  surely  bring  on  '•  swinney"  as 
a  failure  to  take  food  in  proper  quantities,  and 


118 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[February 


at  the  times,  -when  tbe  system  demanded  it_ 
would  produce  emaciation.  Every  muscle  is 
nourished  and  fed  by  the  blood  which  runs 
through  its  blood-vessels;  and,  of  course,  when 
this  supply  is  cut  off,  ''swinney''  results  as  a 
natural  cousequence.  since  the  disease  is  simply  a 
wasting  or  emaciation  of  the  muscles — a  want  of 
the  accustomed  nourishment. 

Treatment. — The  first  indication  to  be  observ- 
ed, with  a  view  to  restoring  the  diseased  parts 
to  a  natural  condition,  is.  to  re-establish  a  proper 
"circulation"  through  the  parts,  by  giving  to  the 
muscles  a  supply  of  their  natural  sustenance, 
which  shall  be  capable  of  supplj-ing  the  waste 
they  have  undergone.  The  first  thing  to  be 
done,  then,  is,  to  use  a  remedy  which  will  bring 
to  the  spot  a  fiow  of  blood,  and  "this  can  be 
effected  easily  on  the  principles,  ■well  known  to 
medical  men.  that  " wherever  there  is  an  irritation 
there  will  be  a  fiow  of  blood." 

Blisters  and  counter-irritants,  liniments  and 
Crictions,  are,  therefore,  the  remedies  generally 
employed.  The  old-fashioned  remedy  of  insert- 
ing a  "split"  of  wood  under  the  skin,  and 
separating  the  skin  from  the  cellular  tissue  and 
muscle,  is  so  barbarous  that  it  should  be  always 
discountenanced  by  every  humane  man. 

The  remedy  easiest  of  application,  and  as 
effective  as  any  other  we  have  ever  seen  tried 
is,  to  make  a  small  incision  or  puncture  through 
the  skin,  at  the  lowest  point  of  the  disease,  into 
which  put  the  end  of  a  quill,  and  blow  up  the 
skin  thoroughly.  This  operation  is  almost  pain- 
less, and  may  be  repeated  as  often  as  may  be 
desired  with  very  little  trouble,  while  the  skin 
by  the  process  is  very  thoroughly  lifted  by  this 
aerial  pressure  from  the  muscles.  The  next 
step  is  to  produce  as  active  an  inflammation  as 
possible,  between  the  skin  and  muscles,  which  may 
be  brought  about  by  injecting  with  a  small 
syringe,  through  the  punctnre,  any  stimulating 
mixture.  Tincture  of  cantharides  is  perhaps 
tbe  best  article,  or  diluted  tincture  of  iodine. 
A  strong  decoction  of  red-oak  bark,  with  some 
whisky  or  brandy  added  thereto,  would  answer 
as  a  substitute  for  the  other  articles  where  they 
could  not  be  conveniently  procured.  Tbe  effect 
of  the  application  of  these  remedies  will  be  the 
establishment  of  an  active  inflammation  ovcj- 
the  whole  surface  of  the  injured  muscles,  which 
will  be  speedily  followed  by  suppuration  of  a 
healthy  character,  the  deposit  and  organization 
of  lymph,  by  which  .the  sunken  places  will  be 
filled  up,  and  the  horse  brought  again  to  a  sound 
and  useful  condition. 


The  worst  case  of  "swinney"'  we  ever  saw 
was  cured  by  this  method,  which,  although  not 
new,  is  known  to  comparatively  few  horse 
owners. 

"HOOP    BOUSD." 

Tliis  name  is  given  to  a  thickening  of  the 
crust,  or  external  wall  of  support  to  the  foot.  A 
great  many  cases  of  lameness  are  produced  by 
it,  which  are  usually  attributed  to  other  causes. 
The  horse  with  his  foot  in  this  condition,  is  able 
to  rriove  about  as  well  only  as  a  man  would  do 
who  wore  boots  smaller  than  his  feet.  There 
can  be  no  expansion  of  the  foot  whatever  when 
his  weight  is  thrown  npon  it,  and  he  is  conse- 
quently compelled  to  limp,  and  when  he  does 
move,  to  go  in  the  most  cramped  and  stiff  man- 
ner possible. 

The  cause  may  be  either  the  fault  of  the 
blacksmith,  who  neglects  to  rasp  the  hoof  prc^ 
perly.  or  to  trim  tbe  heels;  but  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  cases  are  produced  by  keeping  them 
on  plank  floors,  and  paying  no  attention  to  moist- 
ening the  feet.  The  hoof  begins  to  grow  thick 
becomes  perfectly  dry.  and  to  have  a  white  rim 
visible  around  its  top,  next  to  the  hair  of  the 
leg,  by  which  it  is  often  concealed  from  view. 

Remedy. — Rasp  the  "quarters'"  of  the  hoof 
until,  upon  pressure  beina  made  from  side  to 
side,  it  is  discovered  the  heels  can  be  easily 
moved  towards  each  other.  In  fact,  rasp  the 
hoof  until  the  unnatural  pressure  of  the  thick- 
ened crust  is  removed.  Trim  the  heels  low. 
and  if  the  horse  is  to  be  used,  have  the  shoes 
slightly  bent  downwards  at  the  back  part,  so  as 
to  allow  riie  heels  to  expand  as  much  as  they 
can.  At  each  successive  shoeing,  have  the 
shoe  made  a  little  wiiler  at  the  heels,  unti.  the 
hoof  is  thus  gradually  brought  into  its  natural 
shape,  viz:  about  as  wide  at  the  heels  as  it  i.-s 
at  the  toe.  \ 

The   dryness   of  hoof  may   be    overcome    by 
having  the  horses' feet  "stopped"  every   night 
with  cow-dung,  and  using  a  little  oil  on  the  out- 
side rf  the   hoof  occasionally.     A   less  trouble- 
I  some  and  belter  plan,  we  think,  is  to  remove  a 
j  portion  of  the  dirt  floor  of  a  stall,  which  should 
be   re-filled  w^ith  clav,  to  which  cow-dung  and 
•  salt  may  be  added,  and  after  it  is  well  chopped 
up  with  a  hoe.  add  water  in  sufficient  quantity 
j  to  make  the  whole  floor  into  a  consistent  paste- 
j  The   horse  should   be  kept  in  this  stall  during 
I  the  day,  and  at  night  (for  tbe  sake  of  cleanli- 
ness) be  removed  to  a  dry  stall. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEEN    PLAXTEK. 


119 


The  Farmer  and  Gardener. 

We  are  indeuieil  \o  tlie  Fanner  ami  Gardener 
ail  excellent  monthly',  published  in  Philadelphia, 
for  the  \  ery  interesting  article  Mritten  for  that 
paper  by  Professor  E.  Pugh.  on  ••  Poisoning 
Land,"  for  which  credit  was  omitted  inadver- 
tently in  printing  the  article  for  this  number  of 
our  paper.  We  are  also  mdebted  to  that  paper 
for  a  very  sood  article  on  the  Physical  Condition 
of  the  Soil, by  Wm.  Bright,  Logan  Nursery, Phil- 
adelphia. 


•         Errata. 

In  our  January  number,  two  provoking  errors 
occur  in  the  article  of  3tr.  Ruffin  on  "  Slavery 
and  Free  Labour,"  &c.,  which  the  reader  is  re- 
quested to  correct.  For  '•  rates  of  improvement," 
occurring  near  the  middle  of  the  second,  column, 
page  8,  read  ratio  of  imprisonment,  and  18  lines 
above — whole  number  of  "  [negro]'"  criminals, 
&c..  strike  out  the  %vord  nesro. 


United  States  Agricultural  Society. 

The  Eighth  .inuual  Meeting  of  this  society 
was  advertised.to  be  held  at  the  '■  S;inthsonian 
Institute"  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  second 
Wednesday  in  January,  1S60,  for  the  election  of 
officers  and  the  transaction  of  business. 

We  regret  that  we  received  its  announcement 
too  late  for  our  January  number.  Especially  as 
it  was  intended  to  have  public  discussions  on 
various  agricultural  topics — among  them  "the 
establishment  of  a  Department  of  Agriculture;" 
Physical  Geography  in  its  relation  to  Agricul- 
tare :  The  Steam  Plow ;  Under  Draining,  &c., 
&c. 

As  soon   as  v*'e   learn  the  particulars  of  this  i 
meeting,  we  will,  with  pleasure,  lay  them  be- 
fore our  readers. 


Below,  our  readers  will  see  the  views  of  a 
Massachusetts  Editor,  as  to  the  course  we  should 
pursue,  to  develop  our  resources,  and  secure  tlie 
prosperity  of  our  section  of  the  Union.  He  is 
undoubtedly  right  in  his  opinions,  except  as  they 
relate  to  the  character  of  our  laborers. 

We  believe  that  it  is  to  our  system  of  negro 
slavery  alone  that  we  owe  our  entire  exemption 
from  all  those  "  i>wi»"  which  at  present  so  strong- 
ly war  against  all  the  dictates  of  Christianity, 
common  sense,  and  good  citizenship,  in  those 
parts  of  the  United  States,  where  the  ••  laboring 
population  is  free  and  intelligent ! !''  albeit  they 


are  in  so  many  instances  such  slaves  to  factious 
prejudice  and  evil  passions. 

What  a  ilASSACHrsETxs  Editor  Thinks. — The 
people  of  Virginia  and  other  sections  of  the 
South,  in  their  ill  feeling  toward  the  free  States, 
taik  of  establishing  manufactories  and  direct 
commercial  communication  with  Europe  lor 
themselves.  If  such  should  be  the  effect  of  the 
late  foray — as  unfortunately  it  will  not  be — there 
would  great  good  come  out  of  evil.  The  dis- 
solution needed  by  the  South  is  not  of  the  poli- 
tical union  of  the  States,  but  one  that  shall  give 
them  greater  independence  in  their  industry. 
Let  them  mani.facture  cloth  and  shoes  and  bats^ 
let  the  cotton  of  the  South  be  worked  into  fab- 
rics where  it  grows,  the  iron  be  laid  in  rails  over 
the  soil  beneath  which  it  now  rests,  the  gold  of 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  be  melted  and  wrought 
in  those  States,  the  wood  of  Texas  be  turned 
into  the  new  built  factories  of  that  vigorous  com- 
monwealth, M-hile  the  timber  of  Florida  and 
Virginia  is  oi<ide  into  ships  to  sail  from  and  to 
their  pons,  if  so  the  South  will.  It  is  such  a  di- 
versity of  pursuits  that  is  needed  to  make  the 
Southern,  section  9f  this  country  tlie  most  pros- 
perous land  in  the  world,  and  such  it  would  be 
if  its  laboring  population  were  free  and  intelli- 
gent.— Xeicburyport  Herald. 

Trade  of  N-:w  England  with  the  South. 

The  Boston  Post  contains  a  long  and  able  ar- 
ticle showing  the  extent  of  the  trade  between 
New  England  and  the  South,  from  which  we 
make  tlie  following  extract: 

The  aggregate  value  of  all  the  merchandise 
sold  to  the  South  annually  we  estimate  at  some 
$60,000,000.  The  basis  of  the  estimate  is.  firs:, 
the  estimated  amount  of  boots  and  shoes  sold 
which  intelligent  merchants  place  at  from  ?"iO,- 
000,000  to  $.30,'300,000,  including  a  limited 
amount  that  are  manufactured  with  us  and  sold 
in  Ne\v  York.  In  the  next  place  we  know  from 
merchants  in  the  trade,  that  the  amount  of  dry 
goods  sold  Souiii  yearly  is  many  millions  of  dol- 
lars, and  that  the  amount  is  second  only  to  that 
of  the  sales  of  boots  and  shoes.  In  the  third 
place,  we  learn  from  careful  inquiry,  and  from 
the  best  sources,  that  the  fish  of  various  kinds 
sold,  realize  $3,000,000  or  in  that  neighborhood. 
Upwards  of  $1,000,000  is  received  for  furniture 
sold  in  the  South  each  year.  The  Southern  States 
are  a  much  better  market  than  the  Western  for 
this  article.  It  is  true  since  the  establishment 
of  branch  houses  in  New  York,  Phila<ielphia 
and  other  cities,  many  of  the  goods  manufactur- 
ed in  New  England  have  reached  the  South 
through  those  houses :  but  still  the  commerce  of 
Ne'W'  England  with  the  South,  and  this  particu- 
lar section  of  the  country  receives  the  main  ad- 
vantage of  that  commerce.  And  what  shall  we 
say  of  Xe\r  England  ship  building,  th^t  is  so 
generally  sustained  by  Southern  wants  ?  What 
shall  we  say  of  that  large  ocean  fleet  that  by 
being  the  common  carriers  of  the  South  have 
brought  so  large  an  amount  of  money  into  the 
pockets  of  our  merchants  ?  We  will  not  under- 
take to  estimate  the  value  of  these  interests, 
supported  directly  by  the  South.  If  many  per- 
sons have  not  become  very  rich  by  them,  a  very 


120 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLaNTEE. 


[February 


large    number   have    either     foun<I    themselves  j  latter  county,  perhaps,  contributing   a   majority 
well-to-do,  or  else  have  gained  a  living.  I  of  members. 

Now,  -what  does  New  England  buy  of  the  j  The  officers  are.  Col.  Norborne  Berkeley.  Pre- 
South  to  keep  her  cotton  and  woollen  mills  in  :  sident;  Dr.  Joseph  G.  Gray,  Vice  President; 
operation — to  supply  her  lack  of  corn  and  flour,  j  Alexander  Grayson,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

■  .      .        I  J.  Z.  G.  H.  . 


Our  correspondent  will  pardon  us  for  publish- 
ing this  note,  which  so  well  expresses  the  in- 
formation as  to  the  Society  therein  mentioned, 
inadverdently  omitted  in  the  article  to  which  he 
alludes,  in  our  December  No. — Editoe. 


to  furnish  her  with  sugar,  rice,  tobacco,  lumber, 
etc  ?  Boston  also  received  from  tlie  slave  States 
in  1 85&  cotton  valued  at  .$-22,000  000 ;  wool 
worth  $1,000,000;  hides  valued  at  $1,000,000: 
lumber  $1,000,000,  flour  $2,500,000:  corn  $1.- 
200.000;  rice  $500,000;  tobacco  estimated  at 
$2,00<J,000.  We  thus  have  $.31,200,000  in  value, 
only  considering  eight  articles  of  consumption. 
Nor  have  we  reckoned  the  large  amounts  of  por- 
tions or  all  of  these  articles  which  arrive  at 
Providence.  New  Haven,  Hartford,  Portland  and 
other  places.  Nor  have  we  reckoned  the  value 
of  other  articles  that  arrive  at  Boston,  very  con- 
siderable though  it  be.  such  as  molasses,  naval 
stores,  beef,  pork,  lard,  and  other  animal  pro- 
duce ;  hemp ;  early  vegetables ;  oysters  and 
other  shell  fish^  game,  peaches,  etc.  May  we 
not  estimate  then,  with  good  reason,  that  New 
England  buys  of  the  South  her  raw  materials 
and  other  products  to  the  amount  of  some  $50, 
000.000  annually  ?  In  1858.  about  one  third  of 
all  the  flour  sold  in  Boston  was  received  from 
the  commerc 
in  the  same 

sold  in  this  city,  was  received  direct  from  tlie 
States  of  Delaware,  Maryland  and  Virginia. 
The  value  of  the  product  of  sugar  and  molasses, 
principally  produced  in  Louisiana  in  1S58,  was 
about  .$.33,000,000,  and  though  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  it  came  to  New  England,  nearly  one-half 
the  crop  is  consumed 'in  the  Northern  States, 
reaching  the  points  of  consiimption  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi river. 

For  the  Southern  Planter, 

Loudoun  County  Agricultural  Society, 

MiDDLEBCKG,  Dec.  17,  1859. 

Mr.  Editor, — In  your  notice  of  the  Agricultu- 
ral Societies  of  the  State,  in  the  December  No. 
of  the  Planter,  you  omitted  one  which  I  think 
deserves  notice — the  "Loudoun  County  Agricul- 
tural Society." 

I  enclose  a  paper  containing  a  detailed  report!  structure  and  minute  anatomy  of  stems.  Lee. 
of  its  last  exhibition,  from  which  you  will  ascer-  3.  Arrangement  of  leaves  ;  their  parts,  forms, 
tain  that   this   Society  is  in    a  very  flourishing  j  structure,  and   economy.     Food  of  plants.     Re- 


lallv?     In  1858.  about   one  third  ol       -         c  r-i    .         *  lu  n        ■       x-       . 

,-.   .      „  •       ,    /-         .  trine.  Sugar,  Gluten,  Albumen.    Lasein,    V  egeta 

so  d  in  Boston  was   received   Irom  i ,  ,     a,.,  ,    .    ■  ,        t         o     *•  i      •      r 

■   ,  o  ,     r-       I  c-  ,    lile  Oils  and  Acids.     Lee.   3.  Atmospheric    fooc 

;ial  ports  of  the  Southern  states,  and  I    .^i      .       117  .       /->     i       ■     \    -a    k  • 

'  ^    ,,    ,  of  Plants — Water,  Carbonic  Acid.  Ammonia  ant 

year  seven-twelfths  of  all  the  corn  I  m-    ■       »    •  ,     .,     ■  ■,  1         t  „ 

-.  -11-  r         .1     iNiiric   Acid — their   sources    and    supply.     Lee 


Lectures  on  Agriculture, 

To  be  given  during  the  Jigricullural  f-  unvenlion,  at 
New  Haven,  February,   1860. 

Agricultural  Chemistry  ;  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson. 

Lecture  1.  Composition  of  the  Plant.  The 
Organic  Elements — Oxygen.  Nitrogen,  Hydro- 
gen, and  Carbon.  Lee.  2.  Proximate  Organic 
Principles  of  the  Plant — Cellulose,  Starch,  Dex- 
trine, Sugar,  Gluten,  Albumen,    Casein,   Vegeta- 

food 

d 

ppiy.     Lee. 

4.  The  Ash  of  Plants — Potash,  Soda,  Lime, 
Magnesia.  Oxyd  of  Iron,  Oxyd  of  Manganese, 
Chlorine,  Sulphur,  Phosphorus. 

Elorfiology  :  Dr.  Asa  Fitch. 

Lec.  1.  Great  losses  sustained  from  depreda- 
ting insects  ;  their  classification,  structure,  met- 
amorphoses, habits,  and  means  of  destruction. 
Lec.  2.  Insects  injurious  to  grain  crops,  with  a 
particular  account  of  the  wheat  midge  and  Hes- 
sian fly.  Lec.  3.  Insects  injurious  to  fruit  trees, 
with  a  particular  account  of  the  Curculio  and 
the  apple  tree  borer. 

Vegetable  Physiology  ;  Daniel  C.  Eaton,  Esq. 

Lkc.  1.  The  vegetable  cell — its  form,  size, 
structure,  contents,  origin,  and  mode  of  growth. 
Lec.  2.  The  seed,  root,  and  stem.  Nature  and 
growth  of  seeds.     Structure   of  roots.     General 


condition.  We  have  at  our  exhibitions  some  of 
the  best  stock  in  the  United  States.  The  exhi- 
bition of  horses,  by  far,  the  best  in  the  State. 
The  other  departments  very  good. 

We  own  a  lot  of  ten  acres — well  arranged 
and  substantially  improved — nearly  paid  for. 
We  expect  at  our  next  fair  to  be  entirely  free 
from  debt,  and  to  distribute  a  much  larger 
amount  in  premiums.  This  year  We  gave  up- 
■wards  of  five  hundred  dollars  in  premiums. 

The  ofiiceTS  of  the  Society  are.  Col.  Norborne 
Berkeley,  President:  Thomas  Edwards,  Esqr., 
Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

The  Colt  Club  we  call  the  "Upperville  L^nion 
Club,"  for  improving  the  breed  of  horses;  and 
as  its  name  imports,  comprises  several  counties: 
Loudoun,  Clarke,  Warren  and  Fauquier.     The 


lations  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  Lec.  4. 
Flowers  and  Fruits.  Arrangement  of  Flowers: 
their  parts  and  offices  of  parts  ;  development  of 
fruit. 

SECOND  WEEK.— PROMOLGY,  kc. 

Pear  Culture  :  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder. 

American  Pomology  :  tlie  best  method  of  pro- 
moting it ;  with  practical  suggestions  on  the 
cultivation  of  the  pear. 

Grapes ;  Dr.  C.  W.  Grant. 

Lec.  1.  Preparation  of  the  soil,  and  propa- 
gation of  the  vine.  Lec.  2.  Culture  of  native 
varieties.' with  account  of  different  varieties  and 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


121 


their  qualilies.     Lee.  3.  Foreign  varieties  ;  cul- 
ture and  tieatnient. 

Berries ;  li.  G.  Pardee,  Esq, 

Lec.  1.  Strawberries,  Rasiiberries,  and  Black- 
berries ;  soil,  cultivation,  varieties.  Lec.  '2- 
Currants,  Gooseberries,  Cranberries  and  Whor- 
tleberries ;  soil,  cultivation,  varieties. 

Fruit  Trees  ;  R.  G.  Pardee,  Esq. 

Lec.  1.  Propagation  and  treatment  of  Fruit 
Trees  in  the  Nursery.  Lec.  "J.  Transplanting 
and  management  of  Trees  in  the  orchard  and 
garden. 

Fruit  ;    Lewis  F.  Jlllen,  Esq. 

Lec.  1  and  2.  The  Apple.  Lec.  3.  Uses  of 
Fruits  economically  considered  ;  profits  as  larm 
crops  ;  their  consumption  as  food  for  man  ;  as 
food  for  stock ;  value  for  exportation. 

Arbour  {culture  ;   Geo.  B.  Emerson,  Esq. 

Lec.  1.  Character  of  various  Forest  Trees,  as 
found  growing  in  the  forests  of  Europe  and 
America.  Value  for  various  purposes.  Forest 
culture.'  Lec.  2  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees  ; 
modes  of  cultivation. 

Jlgricultural  Chemistry,   continued ;    Prof.   S.    W. 
Johnson. 

Lec.  5.  The  soil  ;  its  chemical  and  physical 
character.  Lec.  6.  The  mechanical  improve- 
ment of  the  soil  by  tillage,  fallow,  and  amend- 
ments. Lec.  7.  The  Chemical  and  Mechanical 
improvement  of  the  soil  by  manure.  Lec.  8. 
The  conversion  of  Vegetable  into  Animal  pro- 
duce.    The  Chemistry  and  Physiology  of  Feed- 


THIRD  WEEK.— AGPJCULTURE   PROPER. 

Drainage  ;    Hon.  Henry  !' .  French. 

Lec.  1.  The  sources  of  moisture.  What 
lands  require  drainage.  Drainage  more  neces- 
sary in  America  than  in  England.  Lec.  2.  Va- 
rious nietliods  of  Drainage.  Direction,  distance, 
depth  and  arrangement  of  Drains.  Lec.  3.  Ef- 
fects of  Drainage.  Drainage  promotes  piUveri- 
zation,  warmth,  absorjjtion  of  fertilizing  sub- 
stances from  the  air.  Lec.  4.  Over-drainage; 
obstruction  of  drains ;  remedies ;  eifects  of 
drainage  on  streams  and  rivers. 

Grasses  ;    John  Stanto7i  Gould,  Esq. 

Lec.  1.  Amount  and  value  of  the  grass  crop. 
The  great  increase  practicable;  destruction  of 
the  Grasses ;  obstacles  to  jjrofiiable  culture. 
Lec.  2.  Classification  and  descrijition  of  Grasses. 
Lec.  3.  On  the  principles  of  laying  down  and 
seeding  meadows  and  pastures.  Lec.  4.  On  ir- 
rigation and  drainage  of  meadows. 

Cereals  :    Joseph  Harris,  Esq. 

On  the  cultivation  of  Wheat  aud  Lidian  Corn. 

Root  Crops  ;    T.  S.  Gould,  Esq. 

The  field  Turnip,  Knta  Baga,  Beet,  Carrot, 
Parsnip ;    varieties,    soil,    culture,    composition. 


uses.  Root  culture  essential  to  high  farming. 
Preservation  and  feeding  of  roots. 

Tobacco  and  Hops  ;   Prof.  Wm.  H.  Brewer. 

Lec.  1.  Range  of  Cultivation  ;  preparation  of 
soil ;  care  of  plants  ;  gathering  and  curing  ;  ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages  of  cultivation.   Lec. 

2.  Hops,  ditto. 

Sandy  Soils  ;    Levi  Bartlett,  Esq. 

On  the  cultivation  of  Winter  Wheat,  and  the 
management  of  sandy  and  other  light  soils. 

English  .Agriculture  •    Luther  H.  Tucker,  Esq. 

Lec.  1.  Causes  of  its  pre-eminence.  An  out- 
line of  the  chief  improvements  accomplished. 
Lec.  2.  Examples  of  English  Farming;  High 
Farming;  visits  to  great  Dairy  establislnnents  ; 
remarkable  results  of  Lrigation.  Lec.  3.  The 
Agricultural  Shows  of  '50.  Improvement  of 
Stock.     Lessons  of  English  Agriculture.    ' 

German  JIgriculture  ;    Dr.  Evan  Pugh. 

President  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  Society. 

Agricultural  Statistics  and  Education  ;  Prof.  Jno. 
A.  Porter. 

FOURTH  WEEK.— DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 
Cattle  ;    Cassius  M.  Clay,  Esq. 

Lec.  1.  On  the  five  leading  breeds,  with  no- 
tice of  some  other  varieties.  Lec.  2.  Breeding 
as  an  Art. 

Stocic  Breeding   in   the    United    States ;    Lewis  F. 
Allen,  Esq. 

Lec.  1.  Cattle,  Sheep,  Pigs  ;  their  various 
breeds  :  adaptation  to  climate,  soil  and  purpose. 
Lec.  2.  Best  methoils  of  breeding,  ])hysiologi- 
cally  considered.  Present  condition  of  stock 
breeding  and  rearing  in  the  United  States,  as 
compared  with  some  portions  of  Europe.     Lec. 

3.  Poultry,  economically  and  aesthetically  con- 
sidered; varieties,  as  adapted  to  climate  and 
locality;  utility  and  markets. 

The  Dairy  ;    Charles  L.  Flint,  Esq. 

Lec.  1.  Breeds  and  breeding  of  Stock  with 
special  reference  to  the  Dairy.  Lec.  2.  The 
management  and  economy  of  the  Dairy. 

Horses  ;    San  ford  Howard,  Esq. 

Characteristics  of  Breeds,  and  Breeding  for 
special  purposes. 

Breaking   and   Training  Horses  :    Dr.  Daniel  F. 
Gulliver. 

On  the  methods  of  subduing  and  educating 
the  Horse.  The  Baucher  and  Rarey  systems. 
Great  enhancement  of  intrinsic  and  market 
value  of  Horses  by  these  means. 

Sheep  ;   T.  S.  Gold,  Esq. 

Lec.  I.  History  and  description  of  the  va- 
rious breeds  ;  localities  and  uses  to  which  they 
are  adapted.     Lec.  2.  Winter,  Spring  and  Su  ni 


122 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


mer  maniigeineiit  of  Sheep.  Diseases  Adap- 
tation of  our  country  to  Sheep  raising'.  Com- 
parative a<i  vantages  of  Sheep  hui-bandry.  Care 
and  sale  of  wool. 

risrintltwe ;    John   C.  Comstock,  Es(j. 

Leg.  1.  Decrease  in  natural  snpply  of  Fish. 
Rea.son?.  Applit-ation  ol"  artificial  li*h  breei!- 
ing  to  renewin;<  snpply.  History  of  Piscicul- 
ture. Lee.  "2.  Raising  Fish  in  private  waters. 
Practical  r|nesiions.  Accounts  of  experiments 
in  Fish  breeding  in  this  country.  Importance 
of  Fisli  breeding  as  a  branch  of  agriculture. 
Fish  as  an  article  of  diet,  &c.,  &c. 

Agricultural  Associations ;    Mason  C.  Weld,  Esq. 

Organization  and  uses  of  Agricultural  Socie- 
ties and  Farmers'  Chibs. 

Rural  Economy  :  Donald  G.  Mitchell,  Esq. 

ARRANGEMENTS. 

An  average  of  three  Lectures  per  day  will  be 
given  from  February  1st  to  Februrary  2oth,  in- 
clusive, making  sixty-six  lectures  in  all.  For 
the  accommodation  of  per.^ons  desiring  to  spend 
Sunday  at  home,  there  will  be  no  lecture  Satur- 
day afternoon  or  jVlonday  forenoon.  Each  lec- 
ture will  be  followed  by  questions,  and  a  dis- 
cussion. Persons  attending  the  lectures  will 
have  the  liberty  of  introducing  other  topics  be- 
sides those  of  the  above  list,  and  thus  eliciting 
information  adapted  to  their  own  case.  Among 
other  distinguished  gentlemen,  besides  the  lec- 
turers, who  will  attend,  John  Johnston.  E<q.,  of 
Geneva,  the  pioneer  in  American  Tile  Drain- 
age, will  be  present  during  the  Third  week  of 
the  Course,  to  give  any  information  desired  as  to 
his  own  experience  in  Drainage.  Tliis  Course 
of  Lectures  will  be  made  intelligible  and  useful 
to  beginners  in  Agriculture,  as  well  as  to  expe- 
rienced farmers.  Ap])lications  for  Tickets  have 
already  been  received  Irom  nearly  lialf  the 
Stales  of  the  Union  Early  application  is  ad- 
visable. Board  at  very  reasonable  prices  can 
be  engaged  beforehand  for  early  applicants. 
Tickets  for  the  whole  Course,  -$10  00  ;  for  any 
single  week.  §.3  00.  Single  lectures,  25  cents. 
For  further  information,  address 

PROF.  JOHN  A.  PORTER, 

Mew  Haren,  Conn. 


The  Year  Book  of  the  Farm  and  Garden,  for 
18C0.  Beautifully  illustrated.  Price  25  cents. 
A.  M.  Spangler,  G33  Market  St.,  Philad'a. 

This  is  another  valuable  addition  to  the  libra- 
ry of  the  farmer,  gardener,  and  house-keeper, 
and  everybody  who  is  either  the  one  or  the 
other,  ought  to  have  it. 

We  know  of  no  publications,  offered  at  a 
small  price,  which  contain  so  much  information, 
valuable  to  the  persons  we  have  mentioned,  and 
the  "rest   of  mankind.''  as   this   '-Year  Book," 


now  offered  by  Mr.  Spangler,  and  the  '-Annqal 
Register,"  published  for  several  years  by  L. 
Tucker  &  Son,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

These  books  contain  something  of  everything 
useful,  and  we  know  tliey  must  give  satisfaction 
to  every  sensible  man,  who  is  fortunate  enough 
to  possess  one. 


The  '•  Valley  Farmer''  and  "Country  Gentleman," 
Two  of  OL:r  most  liighly  prized  Exchanges — 
make  their  appearance  this  year  in  new  dresses. 
We  congratulate  the  editors  of  these  papers,  as 
cordially  on  their  good  ta^te  in  "getting  up"  the 
outside  of  their  respective  sheets,  as  we  com- 
mend and  admire  the  good  sense,  dignityiind 
ability  with  which  they  have  ever  filled  up  the 
inside.     Success  to  both  of  them. 


The  American  Stock  Journal. 

W^e  are  glad  to  see  that  D.  C.  Lindsley,  the 
competent  editor  of  this  paper,  who  is  already 
well  and  favorably  known  to  the  stock  breeders 
of  the  United  States,  has  secured  the  services  of 
Dr.  George  H.  Dadil.  (editor  of  the  Veterinary 
Journal.)  to  conduct  the  veterinary  department 
of  the  paper. 


The  Journal  of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society 

Is  received,  for  which  we  return  our  thanks  to 
B.  P.  Johnson,  Esq.,  the  able   Secretary  of  the 

Society. 


The  Ohio  Farmer 

Comes  out  for  1860  in  a  new  dress,  and  with 
a  promising  "bill  of  fare"  for  all  those  who  are 
desirous  of  becoming  participants  in  an  agricul- 
tural "Entertainment"  of  a  literay  and  practical 
character.     We  append  his  terms: 

REGt>LAR  TEEMS  IS  ADVANCE. 

Single  copy,  one  year,        -  -  -  $-  00 

Three  copies,     "  -  -  -     5  00 

Five  copies,        "  -  -  -     8  00 

Ten  copies,         "  -  -  -   15  00 

One  copy,  six  months,        -  -  -     1  00 

Five  copies,    "  -  -  -     5  00 

Ten  copies,    "  -  -  -     8  00 

A  club  of  five  subscribers,  at  $8,  will  entitle 
the  person  making  it  up  to  a  copy  for  six  months; 
a  club  of  ten,  at  §15,  to  a  copy  for  one  year. 

Prospectuses,  Posters  and  Samples  sent  free 
to  any  address. 

Tho.  Browx,  Cleveland.  O. 


1«60.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


12^ 


farm,  much  of  the  work  must  be  doue  by  a 
„,.,,.,         ,, ,  ,  r  n  \f  inian.     The  labour  of  the  manufacture  would 

Pnb..shed  bj-  the  well-known  house  of  CM.^^^^^   therefore,  of  a  man's  time  for  two- 
Saxton  &  Co.,  we  are  glad  to  welcome  lo  our  hst   ^^.^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^^    ^^^  ^^  ^   ^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

same  time.     Their  whole  time  would  proba- 


The  Hor:inil;\'ri$t, 


of  eichanses 


This  is  an  able  and  well  sustained  paper. 
Price  $2  per  annnm.  Address  C.  M.  Saxton, 
Barker  &  Co..  -35  Park  Row.  Ne\%-  York, 


We  commeud  the  ^'Jldrice  to  Yottng  Farmers," 
by  L.  3!,,  to  our  readers.  We  hope  we  shall 
haxe  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  bim  very 
often.  Our  columns  will  always  give  him  a 
place,  and  if  they  are  crowded  at  any  time,  we 
will  gladly  make  room  fox  any  article  he  may  be 
kind  enouirh  to  send  us. 


We  return  our  thanks  to  Charles  L,  Flist 
Esq.,  the  author  of  that  capital  work  on  Dairy 
Farming,  and  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  of  Massachusetts,  for  a  copy  of  the 
Circular  issued  by  them,  oflering  aid  to  farmers 
in  establishing  Fanners'  Clubs. 


The  Labour  and  Profits  of  a  Dairy  Farm 

In  the  previous  chapter  we  endeavoured 
to  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  amount  of  land, 
buildines  and   labour  which   would  be  re- 


bly  be  occupied  in  the  business  of  the  farm, 
but  only  this  proportion  should  be  charged 
to  the  cost  of  manufacture. 

As  to  the  plan  of  milk  rooms,  cheese 
rooms,  and  the  fixtures,  with  the  best  me- 
thods of  manufiicturing  either  cheese  or  but- 
ter, they  do  not  belong  to  the  matter  now  in 
hand,  which  is  only  to  inquire  into  the  cost 
and  profit  of  a  dairy  of  forty  cows  in  this 
State. 

What  should  be  the  average  produce 
of  the  forty  head  of  cows  for  the  season, 
and  what  amount  of  cheese  should  be  yield- 
ed from  their  milk  :  and  what  would  be 
their  other  preducts  ' 

In  starting  a  dairy  it  will  not  be  found 
possible,  the  first  year,  to  have  all  the  cows 
come  in  at  just  such  seasons  as  may  be  most 
desirable ;  but  after  that,  by  a  little  atten- 
tion and  proper  management,  the  calving  of 
the  whole  lot  may  be  regulated  so  that  all 
may  be  in  full  flow  of  milk  by  the  15th  of 
May  ;  and  from  that  time  to  the  first  of  Au- 
gust, the  whole  forty  should  average  twelve 
quarts  each'per  day  ;  which,  for  the  77  days 
would  be  9,240  eallons.     The  usual  vield  of 


quired  to  supply  a  herd  of  forty  milch  cows  cheese  per  gallon,  for  this   season  of  the 
""'"'"  --.--.      ypjjp  according  to  the  records  furnished  by 

the  best  Herkimer  county  dairyman,  ranges 
from  a  pound  to  one  pound  two  ounces,  the 
largest  yield  of  cheese  being  in  the  spring 
and  summer  months.  According  to  this 
ratio,  therefore,  there  should  be  made  10,- 
395  pounds  of  cheese  in   the  first  77  days. 


with  food  and  shelteK,  together  with  the  la- 
bour necessary  for  their  care  and  manage- 
ment. We  have  now  to  deal  with  the  in- 
door work,  incident  to  the  changing  of  the 
raw  products,  into  the  manufactured  article 
fit  for  merchandize. 

What    amount  of  labour   will  be   nece; 


sary  for  the  manufacture  of  milk  into  cheese  |  For  the  next  term  of  three  months  the  aver- 
and  butter?  Much  will  depend  upon  the! age  yield  of  each  cow  will  decrease  at  least 
conveniences  and  fixtures  furnished  by  the 'one-fourth,  leaving  it  at  the  rate  of  nine 
proprietor  J  and  also  whether  the  proprietor!  quarts  per  day.  This  would  afford  8,100 
himself  can  superintend  the  whole  mauufac- 1  .irallons  of  milk  for  the  whole  of  this  second 
turinu'  process,  or  has  to  entrust  it  to  an  ex-;  term,  giving  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  one 
perienced  cheesemaker,  either  male  or  fe-;  ounce  of  cheese  per  gallon,  or  a  total  of  8.- 
male.  We  believe  that  with  the  vat5,  boil- ^  606  pounds  of  cheese.  This  would  bring 
ers,  milk  and  whey  conductors,  washiui;  and  the  cheese-making  season  to  an  end  abotit 
cleansiu-  apparatus,  hot  and  cold  Water  i  the  fii-st  of  November,  from  which  time  until 
pipes,  chee-se  presses,  shelves  and  tables,  all ;  the  cows  are  dried  off,  the  manulacture  of 
arranged  with  a  design  to  economise  work,  I  butter  would  be  probably  most  profitable,  as 
that  one  smart  experienced  woman  with  the 'at  that  season  the  milk  is  richer  in  oil.  af- 
assistancc  of  another  to  be  had  at  the  usual  i  fords  less  curd,  and  fresh  butter  commands 
rate  of  wages,  would  be  able   to  do  all  the  j  the  highest  price. 

manufacturing.  But  where  the  dairy  busi-  The  whole  product  of  cheese  for  the  year 
ness  forms  only  part  of  the  business  of  the  |  would  be  as  follows  : 


124 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


77  days,  9,240  gallons  of  milk  at  IS  oz. 

per  gallon, 10,395 

90  days,  3,100  gallons  of  milk  at   17   oz. 

per  gallon, 8,606 


Total  cheese  made  from  May  15  to  No- 
vember 1, 19,001 

From  November  1  to  March  1,  the  aver- 
age produce  of  uiilk  per  day  may  be  calcu- 
lated at  four  quarts  from  each  cow ;  some 
of  course  will  yield  more ;  but  if  from  a 
herd  of  40  that  amount  is  obtained  from  the 
first  of  November  till  the  first  of  3Iarch, 
they  may  be  considered  a  good  lot,  and  well 
taken  care  of.  The  total  amount  of  milk 
for  this  third  term  will  be  19,200  quarts,  or 
88,400  pounds.  If  we  take  the  ratio  of 
milk  to  butter  as  given  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hos- 
kins  in  the  Farmer  for  April,  or  one  pound 
of  butter  from  25  pounds  of  milk,  we  would 
have  1,536  pounds  of  butter-  But  milk  at 
that  season  should  give  a  greater  proportion 
of  butter,  and  with  feed  in  kind  and  quan- ' 
tity,  suited  to  promote  the  production  ofi 
butter,  it  might  be  that  a  pound  of  butter 
would  be  produced  by  every  20  pounds  of, 
milk,  which  would  make  a  diff'erence  of  20 , 
per  cent.  I 

For  the  third -term,   from  March  Lst  to' 
the  middle  of  May,  the  whole  produce  must 
be  considered  as   belonging   to  the    calves,  \ 
and  to  be  in  part  repaid- by  thein."  sale.  | 

The  whole  yield  of  the  40  head,  in  butter 
and  cheese,  would  be  as  follows  : 

19,000  pounds  of  cheese  at  9  cents,     5  1,710  00 
1,920  pounds  of  butter  at  18  cents,  345  60 


$2,055  60 

This  would  make  an  average  of  §56. 14 
per  cow,  or  475  pounds  of  cheese,  and  48 
pounds  of  butter  from  eaeh  cow  per  year. 
This  is  not  an  extraordinary  yield.  A.  L.  i 
Fish,  of  Herkimer,  N.  Y.,  reported  to  the 
New  Yord  State  Society,  that  in  1844,  the 
produce  of  his  dairy  was  at  the  rate  of  TOO 
pounds  of  cheese  per  cow,  ani  in  1845,  it 
was  as  high  as  775  pounds  of  cheese  from 
each  cow  of  his  herd. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Morton  gives  500  pounds  as  the 
annual  yield  of  a  cow  in  the  celebrated 
cheese  district  of  G-loucestershire,  England. 
In  the  Ayrshire  districts  the  average  is 
something  above  this,  whilst  in  some  places 
of  Great  Britain  the  average  does  not  reach 
much  over  350  pounds  per  annum.  This 
difierence  arises  from  local  systems  of  man- 
ufacture, feeding  and  other  causes. 

Cheese  and  butter,  however,  are  not  all 


that  the  dairy  yields.  There  are,  besides' 
the  whey,  the  skim-milk,  and  the  butter- 
milk, which  ought  all  to  be  used  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  pork  of  the  best  and  sweetest 
kind  sent  to  market.  This  ofial  of  the  dai- 
ry is  not  to  be  relied  upon  alone ;  it  too  re- 
quires management,  and  to  be  mixed  with 
the  ofi'al  of  grain,  and  a  certain  proportion 
of  grain  itself.  No  dairy  should  be  without 
a  piggery  attached  to  it.  The  number  of 
hogs  which  may  be  kept  by  a  dairy  will  vary 
according  to  the  fancy  of  the  proprietor  for 
the  small  quick  maturing  breeds,  such  as 
the  Improved  Essex,  the  Suffolk  or  the 
Clunese,  or  for  the  large  breeds,  such  as  the 
Leicester,  the  Byfield  or  the  Berkshire. 
The  number  of  pigs  which  may  be  kept  will 
also  vary  with  the  season.  In  tire  summer 
there  is  a  demand  for  lean  light  young  pork, 
or  pigs  that  will  dress  from  100  to  150 
pounds,  by  the  butchers  of  the  large  cities. 
It  should  be  a  point  with  the  dairyman  to 
to  thin  out  his  young  stock,  as  they  increase 
in  size,  by  fitting  those  most  suitable  for  the 
butcher.  This  leaves  the  store  hogs  a  larger 
share  of  food  to  each,  as  they  iilcrease  in 
size.  It  is  plain  therefore,  that  the  dairy- 
man may  begin  in  the  spring  with  some 
fifty  young  suckers' from  four  to  eight  weeks 
old,  and  thin  them  down  with  profit  to  him- 
self, to  fifteen  or  twenty.  For  this  kind  of 
feeding  we  incline  to  favour  the  Suffolk  or 
Essex  breeds,  or  high  grades  of  them.  Of 
the  large  breeds,  one.  hog  of  three  or  four 
months  old  to  two  cows  will  be  found  al- 
most as  many  as  the  offal  of  such  a  dairy 
will  sustain 

For  the  food  of  these  hogs,  there  should 
be  calculated  that  at  least  75  per  cent  will 
be  the  quantity  of  the  offal  which  will  be 
available,  and  which,  during  thetime  from 
May  to  November,  should  be  equal  to  80 
gallons  per  day.  This  slop,  with  an  average 
of  four  quarts  of  mill  feed  to  each,  count- 
ing them  at  20  head,  should  give  a  fair 
growth  of  pork  that  will  make  a  considera- 
ble addition  to  the  receipts  of  the  dairy,  as 
will  be  seen  by  tlie  following  estimate,  which 
onl}^  includes  the,  store  hogs,  and  does  not 
make  any  allowance  for  the  pig-pork  sold 
during  the  summer  and  fall  seasons : 

20    six    weeks   pigs,   worth    on    the   I5ih 

May  $1.50, $30  00 

Use  of  a  five  acre  clover   pastui-e  for  the 

season, 15  00 

4  quarts  of  feed  per  day  to  each  hog,  for 

2S0  days,  being  7  tons  at  $12  per  ton,     84  00 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


125 


8  quarts  of  marketable  corn  to  each  hog 
for  50  (lays_  being  nearly  an  average  Oi 
six  bushels  to  each  hog,  given  when 
put  up  for  fattening,  and  worth  35  cents 
per  bushel, 48  00 


besides  the 


'lairy 

.    .i^m  00 


Total  cost  of  20  ho 
slop, 

We  do  not  believe  it  "vrould  te  unreasona- 
ble to  calculate  that  each  of  these  hogs,  af- 
ter  being   kept    in    this   manner   lor  nine 
months,    should    w.eigh    255    pounds  when 
killed  and  dressed ;  and  if  they  are  sold  at 
five  cents  per  pound,  each  one  would  bring 
612.50,  or  for  the   whole  8250,  leaving  for 
labour  and  for  the  whole  offal  of  the  dairy 
S73,  or  a  profit  on  each  hog  of  over  S3. 50. 
We  consider,  however,  that  where  either  the 
Essex  or  the  Sufiblk  breeds  are  kept,  or  high 
grades  of  either  of  these,  the  same  amount 
of  feed  and  care  would  enable  the  dairyman 
to  keep  thirty  instead  of  twenty,  and  that 
instead  of  a  profit  of  only  S73,  he  would  get ! 
from  his  hog-pen,  if  riohtl}-  managed,  8200  • 
for  the   offal  of  the  dairy.     Mr.  J.  S.  Tib-  j 
bits  of  Livonia,  has  stated  to  us  that  he  has , 
raised  at.  the  rate  of  two  pigs  to  each  cow,  | 
following  a  method  somewhat  similar  to  the 
above,  and  he  had   most  of  his  store  hogs  j 
reach  300  pounds  within  the  time  specified. ! 
He  also  stated  that  the  calculation  with  re-i 
gard  to  his  hogs,  when  he  was  in  the  dairy  I 
busine.s.s,  was,  that   they  should  pay  for  the  i 
'abour  of  making  the  cheese. 

We  CDme  now  to  the  subject  of  esti- 
mating the  whole  cost  of  the  conduct  of  a  | 
dairy  of  40  cows,  and  to  a  comparison  of  i 
that  cost  with  the  estimated  income. 

The  cost  of  buildings  to  accommodate  the  { 
cattle,  and  the  cheese  and  milk  rooms,  in- j 
eluding   horse    powers,    cutting    machines,  | 
boiler?,  milk  vats,  presses,  and  all  the  appa-  i 
ratus  and  fixtures  necessary  for  economical  j 
feeding,  and  the  most  perfect  manufacture ' 
of  cheese  and  butter,  shouM  not  cost  over 
$800,  and  the  interest  on  this  for  wear  and  ' 
tear  and  use  of  capital,  would  probably  be  j 
12  per  cent.,  making  an  annual  average  rent  j 
of  ^96  to  be   charged  to  the  dairy.     Mr. 
Paris  Barber,  of  Homer,  N^w  York,  erected 
a  barn  for  his  50  cows,  a  cheese  room  and 
milk  room,  with  all  the  requisite  apparatus, 
for  8582.92,  as  reported  to  the  New  York 
Society  in  185L     Mr.  Moses  Eames,  of  Jef- 
ferson county,  in  the  eame  year,  gave  the 
plan    and  cost  of  a  very  extensive  cheese 
house,  with  copper  boilers,  caldrons,  vats  of 
tin,  and  all   the  necessary  fixtures,   which 


amounted  to  but  8432.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  our  estimate  will  certainly  cover  the 
whole  cost,  and  is  within  reasonable  bounds. 
The  following  table  will  give  a  recapitu- 
lation of  the  money  or  market  value  of  the 
various  crops  grown  for  the  use  of  the  dairy, 
the  labour  incident  to  the  work  outside  and 
inside,  and  of  the  returns  which  the  various 
productions  will  yield. 


Interest  and  wear  of  buihlings,   -     -     - 
SniTiiner  feed : 

40  acres  of  pasture,  at  -$5  per 
acre, $200  00 

Cultivation  of  .3  acres  of  sor- 
ghum or  millet,  at  §6  per  acre,   18  00 

Cultivation  of  5  acres  of  green 
rye  for  spring  feed,  at  $3  per 
acre,   -     -     - 15  00 

Vahie  of  meadow  pa.=ture  in 
the  fall  with  pumpkins  and 
other  feed, 100  00 

One  ton  of  mill  feed,       -     -     -   12  00 


$96  60 


Winter  feed : 
50  tons  of  hay.  at  §G  per  ton.  §300  00 
40  tons  of  corn  stalks,  at  §4,     IfiO  00 

443  bushels  of  corn  at  35  cts.,     155  05 
10  tons  of  straw,  a  !g3  ■     -     -     SO  00 


345  00 


645  05 


Total    money    value    of   food    required 
during  the  year  for  40  head  or  cows, 
being  at  the  rate  of  .$25  per  head,    $1,086  05 
Labor : 
The  labor  incident  to  feeding  and  out- 
side v'ork.is  equal  to  444  days  of  one 
man  at  75  cents  per  da)',        $333  00 
240  days  of  one  horse,  at  cost, 

30  cents, 72  00 

Labor  in  cheese  room,  half  a 
marrs  time,  for  one  year,  at 
10s.  per  day,     ----'-     225  00 
Time  of  one  woman  at  $5  per 
month,  and  board,  the  same,     120  00 

750  00 


Total   money  valne  cost  of  carrying  on 

a  dairy  of  40  head  of  cows.     -     '-     $1,836  05 

Against  this  estimate  of  the  expense,  we 
have  the  following  as  the  estimated  income : 
The  cheese  and  butter  sold  as  per  rates 

above  given, $2,055  60 

The  profit  on  the  amount  of  hogs  sold,  73  00 
30  calves  fed  during  the  time  between 
the  1st  of  ^larch.and  the  commence- 
ment of  cheese-making,  principally, 
at  .$3  per  head.  ---•-.--  90  00 
Aloney  value  of  three  hundred  loads  of 
manure  made  by  the  cows  and  hogs. 
at  50  cents, 150  00 


Total  value  of  products,      -      -     $2,363  60 
Balance,  the  actual   clear  profit  after  a 
fair  market  value   has  been  allowed 
on  every  article  consumed,     -     -     -    $527  55 


126 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[February 


In  placing  these  sUUements  before  our  j  year.  He  would  hurry  the  cotton  picking 
readers,  it  has  been  for  the  purpose  of  show- 'in  order  to  have  all  the  time  possible  to 
ing  what  are  the  real  profits  of  the  dairy  prepare  for  next  year's  crop.  He  would 
buj^iaess.  There  is  no  single  item  in  the  gather  and  carefully  house  the  corn,  with 
above  estimates,  which  has  not  been  care- '  an  eye  to  its  use  by  himself.  He  would 
full}'  compared  with  the  J\rinted  or  verbal  I  put  down  the  crops  of  small  grain  with 
reports  of  practical  men  of  our  own  State, '  more  care,  expecting  hiniself  to  leap  them, 
or  of  the  great  dairy  districts  of  New  York,  i  He  would  more  carefully  fatten  the  pork- 
or  of  Great  Britain,  so  far  a?  was  possible,      hogs,  expecting  himself  to  use  the  bacon. 

Wc  were  led  into  it,  by  meeting  with  a  i  The  plough  and  giazing  stock  would  be 
practical  friend,  who,  with  a  farm  of -four  i  taken  in  charge  at  the  commencement  of 
hundred  acres,  was  about  to  ''rush"  into  the 'winter,  and  he  would  feel,  in  taking  care  of 
dairy  business  for  the  firsl  time,  and  wanted :  them,  more  interest  and  responsibility,  than 
to  know  how  much  of  his  farm  we  thought  j  if  he  had  to  carry  them  half  through  it  and 
it  would  take  to  keep  the  number  of  cows  I  then  turn  them  over  to  a  successor. 
he  had  then  on  hand,  and  whether  we  I  Between  the  first  of  October  and  first  of 
thought  it  "  would  pay."  In  passing  through  i  January  there  is  much  time  that  cannot  be 
the  agricultural  districts  we  come  in  contact  I  devoted  to  cotton  picking,  this  !e  would 
with  many  such  questions,  and  much  practice  '  feel  more  interest  in  appropriating  to  re- 
that  is  adapted  to  the  West  alone,  and  they  •  pairs,  ditching,  &c.,  preparatory  to  the 
can  find  expression  and  answer  usefully  only  i  next  crop,  than  would  one  M'ho  expected 
in  the  form  we  have  above  given.  'to   leave  at  the   end  of  the  year.     Again, 

It  is  too  much  the  practice  of  many  far-; thus  taking  charge  on  the  first  of  October, 
mers  to  jump  from  one  department  of  their! his  means  of  ascertaining  the  capacities  of 
business   to    another,    without    considering' the  plantation  and  the  force  upon  it.  would 


whether  they  have  strength  to  carry  a  some 
what  encumbered  body  over  the  fence  or 
not.  The  above  brief  estimates  of  land, 
of  labor,  of  capital  and  profits  involved  in 
the  management  of  a  dairy  farm,  are  there- 
fore submitted  with  the  hope  that  they  will 
be  of  use,  and  also  that  they  will  draw  out 
observations  and  experience  from  those  who 
are  interested  in  this  complicated  division  of 
farm  labor.  Of  the  care,  skill,  constant  at^ 
tention,  and  exercise  of  judgment  requisite 
to  make  a  first  rate  cheese,  it  is  impo.ssible 
to  give  an  adequate  idea:  that  must  be 
learned  by  actual  practice  and  observation, 
with  the  aid  and  example  of  competent  in- 
structors.— Michigan  Fanner. 


be  far  superior  to  what  they  would  be  under 
the  present  plan. 

But  I  forbear  to  extend  this  article,  be- 
lieving that  I  have  .said  enough  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  planting  community  to  it. 
It  Ls  easy  enough  of  accomplishmeni.  Will 
not  the  Southern  Cnliicator^  the  Soil  ejf  the 
South,  the  agriculturalists  soon  to  assemble 
at  Atalanta.  and  the  Cotton  Planter's  Con- 
vention of  Houston  county,  give  these  sug- 
gestions such  consideration  as  their  import- 
ance seem  to  demand,  in  the  opinion  of,  at 
least,  one  Planter. 


Frotn  the  Cohitnbus  Times. 

A  Suggestion  to  Planters. 
I  have  been  long  convinced  that  every 
consideration  of  benefit  and  advantage  to 
owners  and  managers,  recommended  a 
change  in  the  employment  of  overseers — 
making  the  year  .to  commence  and  end  on 
the  first  of  (October,  instead  of  the  first  of 
Januar\\  All  that  remains  of  the  year's 
work  on  the  first  of  October,  are  cotton 
picking  and   corn   gathering.     A  manager 

taking  charge  at  that  time,  would  prosecute  and  merely  training  them 
them  with  more  energy  and  care,  than  one  i  that  very  little  attention  is  paid  by  our  far- 
who  expected  to  leave  at  the  end  of  the  mers  to  train  their  steers  to  back,  but  as 


Training  Oxen. 

j  A  word  on  trail) ing  oxen.  I  have  found 
j  that  by  far  the  best  time  to  rain  .steers  is 
j  when  they  are  calves,  say  the  first  winter. 
I  Oxen  that  are  trained  when  quite  young, 
j  are  much  more  pliable  and  obedient,  and 
this  adds  much  to  their  value.  Steers  that 
run  until  they  are  three  or  four  years  old, 
are  dangerous  animals  to  encounter.  They 
are  always  running  away  with  the  cart  or 
sled  whenever  there  is  a  chance  for  them, 
and  often  serious  injury  is  the  result.  I 
would  not  recommend  working  steers  hard 
while  young,  as  it  prevents  their  growth ; 
there  is  a  difference  between  working  them 
I  have  observed 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


127 


they  bet-ouie  able  to  draw  a  cojiSiderable 
load"  forward,  they  are  often  unmercifullj' 
beaten  on  the  head  and  face,  because  they 
^vill  not  back  a  cart  or  sled  witli  as  large  a 
load  as  they  can  draw  forward,  foi'getting 
that  much  pains  has  been  taken  to  teach 
them  to  draw  forward,  but  none  to  teach 
them  to  draw  backward.  To  remedy  the 
occasion  of  this  thumping,  as  soon  as  1  have 
taught  nij'  steers  to  be  handy,  as  it  is  called, 
and  to  draw  forward,  I  place  them  on  a  cart 
where  the  land  is  a  little  descending ;  in 
this  situation  the}'  will  soon  learn  to  back  it. 
Then  I  place  them  on  level  land,  and  exer- 
cise them.  Then  I  t<?aeh  them  to  back  a 
cart  up  land  that  is  a  little  rising,  the  cart 
having  no  load  in  it,  as  yet.  When  I  have 
taught  them  to  stand  up  in  the  tongue  as 
they  ought,  and  back  an  empty  cart,  I  hext 
either  put  a  small  load  in  the  cart,  or  take 
them  to  where  the  laud  ri?es  faster,  which 
answers  the  same  purpose;  thus  in  a  few 
days  they  can  be  ♦aught  to  back  well,  and 
know  how  to  do  it,  which,  by  a  little  use 
afterward,  they  never  forget.  This  may 
appear  of  little  consequence  to  some,  but 
when  it  is  remembered  how  frequently  we 
want  to  back  a  load,  when  we  are  at  work 
with  the  cattle,  and  how  convenient  it  is  to 
have  our  cattle  back  well,  why  should  we 
not  teach  them  for  the  time  when  we  want 
them  thus  to  lay  out  their  strength?  Be- 
sides, it  often  saves  blows  and  vexations, 
which  is  considerable  when  one  is  in  a 
hurry.  I  never  consider  a  pair  of  oxen 
well  broke  until  they  will  back  well  with 
ease  any  reasonable  load,  and  I  would  give 
a  very  considerable  more  for  a  yoke  thus 
trained. — Charles  A.  Hubbard,  in  JVeic 
England  Farmer. 


Hog  Pasture. 

It  being  generally  understood  that  hogs 
live  by  "  special  providence"  until  it  is  time 
to  fat  them,  there  is  little  attention  paid  to 
the  most  economical  way  of  growing  them 
up.  Certain  it  is,  that  a  good,  easy-keeping 
variety  will  make  commendable  progress  on 
grass,  and  it  is  worthy  of  investigation  whe- 
ther hog-raising  may  not  be  profitably  car- 
ried on  in  any  section  of  country  by  the  aid 
of  good  pastures  and  other  appliances.  It 
may  be  safe  to  calculate  that  a  good-sized 
thrift}'  pig  will  gain  in  .six  months,  on  gra.ss, 
a  hundred  pounds  or  more.     If  an  acre  of 


'  grass  would  keep  three  hog-s,  and  add  a  hun- 
dred pounds  to  the  Aveight  of  each,  that 
would  be  SI 2  fur  the  acre  of  pasture,  reck- 

,  oning  the  three  hundred  pounds  gain  at  four 
cents  a  pound,  live  weight. 

I      The  particular  point  which  this  pastoral 

letter  is  ambitious  to  inculcate  is  this  :  grass 

being  a  good  thing  and   profitable  to  swine, 

1  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  furni.-hing  of 

j  an  abundance  of  it,  and  of  the  best  quality, 

I  to  these  animals.     Instead  of  being  forced 

I  to  bite  twice  at  a  .short,  dirty  and  battered 

;  spear  of  June  grass  by  the  road  side  before 

I  getting  any  off,  imagine  a  clean  and  comely 

:  Suffolk  in  a  fresh  green  pasture,  just  four 

I  inches  high    filling   himself   with    evident 

relish.     That  looks  like  sain. 


Don't  Know.  Beans. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Chicago  Times 
relates  the  following  joke  at  the  expense  of 
an  agricultural  paper  : 

I  was  in  the  cars  going  to  the  State  Fair 
at  Freeport  some  time  ago,  and  unintention- 
ally overheard  a  conversation.  The  parties 
to  the  conversation  were  a  farmer  from  Lake 
county,  and  an  agricultural  con-espondent. 
When  near  Nevada,  the  member  of  the 
**  staff "  was  in  the  height  of  an  animated 
explanation  of  how  "  we"'  had  benefited  the 
farming  interest  b}'  having  agents  always 
travelling,  reporting  the  prospects  of  crops, 
&c. ;  just  at  that  moment  a  field  of  buck- 
wheat in  bloom  attracted  his  attentiun. 

"  What  a  fine  field  of  white  beans  that 
is,'"  exclaimed  the  traveling  editor. 

"  Beans  I"  said  the  farmer,  '*  that  is  buck- 
wheat." 

"  Oh !  what  a  beautiful  white  grain  it 
has ;  I  must  make  a  note  of  it,  and  write  a 
letter  from  Freeport  about  it.  ]:5uck  wheat 
like  that  is  not  to  be  found  at  the  East  I  The 
specimens  I  have  been  accustomed  to  see 
produced  a  very  dark  flour." 

"  Why,  of  course ;  this  buckwheat  will 
produce  a  dark  flour,"  rejoined  the  farmer, 
"  what  you  saw  was  not  the  (jrai<t — that  was 
the  blossom  I" 

"  Oh  !  Ah  I"  said  the  editor,  who  quickly 
closed  his  ••  notes  on  buckwheat,"  and  short- 
ly after  went  into  the  smoking  car. — Ekh- 
mond  Dispatch. 


128 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[February 


W^W'f.^^^^ 


For  ike  Southern  Planter. 

Onward. 

SftriTe  like  a  man !  though  youth's  morning  be 
cheerless. 
Though  ill-boding  cloads  thy  horizon  o"er- 
spread. 
Stand  thy  gronnd!  be  patient,  conrageous,  and 
fearless. 
For  all  will  com^  right — be  a  man!  go  ahead! 

Yield  not  a  moment  to  useless  repining. 
But  press  firmly  on,  in  the  battle  of  life, 

Hope's  star,  though  obscnrd  now^,   ^11  yet, 
brightly  shining, 
Illnmine  thy  pathway — feint  not  in  the  strife- 

Thy  motto  be  Drrr,  in  Goo  be  thy  strength  > 
No  step  backwards  trace,  and  -with  honour 
He'll  crovrn 
Thy  brow,  if  thou  quail  not :  thou  shalt  conquer 
at  length. 
Though  poTcrty  sting,  and  misfortune  may 
frovrn. 


I  love  the  Southern  t^v^iligbt  hour. 

It  breathes  a  holy  spell. 
While  musing  'neath  the  orange  bower. 

Or  in  some  fairy  dell : 
I  lore  its  starry  heavens  by  night. 

Its  dewy  moonlit  eves. 
Where  Luna's  silvery  beams  of  light. 

Gleam  through  the  orange  leaves. 

Yon  speak  to  me  of  happy  homes 

Far  in  the  snowy  North  ; 
I  know  the  heart  \vhere'er  it  roams. 

Will  love  its  native  hearth; 
But  say,  is  not  this  Southern  clime. 

So  beautifully  fair. 
More  lovely  in  its  sweet  spring  time 

Than  aught  yon  cherish  there? 

\_Memphis  Eagle  and  Enquirer. 


I  Love  TMs  Glowing  Southern  Clime. 

I  love  this  glo^ving  Southern  cUme, 

With  sties  so  mildly  bright; 
Where  reigns  one  constant  sweet  spring  tiine. 

So  full  of  fond  delight ; 
Where  flowers  are  blooming  all  the  year. 

As  beautifully  fair 
As  if  the  floral  queen  had  made 

Her  fragrant  palace  there. 

I  love  the  Southern  songster's  note. 

The  balmy  zephyr's  breath. 
Where  perfumed  strains  of  music  float 

From  out  the  forest's  depth  ; 
Where  blithesome  hearts  are  warm  and  true 

As  ever  breathed  a  prayer. 
And  where  enchanted  pleasures  woo 

The  soul  to  linger  there. 


Go  for  the  Eight,  whatever  Betide. 

BY   W.    M.    MABTni. 

Though  beauty  entice  you 

With  laughter  and  smiles. 
And  strive  to  ensnare  yon 

With  charms  and  with  wiles; 
Oh  !  pass  them  by  lightly. 

Their  powers  deride, 
And  go  for  the  right. 

Whatever  betide. 

Though  'wealth  may  allure  you 

With  diamonds  and  gold. 
The  strength  of  your  manhood 

Must  never  be  told; 
Bid  riches  avaunt  ye. 

With  power  and  pride. 
And  go  for  the  right 

Whatever  betide. 

Though  power  oppose  yoa 

With  strength  and  with  might. 
Oh !  ne'er  be  disheartened. 

Though  hard  be  the  fight ; 
Oh  !  never  be  conquered. 

Nor  e'er  mm  aside, 
Biit  go  for  the  right 

Whatever  betide. 

In  archives  of  glory 

Your  name  be  enrolJed, 
In  songs  and  in  story 

Your  brave  deeds  be  told, 
Along  with  the  heroes 

Who  fought  and  who  died. 
Who  went  for  the  ri<rht 

What'er  might  bende. 


THE 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER, 

ADVERTISING    SHEET. 
No,  2.  RICHMOND,  VA.  February,  1860. 


SCHOOL    BOOKS. 

Permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  a  work  which  I  have  lately  published.     It  is 

"M'  ELEIIEHARV  TREATiSE  OX  DESfR!PT!VE  GEOITRV," 

BY    SAMUEL    SCHOOLER,    M.A., 

Principal  of  Edge-Hill  School,  Caroline,   Va. 

This  work  has  been  prepared  with  much  care,  and  it  is  hoped  that  it  will 
s  ipply  a  want  long  existing  in  our  Schools  and  Academies. 

E^E-^^EXTS  OF  DESCRIPTIVE  GEOMETRY— the  Point,  the  Straight  Line  and  the  Plane- 
by  S.  Schooler,  jNLA.     4to.  half  loan  ;  §2.     It  will  be  mailed,  post  paid,  to  all  who  remit  the  price. 

The  paper,  tj^je  and  plates,  are  in  the  finest  style  of  the  arts,  and  the  book,  altogether,  has  been 
pronounced  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  English,  French  or  American  work  on  the  subject. 

J^^  One  extra  co2iy  (for  their  own  use)  will  be  given  to  those  who  order  six  or  more  copies. 

All  the  SCHOOL  BOOKS  of  merit,  of  the  latest  editions,  always  on  hand  and  sold  on  the  best 
erms. 

A  liberal  discount  made  to  Teachers  and  others  who  buy  in  quantities. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  Bookseller  and  PubKsher, 
121  Main  Street,  Richmond,  Va. 


TRACTS  FOR  THE  SOUTH. 

THE  POLITICAL  ECOXO:\IY  OF  SLAVERY ;  with  an  Appendix  on  the  Effects  of  the 
presence  or  absence  of  negro  slavery  on  the  social  condition  of  the  dominant  class.  By 
Edmund  Rcffin. 

AFRICAN  COLONIZATION  UNVEILED.  By  EoMrxD  Ruffin.  These  pamphlets  are  eacli 
of  3"2  pages,  larije  octavo,  and  small  tvpe. 

SLAVERY  AND  FREE  LABOR  DESCRIBED  AND  COMPARED.  Twenty-eight  pages 
Bv  Edmund  Ruffin*. 

TWO  GREAT  EVILS  OF  VIRGINIA,  AND  THEIR  ONE  COMMON   REMEDY:   (An  argu- 
ment on  the  Free  Negio  problem.) 
These  articles  were  jirinted  in  pamphlet  form,  with  the  view  to  gratuitous  distribution  through 

the  mail — which  mode   has   been,  or  will  be,  used  for  much  the  greater  number  of  each.     For 

still  farther  extending  the  circidation,  and   to  enable  other  persons,  in  remote  localities,  to  aid  in 

promoting  that   enti,  a  smaller   proportion  of  the   impression  of  each  work   is  also  offered  for 

sale. 

10  copies  of  either  pamphlet,  or  of  different  kinds,  mailed  and  post-paid,  for  60cts. 

Or  1  of  either,  for 10 cts,  each 

Orders,  enclosing  money  or  postage  stamps,  will  receive  prompt  attention. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  Bookseller,  Richmond,  Va. 


CAMPBELL'S  AGRICULTURE. 

A  Manual  of  Scientific  and  Practical  Agriculture.  For  the  Sohool  and  the  Farm.  By  J  L. 
Campbell,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Phy.sical  Science,  Washington  College,  Va.  With  numerous 
illustrations. 

PRICE — $1.00  or  $1.15  bv  mail,  post-paid.     For  sale  at 

RANDOLPH'S  Bookstore  and  Bindery. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


The  former  Firm  of 


GEO.  WATT  &  CO. 


havino;  been  this,  1;2<]  day  of  Decemher.  1858,  dissolv- 
ed, wp  h;ive  aspociiited  ouiselvps?  in  businrss,  under 
the  firm  of  GEO.  WATT  &  CO.,  tor  the  purpose  of 
making  ami  .selling  tlie  WATT 

CUFF-BRACE  PLOW, 

With  the 

BREAST  IMPHOVEMEa'T 

thereon,  and  tlie 

And  shall  keep  constantly  on  hand  a  lar°;e  a.«Port- 
nient  of  these  Plows,  and  Castings  of  these  and  other 
popular  kinds,  with  Cultivator.?,  Harrows.  Corn  or 
Tobacco  Weeder.s,  Pliilside  and  Subsoil  Plows,  new 
ground  Coalters.,  &c 

j]ll  of  ivhiih  are  made  in  our  own  Fartory. 

Also,  .Straw  Cutters,  Grain  Cradles,  Corn  Sheller.s, 
Corn  Planters,  (Caldwell's  make.)  and  a  variety  of 
other  useful  linplemenls  in  our  line,  wbieli  we  war- 
rant to  give  satisfaction,  or  be  returned.  We  solicit  a 
call  from  the  Agricultural  ('omiiiuiiity,  assuring  them 
that  our  best  efforts  shall  be  used  to  t;ive  them  supe- 
rior aritcles.  GEO.  WATT, 

HUGH  A.  WATT. 

Richmoa.J,  Deeember  23,  IJ'SS. 

Grateful  fort  he  patronage  given  rae  heretofore,  T  so- 
licit a  continuance  of  the  same  to  the  above  firm  ;  and 
will  only  add  that  having  spent  the  belter  part  of  the 
last  16  years  in  making  my  Plow  what  it  is.  I  pledge 
mv  best  efforts  still  to^improve  it — having  PATENT 
UIGHT.S  tor  the  BREAST  IMPROVEMENT  and 
the  HAiNOVEll  I'LOW,  secured  November  1856  and 
February  1858.  1  will  sell  Rights  to  both  in  remote 
sections  of  this  and  other  States  on  reasonable  terms. 
The  public  are  cautioned  against  iiifiingements  on 
these  Patent  Rights. 

GEO.  WATT,  Patentek. 

Richmond,  January  1859. 


City  Savings  Bank  of  Richmond 
CHARTERED  IN  1839. 

Continues  to  receive  deposites,  on  which  interest  is 
paid  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum,  if  remaining 
on  fleposit  six  months,  and  5  per  cent,  for  sborier  pf - 
riods.  HORACE  L.  KENT,  Pres't. 

ALEX.  DUVAL,  Sec' v. 

N.  AUGUST,  Cashier. 

DIRECTORS: 
John  N.  Gordon,  Samuel  Putney,  11.  Baldwin.  1 . 
Davenport,  Jr.,  Charles  T.  Wortham,  Hugh   W.  Fr_\ 
and  Wellington  Goddin.  Jan  1859.— ly 


R,  0.  HASKINS, 

Ship  Chandler,  Grocer  and  Com- 
mission Merchant, 

In  his  large  new  building,  in   front  of  the   Steamboa 
Wharf,  RocKKTTs.  RlCHMO.N'D,   VA. 
Sept  1859— -Ij 


MITCHELL  &  TYLER, 

DEALERS    IN 

Watches,  Clocks,  Jewelrj-,  Silver  and  Plated 
Ware,  Militarj'  and    Fancy  Goods. 

MICHMOND,   VA. 


SHOCKOE  MILL. 
Rishraond  ffrouad  Piaster, 

The  subscriber  begs  leave  to  return  his  gtate- 
ful  ackiiowlcdgeineiits  for  the  heavy  patronage 
extended  to  his  Mill  from  the  State  at  large,  and 
Nortli  Carolina,  and  woui'l  state  that  he  .haa 
made  improvements  that  will  donble  the 
capacity,  and  enable  him  to  supply  fresh 
GROUND  PLASTER  promptly,  exceedhig  any 
demand  that  can  at  present  exist. 

His  Stock  will  be  entirely  of  Nova  Scotia 
Lump,  the  pnrest  that  can  be  selected,  with 
special  reference  to  its  richness  in  SULPHATF. 
of  LIME,  and  he  pledges  a  faithful  adheretice 
to  his  deteitnination  to  sustain  the  flattering 
reputation  that  his  brand  has  already  gained. 

Of  those  who  have  been  driven   from  the  use 
of  Plaster,   by  application   of  Northern   Ground, 
lie  only  asks  a  trial  of  Home  j\lAsrFACTt:iiE. 
JOHN  H.  CLAIBORNE, 

Jan.  '00— 3t  No.  11   Pearl  Street. 


PIGS  OF  IMPROVED  BREED 

FOjR  SA.LE. 

I  have  for  sale,  to  be  delivered  at  v\-eaning 
time,  a  good  many  jMgs  of  improved  breed.  1 
have  produced  it  myself  from  crosses  of  the 
Surry  (or  Suffolk)  genuine  Berkshire,  (Dr.  John 
R.  Woods'  stock)  Irish  Grazier,  Chester  County, 
no  Bone  and  Duchess.  I  think  them  superior 
liogs  of  medium  si/.e,  and  for  fourteen  years  they 
have  not  had  a  bad  cross  among  them.  I  prefer 
that  purchasers  should  view  my  brood  sows  and 
my  boar  on  my  farm,  three  miles  below  Rich- 
mond I  will  not  sell  them  in  pairs,  because  the 
in-and-in-breeding  would  depreciate  the  stock  at 
once  and  cause  dissatisfaction,  but  I  will  sell  in 
one  lot  several  of  the  same  sex. 

Price  -$10  per  head  for  one,  and  an  agreed 
price  for  a  larger  number.  They  will  be  delivered 
on  the  Basin  or  any  of  the  Railroail  Depots  free 
of  charge.    .  .         FRANK:  G.  RUFFIN 

Sumyner  Hill.  Chesterfield.,  March,  .30.  IS.CiS. 


PORTABLE  GAS  APPARATUS. 

HAYING  received  the  exclusive  agency  for 
the  Stale  of  Virginia  from  the  Maryland  Portable  Gas 
Couijiany,  for  the  sale  of  their  machines,  we  are  now 
prepared  to  contract  for  their  erection. 

The  machine  is  reniarkal)le  'or  its  extreme  simplici- 
ty, its  safety  and  economy  ;  one  half  a  cent  per  hurnei 
foran  hour's  consumption,  is  a  large  estimate  for  this 
Gas.  while  in  illuminatino  (jualiiies  it  is  ntit  surpassed 
by  the  Coal  Gas  of  any  city  in  the  Union.  It  is  well 
adapted  for  Private  Houses.  Fantorie.-  Schools,  Col- 
leges, Churches  and  watering  places,  and  provides, 
what  in  cities  is  considered  an  indispei;  able  luxury, 
a  good  gas  light,  at  much  less  expense  han  is  paid 
for  Oil  or  Candles. 

Anv  information  on  the  subject  may  he  ohtainedby 
addressing  STEBBINS  &  PULLEN, 

May  59~ly  101  Broad  St.,  Richmond,  Vv 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


To  Farmers  and  Planters. 

DR.  JAMES  HIGGINS, 

{For  the  pant  (en  years  ^tnte  Ai^ricuJturnl  Chemist  of 
Mnrylund,) 

Agent  for  the  Sale  of  Real  Estate,  Dealer 
in  Manures, 

and   every  thirty   connectefl    with    the   Fannin;   und 
PlanlMi?  interests,  ofler.<  it  his  services. 

A  lonp  experieiice  iis  a  pnictiLiil  plniiter  and  farmer, 
with  the  constant  analytical  exaniinalion  lor  more  than 
ten  years,  of  every  kind  of  Manure  sold  in  our  market, 
(advantaiies  possessed  by  nons  others  in  the  trade.) 
will  enable  me  always  to  I'urnish  those,  who  may  Cavor 
me  with  their  orders,  with  the  best,  purest,  and  there- 
lore  the  cheapest  Manures. 

Farmers,  Planters  and  others  will  be  furnished  with 
the  lollowing  natural  Manures  : 
PEKLVIAN  GUANO. 

MEXICAN  (JUANO. 

SOMBREKA  GUANO, 
NEVASSA  GUANO, 

COLUMBIAN  GUANO, 

BONE  DUST, 
and  all  others  in  our  inarUet  worthv  of  purchase.  Also 
with  PLASTER  OF  PARIS,  and  PURE  or  MAG- 
NESIAN  LIME,  according  to  the  wants  of  the  soil, 
and  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  adapting  the 
proper  lime  to  soils;  for  the  want  of  this  kind  thous- 
ands of  dollars  have  been  annually  lost  to  our  Slate. 
Also  the  followins  artificial  Manures: 

HIGGLNS'  SUPER  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME— 
prepared   under  his  own  direction  ;   and 

HIGGINS'  PHOSPHATEU  PERUVIAN  OR 
MANIPULATED  GUANO,  prepared  wiih  the  great- 
est care  and  precision. 

This  mixture  of  Peruvian  and  the  Phosphatic  Gu- 
anos was  first  recommended  by  me,  and  successfully 
nsed  by  many  planters  and  farmers  of  this  Stale 
years  before  it  was  ever  made  or  sold  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  by  those  who  have  pretended  to  be  its  orig- 
inators. (If  this  pe  denied.  I  can  furnish  abundant 
proof  of  the  accuracv  of  niv  statement  )     Also 

HIGGINS'  NITRATED  SALINE  FERTILI- 
ZER, an  admirable  Top-Dressing  for  Wheat,  Oats  or 
Grass,  whieh  has  been  successtully  used  tbi'  many 
years,  and  prevents,  to  a  great  extent,  the  wheat  from 
being  straw-fallen  ;  where  the  wheat  is  pale,  sickly  or 
yellow,  it  at  once  changes  it  to  a  bright,  healthy 
^reen,  and  rapidly  increases  its  growth,  and  greatly 
promotes  the  yield. 

All  Manures  sold  in  our  markets  are  liable  to  differ 
naturally,  though  coming  from  the  same  place,  and 
bearing  the  same  mark.  Still  more  are  they  liable  to 
adulltrations,  SfC,  and  for  these  things  our  Iiispec- 
lioii  System  has  never  afforded  art  adequate  prulec- 
Hon. 

All  Manures  sold  by  me  will  h-we  my  name  stamp- 
ed on  each  bag  or  barrel,  be  carefully  analyzed,  and 
for  their  purity  the  buyer  is  i)ledged  a  legal  gi;ara.n- 
FEE  and  mv  personal  honor. 

The  Manuies  sold  by  me  will  be  at  the  same  rate 
as  those  sold  by  others  in  the  trade. 

Persons  wishing  to  obtain  ayy  of  the  Manure?  man- 
ufactured  by  me,  or  any  otlieiV«i'  my  selection,  should  | 
so  specily  in  their  orders  to  tlietf  «rents  in  town.  i 

Terms  Cash,  or  accepted  ci^  |;aper.  | 

\^  Office  and  Laboratory,  S.WM'I  Street,  3d  door  j 
from  South  Street,  in  Gitting's  New  Building. 

May   59— tf  Baltimore,  Md. 


SEEDS  AT  WHOLESALE. 

Our  new  TRADE  CATALOGUE  of  GARDEN, 
FIELD,  FL0\VE;R,  and  TREE  SEEDS,  (or  1860, 
is  now  ready  for  mailing  to  all  Dealers  enclosing  a 
postage  stamp. 

OUR  STOCK  OF  SEEDS 

Is  the  finest  and  most  extensive  ever  offered  in  »hii 
Country,  and  to  parlies  requiring  them  in  LARGE 
QUANTITES  we  offer  unusual  inducements. 

J.  M.  TIIOIlBmN  &  CO., 

Feb  60— It  15  John  Street,  New  York. 


THORBXJRN'S 

DESCRIPTIVE  ANNUAL  CATALOGUE 

Of  KITCHEN.  GARDEN,  and  AGRICULTURAL 
SEEDS  for  1S60,  is  now  ready  for  mailing  to  appli- 
cants enclosing  a  postage  stamp.  It  contains  direc- 
tions for  ciiliivaiion  and  other  useful  inlorniution  for 
amateur  cultivators.     I^^^SeJid  for  it. 

J.  M.  THORBURN  &  CO., 

Feb  60— It  15  Jehu  Street,  Newr  York. 

FtOWER  e£EO0 

FOR  THE  MILLION. 

We  publish  on  the  fiist  of  February  a  new  descriptive 

CATALOGUE  OFTLOWER  SEEDS, 

Containing  over  lOCO  standard  and  beautiful  varietiei', 
as  well  as  all  the  novelties  of  the  day,  with  directions 
for  cultivation. 
We  send  by  mail,  post  paid,  and  our  own  selection, 

25  varieties  choice  Flower  Seeds  for     $1  00 

50       do  do  do  2  CO 

100       do  do  do  4  00 

J.  M.  THORBURN  &  CO., 

Feb  60— It  15  John  Street,  New  York. 


STRAW   CUTTERS. 

My  patent  Straw  Cutter  is  admitted  to  be  the  most 
valuable  in  use.     1  guarantee  satislaclion. 

H.  M.  SMITH,  Agricultural  Warehouse, 
oc  58 «.*■  ^  M(fiu  Street. 


THE  PROLIFIC  PEABODY 
OORjST. 

Farmers  desiring  to  lest  the  prolific  virtues  of  the 
above  celebrated  variety  of  Corn,  raised  by  myself 
the  past  year,  can  be  furnished  with  good  seed  at 
($2)  two  dollars  per  bushel — delivered  either  in  Rich- 
mond, or  Petersburg,  Va. 

Mv  crop  the  past  year  of  the  above  variety  of  Corn, 
wasa  little  over  four  barrels  per  thousand  hills — 
fifty  per  cent  more  tlinn  common  corn  can  possibly 
innJ^P — vet  Mr.  Peabody  raised  ten  barrels  per  tnon- 
sand  bills,  taking  ihe  premium  at  the  Alabama  Fair 
some  four  years  ago.  A  sample  of  this  Corn  can  be 
seen  at  the" office  of  the  Southern  Planter,  Richmond. 
Va.     Mv  address  is  Smithfield,  Isle  of  .Wight. 


County,  Va. 


A.  G.  MOODY. 


Orders  for  the  above  Corn  will  be  received  at  this 
office.  AUGUST  &:.  WILLIAMS, 

Feb  60 — It  Proprietors  So.  Planter. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER. -ADVERTISING  SHEET 


AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS' 

Agricultural  Registry  and  Agency  Office, 

At  the  office  of  tlie  Somliern  Plainer,  No.  153  Main  Street,  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 
The  subscribers  are  engaged  in  the  business  of 

and  executing  orders  for  all  kinds  of 

AGRICULTURAL  MACHIIRY  Al  IMPLEMENTS.  SEEDS. 

IMPROVED    STOCK,  of  every  variety,  &c, 

to  the  selection  and  shipment  of  which  we  will  give  our  personal  attention. 

''Phelps'  Patent  Combination  Bee-Hive," 

one  of  which  can  be  seen  in  operation  at  our  office. 

It  is  our  design  to  make  our  office  a  kind  of  "Farmers'  Head-Quarters,-'  and  cordially  invite 
hem  to  ca  1  and  see  us  when  in  the  city.  They  will  fin.l  constantly  on  our  table  a  number  of  the 
best  agricultural  periodicals  in  the  country,  always  open  for  their  inspection  and  information,  and 
we  will  receive  and  remit  subscriptions  fur  the  saine,/?Tf  of  change. 


July  1,  1858. 


AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS. 


THE  GEEAT  SOUTHERN 

Hat  and  Cap  Manufactory  and  Depot. 
JOHN  BOOLEY, 

No.  81,  Main  Street,  Richmond  Va. 

MANUFACTURER  of  HATS  and  CAPS  on 
the  largest  scide,  and  in  everv  possilile  variety 
and  Jiniiorter  of'iV.irth  American  arid  European  Furs' 
HATS,  CAPS,  PLUSHES,  TRIMMINGS,  and  all 
other  articles  l.eloni;ing  to  the  Trade,  is  always  sup- 
plied with  a  spl(=:ndid  stock  of  Goods,  for  Wholesale 
and  Retail,  which  in  quality  and  quaniitv  cannot  he 
excelled  by  any  other  house  in  ihe  South.  Hjs  nian- 
ufacturiiig  urrangeuieiits  are  of  the  completest  kind, 
and  his  facilities  (or  sujiplying  country  merchants  a' 
the  shortest  notice  cannot  he  surpassed 
July  1858— ly 


GREAT  REDUCTION  in  THE  PRICE  OF 

HATS  AND  BOOTS. 

From  15  to  20  per  cent,  saved 
hy  huyingCroin  J.  H.  ANTHONY,  Co  ^,^—5, 

luuibi.-ui  Hotel  Buildin?.  '         /<#SV 

Moleskin  Hats  of  best  qualify,  $3^  ;  4;^ 
do.   second   quality,  $3;    Fashionable  |,>t"TiX 
Silk  Hats,  $-2  50;  Fine  Calfskin  Sew-  . 
ed     Boots,    $3  50;     Congress    Gaiter 
Hoots,  $:3  25;    Fine  CulCskiii   Sewed 
Shoes,  $-2  25.  /|7/     M\\, 

J.  H.    ANTHONY   has    made    ar-p'"*''  ''^ 
rangenients  with  one  of  the  best  ma-            ^ --^^^^ 
kers  ill  the  city  o(  Philadelphia  to  supply  him  wi'th  a 
handsome  and  substantial  Calf-skin  Sewed  BOOT 
which  he   will  sell  at  the  unprecedented   low  price  of 
£hrt'e  Dollars  and  n  Half  J„|v  59 ly 


BAMSDALE  &  BROS., 


Corner  of  13th  and  Gary  Sts.,  Up  Stairs, 


CLAIBORNE    &    BARKSDAI.E, 
C.    E.    BARKSDALE, 
CHA8.    H.    BARKSDALE. 


RICHMOND,  VA. 

Feb  GO— ly 


Southern  Clothing-  House 

KICHMONL>,    VA. 

The    subscriber    keeps   con- 
Planlly  on  hand  a  large  and  Fash- 
ionable assortment  of  Keady-made 
Clothiiifr,  of  his  own  manufacture, 
of  the  latest  and  most  approved 
Stv|es.     Also  a   large  assortment 
of  Gentlemen's  furnishing  Goods, 
such  as  Handk'/s,  Cravats,  Neck 
Ties,  Shirts,  Drawers,  Gloves  and 
Susjienders.  Collars,  Umbrella?. 
]  ,     J       I  H  ^  '"  addition  to  which  he  keeps  a 

*i^lJL-     uJLJ-      ^^^^^  ""^    general   assortment  of 
as^aji^i—  'riMiB       p,ej.p  Goods  of  every  Style  and 
X,. ......,,  „,,„  „  ,„-  ,.  prepared  to  make  to  measure  at 

the  shortest  notice  and  in  the  best  and  most  fashiona- 
b'e  style.  E.  B.  SPENCE, 

T  ,     r„      ^^-  ^2^'  Corner  of  Main  and  13th  Sts. 
July  59— ly 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


"Virginia  Land  Registry 
and  Agency  Office, 

LYNCHBURG,    VA. 

The  undersigned,  by  requ<'st  of  land  sellers,  has  es- 
tablished in  the  ciiv  of  Lvnchburf:,  an  Aeency  for  the 
sale  of  Land,  the  olject  of  which  is  to  afl'ord  facilities 
boih  lo  the  seller  and  purchaser  of  the  land.  He  will 
keep  in  his  office  a  LAND  REGISTER,  containing 
correct  and  thorough  descriptions  of  Farms  for  sale, 
including  quantity,  quulity,  locution,  price,  terras,  and 
all  other  information  essential  to  be  known  by  one  de- 
sirous of  purchasing. 

In  this  way,  persons  unacquainted  with  the  coun- 
try, or  wishing  to  purchase,  can,  without  delay,  have 
8uch  a  plantation  pointed  out  to  them,  as  would  suit 
their  wishes,  and  tlie  purchaser  and  seller  at  once  be 
able  to  meet  each  other.  And<on  the  other  haiid,  sell- 
ers can  bring  their  land  to  the  notice  of  those  directly 
concerned,  without  that  notoriety  which  is  often  un- 
pleasant within  itself. 

Persons  who  wish  the  aid  of  this  office  in  selling, 
must  give  a  full  and  accurate  description  of  their  land, 
in  order  that  a  fair  and  candid  re|)resentution  may  be 
made  to  the  purchaser. 

This  Agen(!y  will  be  advertised  in  the  most  promi- 
nent agricultural  papers. 

All  curaniunications  must  be  postpaid,  and  if  an  an- 
swer is  required,  must  be  accon:panied  with  a  postage 
stamp,  and  they  will  be  promptly  attended  to. 

1^  Registering  Fee,  $10. 

l^  Office  at  Win.  T.  Anderson's,  Bridge  Street, 
next  door  to  Messrs.  Irby  &  Saunders. 

niav  '59— tf  LEY  BURN  WILKES. 


Xo.  319,  head  Bioad  Street,  Shockoe  Hill, 

RICHMOND,  VA. 

Wholesale  and  Retail  Detail  Dealer  in  English,  French 

and  American 


Paints, Oils,  Varnishes  and  Dye-Stufls;  Window  Glass, 

Putty,  Glue  and  Sand  Paper;  Paint,  Camel's 

Hair   and    Whitewash    Brushes;     Cloth 

Hair,  Flesh,  Nail  and  Tooth  Brushes. 

Fine  aud  Choice  Perfumery,  Faiicj'  Goods, 

PURE  L,IQ,UORS  AND  WINES, 

For  Medicinal  and  Sacramental  Purposes. 

Surgical  Instruments,  Trusses,  Shoulder  Braces, 

Supporters,  &c. 

Landreth's  Celebrated  Garden  Seeds, 

In  great  variety.    Also, 

BBS.  JJYNES'  AND  ROSE'S 

FAMILY   MEDICINES, 
MEXICAN  MUSTANG  LINIMENT. 

Together  with  all  the  most  popular  PATENT  AND 
BOTANICAL  MEDICINES,  direct  from  the  Propri- 
etors. 

Orders  from  Country  Merchants  and  Physicians 
thankfully  received  and  promptly  attended  to. 

Cjy  All  articles  from  this  Establishment  are  war- 
ranted pure,  fresh  and  genuine.  dec  58 — ly 


EDTs^EY^S  AMERICAN  PUMP. 

Without  Packing— Without  Suction. 

This  Pump,  patented  18.59,  is  a 
double  actiiicr  force  pnmp,  with- 
out chains,  guide  rods  or  pulleys, 
is  the  simplest,  strongest,  cheapy 
est  Pump  yet  invented;  can  be 
put  in  by  any  one,  and  without 
going  into  the  well,  and  raises 
from  6  to  fiO  gallons  per  miijute, 
according  to  size;  works  by  hand, 
water,  wind  or  steam,  .ind  is  itar- 
ranied  to  ^ive  soiisjnction  m  all 
depths,  and  to  raise  water  by  a 
ten  year  old  boy  60  feet.  AH 
depths  under  20  feet  complete, 
$18.  Drawings  and  full  particu- 
lars sent  free. 
Address, 

JAMES  M.  EDNEY, 
Mar  59— tf  147  Chan  bers  St.,  i\ew  York. 


FRUIT  AND'  ORNAMENTAL  TREES 

AT 

SOLTUERX  fiREEWVOOD  mwm, 

jRiclinaond,  \^a. 

THE  Subscribers  most  respectfully  call  the  atten- 
tion of  all  lovers  of  SUPERIOR  FRUIT,  to  their 
large  and  well  assorted  Stock  of  TREES  for  sale 
this  comins  Fall  and  Spring.     Such  as 

Apple,  Peach.  Plum,  Cherry,  Apri- 
cot, Neciarin   and  Dwarf  Pear   Trees,  Straic- 

berry  Plants,    S,'C.,  Sfc 

Our  Stock  of  APPLE  TREES  is  unusually  large 

and  fine.     A  new  Descriptive  Catalogue,  with  Prices 

annexed,    will   be  seen   on   application      We    would 

insist  up(.n   those  in  want  of  TREES,  &c.,  to  send 

in  their  orders  at  their  earliest  possible  convenience. 

Address-  LEWIS  TUDOR  &  CO. 

Sept.  1859 — 6in  Richmond,  Va. 


$30,000! 


To  one  or  more  persons  who  can  command  the 
above  sum,  and  who  may  be  disposed  to  conduct  a 
large  manufacturing  establishment  in  the  west,  a  }iiost 
advantageous  opening  is  proposed,  vvherebv  with 
reasonably  ^ood  management,  a  fortune  may  be  rea- 
I  lized  in  a  short  time.      Address 

Reference  may  be  made  to  )    P.  WILLIAMS, 

Jos.  C.  G.  Ke.NMiUT.      5       Washington,  D.  C. 
Sept— tf 


Corn  Shellers  of  Various  Kinds. 

The  Cylinder  fur  hand  will  shell  400  bushels  jier 
day,  the  same  for  horse  power  and  hand  will  shell  the 
san^e  bv  hand  and  600  bv  horse  power.  The  Reading 
Sheller"  will  shell  from  1,000  to  1,5(I0  bushels. 

WHEAT  FANS,  and  the  usual  vaiietv  of  machi- 
aery  on  hand.  H.  M.  SMITH, 

oc  58— tf  14  Main  Street. 


Essex  Pigs  for  Sale. 

The  subscriber  has  a  fesv  pure  bred  Essex  PIGS. 
Price  $10  each.  Also  some  half  Essex,  out  of  ISows 
of  "  Berkshire  and  Grazier''  stock.  Price  of  the  lat- 
ter, $15  for  iwo. 

The  best  only  of  the  litter  will  be  sent  to  persons 
ordering  them. 

May  '59.  JAMES  E.  WILLIAMS. 

Kich's  Iron  Beam  Plows. 

A  full  supply  on  hand,  and  for  sale  by 

H.  M.  SMITH, 
oc  58— tf.  14  Main  Street. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


PHOSPHATIC   GIJANO, 

FROM  THE  ISLAND  OF  SOMBRERO,  West  Indies, 

THE  RICHEST  DEPOSITS  OF  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME  K>OWX  TO  THE  WORLD. 

By  a  careful  analysis  of  an  average  sample  of  different  cargoes,  the  annexed  eminent  Chemists 
kave  found  this  remarkable  dcposiie  to  contain  of  Phosphate  of  Lime,  as  follows: 


By  Professor 

HAYES, 

Boston, 

of 

1st  Sample, 

■2d 

S9.6U 
89.-20 

■1 

KEESE, 

Ealiiniore,   - 

1st 
•2d 
3d 
4th 

85.14 

SO.oO 
7-2.04 
7-2.04 

■' 

CHILTON. 

New  York,  - 

1st        * 
2d 

S6..34 

84.92 

" 

PIGGOT. 

Baltimore.   - 

1st 

76.b5 

HUSON,    Liverpool, 

England, 

80.20 

DECK, 

,  New  York,  - 

1st 

88.00 

of  a  selec 

■ted  specimen. 

•' 

98.-25 

JL\UPIN  &  TUTTLE.  Uuiversitv  c 

.f  \ 

ir: 

;inia. 

85.16 

"  W1LLL\.M  GILHA.M.Military Institute.  Lexingion,ya.,  83.40         " 

Thus  proving  k  to  average  the  richest  deposite  of  Phosphate  of  Lime  known  to  the  world. 

Pure  Bone  Dust  contains  btit  55  or  56  per  cent,  of  this  important  Phosphate;  hence  a  compari- 
son of  the  relative  value  of  the  two,  ^vill  at  once  show  which  is  the  most  desirable  for  Agricuhural 
purposes. 

Guanos  are  of  two  distinct  species — those  in  which  the  Phosphates  of  Lime  predominate,  as 
in  Sombrero,  and  others;  anil  those  in  which  Ammonia  predominates,  as  in  the  Peruvian.  B.ib 
experience  and  tlieorj'  establish  the  fact,  that  Ammonia  and  Phosphate  of  Lime  are  essential  ::;- 
gredients  for  a  general  fertilizer,  and,  consequently,  for  general  purposes,  a  proper  mixture  of  i;.e 
two  is  recommended:  whilst  the  Peruvian  and  other  Ammoniated  Guanos,  are  mere  stimulaiit.<  .  r 
quickoiers  of  the  soil,  the  Sombrero  and  other  Phosphatic  Guanos,  are  permatient  fertilizers,  bu;  ■  i' 
flower  action  and  less  perceptible  etiect  the  first  year,  unless  aiiled  by  .some  stimulants.  He;!  e 
the  great  importance  cf  combining  the  two  in  proper  proportions,  which,  if  dou^.  makes  the  ;  •  .-r, 
most  louviTtuiti .  ar."  f.-c-nnnucal  fertilizer  known.  Assuming  the  cost  of  Peruvian  Guano  at  •^■'2, 
and  SVonbrero  at  $34  per  ton — and  with  one-quarter  of  the  former,  mix  three-quarters  of  ;:i<-' 
intWx.  (^a-ti,cit  proportions  are  recommcmJcd  by  experienced  Farmers!)  it  gives,  at  a  cost  of  about  -fil 
per  ton.  a  fertilizer  far  more  valuable  and  permanent  than  the  Peruvian  alone.  The  agricultn:  -t 
need  only  be  reminded  of  the  nature  of  the  two  predominating  ingredieuts.  in  the  dirierent  sj'lh  ;:s 
of  Guano,  to  enable  him  to  understand  the  proper  mode  of  its  application.  Whilst  Ammonia  (in  -he 
Peruvian)  is  liable  to  evaporate  or  rise,  Phosphate  of  Lime  (in  the  Sombrero)  is  heavy.and  liable  to 
sink  below  the  reach  of  the  roots  of  plants  Therefore  it  should  be  either  depositeil  in  the  hil!.  or 
drill  with  the  crop,  or  used  as  a  top  dressing,  in  the  proportion  of  from  200  to  40U  lbs.  to  the  ;u  e, 
according  to  the  wants^of  the  soil.  If  used  as  a  top  dressing,  the  Spring  is  the  best  time,  wh^n 
the  crop  is  assuming  its  strength  and  sustenance,  as.  at  that  time,  the  benefit  of  the  Ammonia  i« 
less  likelv  to  be  lost  than  if  used  in  the  Fail  or  early  Winter. 

:EDM0ND  davenport  &  CO.,  Agents. 

RICHMOXD.    Virginia. 

g@»It  can  also  be  obtained  of  A.  GARRETT.  E.  W0RTHA3I  &  CO..  DUKE  &  HUTCHIiT- 
SON,  and  E    H.  SKINKER,  Richmond.  Feb.  1.  1S5S. 

^^  CO-PARTNERSHIP    NOTICE.  fU^ 

^^^^  I  havp  this  day  admitted  as  a  partner.  Mr.  JOHN  -\.  JE.N.\L\GS.  The  bi)sine=!!  will  jQ-Ztl. 
in  future  be  conducted  at  my  old  stand,  No.  118  Main  Street,  under  the  firm  and  style  of  S.A.MUEL  S.  COT- 
TRELL  it  CO.,  "here  we,  have  on  hand  a  fine  assortment  of  S.-tddles,  Bridles,  Wliips,  Carria^f,  Cfiit  and 
Wason  Harness,  of  everv  description  and  quality,  and  will  contiaue  to  mannfucture  to  order  and  lor  sale, 
•verv  class  of  eoods  in  our  line. 

.There  wasnwarde.l  me  at  the  United  States-Fair  last  Fall,  three  siker  Medals  for  SUPERIOR  SPECI- 
MENS OF  WORK.M.ANSHIP  ;  since  «-hii-h  lime  our  facilities  have  greatly  increased,  and  we  now  flatter 
ourselves  ihut  we  can  furnish  eieiy  aiiicle  \\i  our  line,  not  to  be  surpassed  in  quality,  and  at  as  low  price« 
US  any  other  establishment  in  this  country. 

I  beg  leave  to  return  my  sincere  thanks  to  my  old  friends  .and  the  pnblic  generally  for  the  liberal  patron- .^.  I 
sge  heretofore  bestowed  upon  me,  and  resjiecifully  solicit  a  continuance  of  tlie  same  to  the  new  concern,'] 
pledpins  oiirseUes  to  use  our  utmost  endeavors  to  please  oui  friends  and  patrons. 

Feb  i859— Iv  SAMUEL  S.  COTTRELL. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISmG  SHEET. 


The  above  cut  is  a  representation  of  J.  HAWS  Pecker  Saw  Mill. 

It  is  simple  in  its  construction,  very  durable;  and  is  well  adapted  tor  plantation  sawing.  It  will  saw 
with  from  4  to  6  horse-power  from  l.OflO  to  1,500  feet  per  day,  if  properly  manasred.  The  carriage  is  24  feet 
Ions,  and  will  cut  log:?  ihal  will  square  to  21  inches,  and  cuts  all  kinds  of  timber.  The  timber  is  inserted 
in  the  oblong  plate,  and  can  be  renewed  when  worn  out., 

I  have  given  the  Mill  a  fair  tri^U,  and  warrant  the  performance  as  above  stated.  The  price  of  the  Mill  is 
$'26.5,  with  esira  pinions,  t^crevv-wrench,  cant-hooks,  set-punch,  and  one  extra  set  of  teeth.  Any  good  thresh- 
er horse-power  will  answer  to  drive  it.  I  also  make  Threshing  .Machines  from  4  to  12  horse  power,  and 
Threslieis  to  thresh  and  clean  Wtieat  at  the  same  operation,  for  which  I  »an  give  satisfactory  references  to 
the  large,-t  furniers  on  the  Pamuiikev  River.     Those  wishing  further  information,  will  address 

October  18.38— tf  JOHN  HAW,  Old  Church,  Hanover  Co.,  Va. 

IST^T^^SS^    GTJ_A.ISrO 

THE  Richest  phosphatic  guano  imported. 

Your  attention  is  respeclfullv  invited  to  the  annexed  Analysis  and  Reports  on  the  Guano  offered  by  me, 
and  espec'ally  to  the  fact  therein  shown,  that  it  cont;iins  in  a  given  bulk  a  greater  amonnt  of  Phosphates 
t\van  is  found  in  any  other  manure  natural  or  artificial,  yet  offered  to  the  public.  Phosphoric  acid  is  now 
ailiiiitied  by  the  best  agricniiunil  auihoiities  to  be  the  one  thing  above  all  others  necessary  to  be  returned 
to  the  soil,  to  enable  it  Jo  |>roduce  an  nnfuilingly  good  crop  without  permanently  impairing  its  general  /ertilitv; 
in  this  guaiio  we  have  it  presented  in  the  form  best  adapted  for  such  a  purpose.  I  am  anxious  to  have  some 
of  it  tried  in  every  dist»tct,  and  also  that  such  as  try  if,  may  lavor  me  through  my  Agents,  with  the  earliest 
information,  as  to  how  far  it  has  practically  borne  out  the  autiiipations  of  those  vvho  have  scientifically  ex- 
amined its  constitueuls.  with  a  >iew  to  enable  nie,  and  district  A>;eiits  to  make  eailv  arrangements  lor  an  ade- 
qu;ite  supply  lor  the  ibllowing  year.  Owing  to  the  rapidly  diminishing  supply  of  Guano  from  the  Chincha 
Islands,  111  >enrly  advancing  price,  and  the  exhaustive  eflects  produced  by  its  too  free  application  to  the  land, 
from  its  possessing  too  much  ammonia,  in  proportion  to  its  Phosphates,  INavassa  Guano  excels  it  in  practical 
use,  and  especially  to  the  farmer  as  permanently  improving  to  the  land,  which  might  yearly  receive  from  the 
application  of  N.A  >'ASS.\  GUANO,  more  Phosphates  than  the  crop  would  deprive  it' of. 

All  local  Merchants  and  Dealers  are  required  to  give  a  guarantee  on  purchasing  that  thev  will  sell  it  to 
consumers  genuine,  as  received.  Very  respectfiillv,  WAl"  F.  MURDOCK, 

No.  29  Exchange  Building,  Br.ltimore,  April  4,  1858. 
Report  of  Analysis  of  '•  Navassa  Guano'' — Made  for  E.  K.  COOPER. 
The  sainple  was  found  upon  Analysis  to  be  composed  as  follows — 

Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime.     ....  84.73 

Containing  of  Phosphoric  Acid,  -  -  38.82 

Fluoride  of  Calcium,  •  .  -  2  M 

Carbonate  of  Lime,  ....  5  35 

Per  Oxide  of  Iron  and  Some  Alumna,  ...  3  00 

Water,  &.c.  .  -  -  .  .  438 

100. 
The  extraordinarily  high  per  ceutage  of  Phosphate  of  Lime  above  stated,  recommends  this  article  at  once 
as  a  superior  Phosphatic  manure,  especially  at  the  present  time  when  the  want  of  ihe  better  qualities  of  Phoa- 
phatic  Guanos  is  most  seriously  felt.  The  presence  of  Fluoride  of  Calcium  is  of  no  slight  impiutunce.  This 
substance  serves  as  a  direct  nutriment  to  plants  and,  subsequentlv,  enters  the  couiposition  of  the  Bones  and 
Teeth  of  Animals.  '  CHAS.  BICKELL.  Ph.  I). 

Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime.  Bone  Phosphate  of  Litup. 

Jas.  R.  Chilton,  MD..  New  York,  83.78  R.  H.  Stabler,  M.D.,  Alexandria,  8592 

For  sale  bv  S.  .McGRLDER'S  SONS,  E.  H.  SKI. NKER  &  CO..  Richmond;  .lOHN  ROW  LETT  & 
CO..  H  C.  HARDY  &.  CO..  Petersburg:  SCOTT,  FRENCH  &  CO..  Fredericksburg;  GARRISON  &. 
MAIGNE,  Noriolk:  J.  C  N  EVETT,  Alexandria;  VALE.NTINE  S.  BiCUNNER,  Frederick,  Md. ;  BENJ'N 
DARBY,  Georgetown,  D.  C.  May  1859— tf 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


RUSH'S  PHOSPHO-PERUlflAI  GOAiO. 

Peruvian  Guano  used  alone  is  quite  costly,  and  is  rarely  attended  with  any  permanent,  and 
never  with  auy  considerable  improvement.  Pliosphatic  Guano  used  alone,  though  far  less  costly 
than  the  other,  is  yet  not  economical,  because,  being  dissolved  slov.iy  and  with  difficulty,  it  rarely 
.exerts  any  effect  ou  the  Wheat  crop,  and  not  miiih  on  the  subsequent  crop  of  clover.  The  two 
used  in  intimate  mixture,  and  costing  less  than  Peruvian  Guano,  are  said  to  be  superior  to  either 
alone,  that  a  far  less  quantity  of  Peruvian  Guano  will  produce  a  crop  which  would  require  a  much 
larger  application  if  used  singly;  and  the  Pliosphatic  Guano  is  made  speedily  operative  on  the 
Wheat,  and  permanently  operative  on  the  succeeding  crop  of  clover,  and  on  the  land.  One  theory 
is.  that  the  ammonia  in  the  Peruvian  liberates  the  phosphoric  acid  in  the  Phosphatic  Guano,  for 
the  use  of  both  wheat  and  clover.  Another  is,  that  the  ammonia  enables  both  Wheat  and  clo- 
ver to  appropriate  the  phosphoric  acid.  Of  the  truth  of  all  this  each  man  must  judge  for  him- 
self. The  mixture  would  certainly  seem  to  be  judicious,  because  there  is  a  growing  demand  for  it 
from  judicious,  practical  men — men  whose  names  can  stand  a  reference.  Hitherto  this  demand 
has  been  met  from  Baltimore,  or  still  farther  North.  I  now  propose  to  supply  it  from  Richmond, 
with  an  article  at  least  equal  to  any  made  elsewhere.  It  shall  contain  8  per  ct.  of  ammonia, 
and  not  less  than  45  per  ct.  of  phosphate  of  lime.  All  who  have  heretofore  satisfactorily  used 
Manipulated  Guano,  may  safely  buy  their  supply  of  me  ;  and  I  ask  those  who  have  never  tried 
it  to  try  mine  now  by  the  side  of  Peruvian  Guano. 

There  is  no  secret  in  my  ingredients  or  mode  of  manufacture  ;  and  every  farmer  is  at  liberty 
to  inspect  the  whole  process.  If  he  approves  it,  but  thinks  he  can  mix  it  more  cheaply  for 
himself,  I  will  sell  him  the  phosphates  I  use,  and  he  may  make  the  experiment,  pro- 
vided he  will  buy  enough  of  mine  to  compare  them.  All  I  claim  to  do  is  to  grind  and  mix 
far  better  than  the  farmer  can,  to  select  a  better  phosphate  than  he  can,  and  to  obtain  it  on 
better  terms.  My  experience  in  the  market  alr^dy  assures  me  that  it  is  far  more  difficult  to  ob- 
tain a  good  phosphate  than  a  good  Peruvian  Guano ;  and  as,  besides  this,  their  complete  effect 
depends  on  their  thorough  admixture,  which  can  only  be  accomplished  by  perfect  machinery, 
it  is  better  for  them  to  purchase  the  prepared  article  than  the  ingredients,  when  they  are  sat- 
isfied that  they  will  get  what  tliey  bargain  for.  That  t  profess  to  furnish  all  who  deal  with  me. 
I  have  leased  a  large  house  on  Gary  street,  opposite  the  Basin  sheds,  and  fitted  it  up  with  com- 
plete machinery,  where  I  shall  superintend  the  manufacture  in  person,  and  where  1  shall  be 
happy  to  see  all  my  friends. 

While  I  claim  that  this  article,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  reduced  to  a  line  dry  powder,  will  broad- 
cast better  than  Peruviai)  Guano,  there  is  no  question  that  for  the  same  reason  it  will  be  vastly 
superior  for  the  drill. 

Price.  $52  cash  per  ton  of  2.000  lbs.,  and  will  vary  according  to  changes  in  prices  of  ingre- 
dients. 

1  have  appointed  the  following  persons  as  agents  for  the  sale,  from  whom  it  can  be  obtained, 
on  the  same  terms  as  from  myself,  viz  :  ,  • 

,    CREKSHAW  &  CO..  S.  McGRUDER  S  SONS, 

ALEXR  GARRETT.  PEYTON  &  ARCHER.  Richmond; 

M.  HOLLINS  &  CO..  Lynchburg. 

FRANK  G.  RUFFIN. 

Richmond,  July,  1S59. — tf 


SHUCKS  WANTED, 

The  subsnriber  wisliPs  to  purchase  for  present  de- 
livery at  his  place  on  8th  street,  (opposite  City 
Spring,)  Richmond,  Va.,  or  for  future  deliver}',  loo^^e 
or  in  bales,  in  Richmond,  or  pressed  in  bales  only  in 
New  York,  any  quantity  of  Com  Shucks. 


Sept  1859— 6t 


G.  B.  STACY 


FOR  SALE. 


A  FARM  OF  300  ACRES  I.\  BOTETOURT 
COUNTY.  Land  good,  and  improvements  good  and 
sufficient.    For  further  particulars  inquire  of 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS, 

Deo.  Richmond,  Va. 


PURE  BRED  STOCK 
FOR  SALE. 

Pure  Bred  Durham  Cattle,  at  $75  to  $250. 

Spanish  Merino   Sheep,  Silesian  Merino  Sheep,  and 
Fren.-h  Merino  Shrep.  at  $7  to  $20 

Essex    Pigs,    Suffolk   Piss,   and   Goe's  Improved 
White  Pigs,  at  §8  each. 

Madagascar  Rabbits  at  $10  per  pair. 

Brood  Mares  served  bv  "Bush  Messenger,"  at  $125 
to  $500. 

Colts  got  bv  •'  Cotrill  Morgan,"  and  by  "  Bush  Mes- 
senger," 50  to  200. 

All  animals  sold  will  be  carefully  boxed  or  hal- 
tered, and  placed  ut  the  Express  office. 

My  residence  is  4J  miles  east  of  Brownsville, 
Favelte  Countv,  Pa. 

POST  OFFICE  BOX  No.  6. 


Feb  eO-lv 


JOHN  S.  GOE. 


SOUTIIEKN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


CROVER  &  BAKER'S 

CELEBRATED  FAMILY  SEWING 


MACHINES. 


Extra  charge 


NEW  STYLES—Prices  from  $50  to  $125. 
of  $5  for  Hemmers. 

This  Machine  sews  from  two  spools,  as  purchased  from  the  store, 
requiring,  no  re-wiiKlin<r  on  thre  id.  It  hems,  fells,  gathers  and  stitches 
in  a  superior  style,  finishing  each  seam  by  its  own  operation,  without 
recourse  to  the  hand  needle,  us  is  rt^quired  by  other  machines.  It  will 
do  better  and  cheaper  sewing  than  a  seamstress  can,  even  if  she  works 
for  one  cent  an  hour. 


Sales  Room,  uuder  Mechanics'  Institute,  Riclimoud,  Va.,  9th  Street. 


To  the  Grover  S^^  Bal-er's  Seirvtir  Machine  Co. — Gents:  Perhaps  you  inny  like  to  know  how  the  Gro- 
Ter  &,  Baker  machines  are  doinj;  in  Cuba.  We  have  twenty-five  of  your  machines  in  use,  making  govern- 
ment clothing  for  the  army,  and  plantation  sewing,  which  we  have  had  in  use  now  about  eighteen  months, 
and  their  performance  has  far  exceeded  our  most  sanguine  expectations.  We  run  the  mfichines  constantly 
by  steam,  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  and  we  find  them  to  require  but  little  repair — indeed,  tliey  seeyi  not  to  ba 
worn  at  all.  We  have  tried  both  the  Singer  and  Wheeler  &  Wilson  machines,  but  "hey  have  been  long 
•ince  laid  aside  in  the  race.  One  thing  we  are  sure  of— that  the  Grover  &,  Baker  machine  is  the  only  ma- 
chine for  our  work.  John  J.  Slocum, 

Sup'' t  of  the  Indusir/i,  Caboiia,  Havana. 


Some  years  since  I  purchased  a  Shuttle  Machine,  and  found  so  much  trouble  in  working  it,  that  J  gave 
it  away,  and  after  closely  examining  the  mechanism  and  working  of  every  machine  within  my  reach.  I  pur 
•based  a  Grover  «fe  Baker,  as  best  suited  to  do  the  sewing  of  my  tiiinily.  I  have  found  it  simple,  easily 
kept  in  order,  and  in  evidence  of  its  simplicity,  will  state  that  my  daughter,  when  about  ten  years  old,  with- 
out anv  particular  instruction,  had  no  difficulty  in  working  it.  and  finds  it  verv  fascinating  eniplovment. 

ROBERT  CHILSDEN,  Beaufort,  S.  C 
Jan  1860 -6t. 

BHIDGEMAN'B 

Horticultural  Establishment, 

JVos.  876  and  878  Broadway^ 
NEW  YORK. 


SEEB 


ElB 


THE  SUBSCRIBER  H.\S  NOW  ON  HAND  A  FULL  SUPPLY  OF 

Grass.  Vegetable,  Herb  and  Flower  SeedSj 

Embracin"'  the  old  favorites,  and  including  several  new  varieties  of  superior  excellence.     For  sale  (at  the 
lowest  market  price,)  for  quality,  and  quantity,  or  in  packages,  tor  retail  trade. 

^^New  Catalogues  furnished  on  application. 
Also  an  assortment  of 

Horticultural  Implements,  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Books. 


All  orders  attended  to  prompllv,  and  with  exactness. 


Jan  60— 3t 


ALFKED  BRIDGEMxVN. 


10 


SOUTHERN  PL A.NTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


HAVING  COMPLETED  MY 


ON 


FRANKLIN  STREET  AND   WALNUT  ALLEY, 

The  ivJiole  being  in  connection  with  my 

IMPLEMEXT  AXD  SEED   STORE, 

on  MAIN  STREET, 

I  now  invite  particular  attention  to  the  advantages  I  have  for  Manufacturing  any  kind  of 


AND   FOR 

Supplying    Seeds    and    Implements, 

OF  EVERY  DESCRIPTION. 


As  heretofore,  I  shall  pay  particular  attention  to  ray 

PORTABLE   THRESHEES, 

With  hori=e-powers  so  arranged  as  to  require  no  di^pn^  or  delay  in  starting;  and  shall  keep  Machines  of 
the  best  Plan  and  Work.nanship — such  as  my  patent  Straw  Cutler,  Corn-Shellers  for  Horse  and  Hand 
Power,  Wheat  Fans,  Screws.  Cradles,  Reapers,  Hay  Presses,  Cider  .Mills,  Seed  Drills,  Plows.  HaiTOWi, 
Hay  Rakes,  Gleaners,  Cultivators,  Gum  and  Leatlier  .Machine  Belling. 

Rppairs  of  all  kinds  nf  Threslie-s  and  Reapers  if  sent  earlv  siiictlv  attpnded  to. 

^°  Agent  for  Bickford  and  Huffman's  Wheat  and  GuanoDrills,  and  McCoruiick's  Reaper. 
Jan  60— 2t 


:  SOUTHERN  PLANTER— AD YEETISLN'G  SHEET.  11 

^    rFoTes'  super-phosphate. 

Ererv  lot  offered  for  sale  regularly  Analyzed  and  fully  Warranted. 

MASCFACTraSD  BY 

B.  IM.  HHOIDES  &  CO., 

O^rt  fl  &:uih  S'.ra:.  Bcic'./s  Wharr.  Balnmcre.  JId. 
Tacked  in  Barrels  and  Bags.    Price  $45  per  ton,  cash,  in  Baltimore. 

jGEyrs  ly  viRGiyLi. 

Ricnmond— SCHAER.  KOHLER  &  CO,  Alessndris— WATERS.  ZIMMERMAN  A:  CO. 

Pel.  r^hiir— VENA  BLE  &  MORTON.  Fne,lerkk^b..r2— SCOTT.  FRE.NCH  &  CO. 

I  ,.,,.:„, r~_M.  HOLM.NS   &  CO.  F»niivi:ie— H  "  E-  WARREN. 

Noroiii— B.  J.  BOCKOVER.  Blacks  t  Wtiiies— JEFFERSON  &  WILLIAM- 
Wav  ISoSi— !y  SON. 


^  EXCELSIOR  CORN  MILL 


"''  AGENCY  XO.  45    GOLD    STREET,  XEW  YORK. 


THIS  is  a  CONICAL  FRENCH  BIRR  STONE  MILL,  of  great- 
ly Improved  Cot  iJri.ction,  combining  atlvanta?es  over  all  others 
of  same  raaterisJ.  in  compactness,  simplicity,  the  small  amount  of 
power  req  lire-l  to  operate  it.  in  not  heating-  the  meal,  and  in  bein; 
adapted  to  sriod  on  the  same  Mill,  the  co-trsest  feed  and  finest  d-tur. 
Nrzro^s  of  sufScieot  iuteliisence  to  run  ami  keep  it  in  perfect  srind- 

,,- .  in«r  order,  are  fiitind  on  every  plantation      The   Gin   powtr  used  by 

Planters  is  adiiiimbly  adapted  to  drive  the  EXCELSIOR  MILL. 
Two  cood  horses  workins  on  anv  pind  po*er.  will  sriml  five  bushels  floiir.  or  fi.ie  meal  the  hour.     It  i« 
only  Soini-hes  lonsr,  IS  wide,  and  18  high — weighs  2i-V  pouutls.     Tne  best  Mill  ever  invented  for  plantation 
use — will  last  a  life  time,  and  liierefore  must  not  l)e  confoiiuded  with  the  niiml>erless  Iron    .Mills  with  nhich 
planters  have  been  hsiOibae^eJ  lor  vears  past.     It  is  a  perfect  sem,  oi"  inestimable  value  on  aiiv  plantaiion. 
PRICE— $100 

Descriptive  Circulars  sent  bT  J.  A.  BEN  NET,  ^le  Agent. 

Not.  185y — 6m 


MANIPULATED  GUANC!  MANIPULATED  GUANO! 

We  offer  to  liie  P.auters  of  Virjjinia  a  Guano  prepared  by  us  as  follows : 
1000  lbs.  of  the  best  Peruvian  Gliano  that  can  be  procured : 
8i)0  lbs.  of  the  best  Sombrero  Guano,  containing  full  SO  ^  ce;it  of  the  Phospbr.-e  oi  Lin^e. 
*2»X>  lb?,  of  the  best  Gronnd, Piaster,  for  which  we  pay  §-J  ^  ton  estm. 
Planters  antl  others  are  invited  to  examine  the  article.     From  the  best  itiltimiation  we  can  ob- 
tein,  we  b?iieve  the  raixti-re  is  one  of  the  best  that  can  be  prepared  for  the  Vii^nia  lands. 
Price  to  Planters,  ^&':»  ton.  or  $2  »  ton  less,  where  they  furnish  ba^s. 

For  sale  by  EDMOND  DA^TINPORT  &  CO. 

Also  for  saU  by  Commission  anJ  Grocery  Merchants  in  this  Citt/. 


We  refer  to  Plnnii^rs  who  hive  u«ed  the  Sombrero  snd  tiie^  Manipulated  Guano — auon'  them  James  Gait 

hers, 
report  of  the  same,  samples  from  72 


Esq.,  A.  Warwick.  Esq  .  Joseph  Allen.  Esq.,  R.  H.  Styll.  E*q.,  and  others 
Below  we  2ive  D.  K.  Tuttle's  (Chemist  at  University  ot  Virginia) 


bajs,  and  it  shall  he  kept  to  that  standard. 

"  I  am  now  able  to  give  you  ibe  results  of  analysis.     They  show  the  Mixture  to  be  what  you  slated  in  a 

form' r  letter,  and  I  jiidee  that  you  are  very  fortii'naie  ia  the  selection  of  materials,  especially  of  Peruvian 

Guano.     The  per  c^'utase  of  Ammonia  shows  the  pure  Peruvian  to  contain  12-4  per  cent^  whicU  is  more 

than  the  aversee      The  .Analysis  is  as  follows  : 

.^ioisture  (riven  00"  at  boiling  pomt  of  water,)  -  -  -  10.05 

Phosphait  of  Lime.  .  -  •  -  .  -  45-26 

S'llphuric  Acid.  5. 15  >  •  QIM 

Lime,  ZM,\ ^^ 

Ammonia,  -  .  .  -  .  .  6.90 

Insoluble  Matter,  -  -  -  -  -  -  1 5o 

A  small  Quantitv  of  .41kal: — undetermined.      >  .ii  oi 


Water  in  combination  and  Organic  Matter, 


lOO.CO 


Hopins  that  vour  Fertilizer  may  meet  with  the  snccess  which  it  deserves. 

I  remain,  T«-rv  lesppcLlillv  vonrs. 
Jan_tf  .  •  '   ■      D.  K.  TUTTLE." 


12  SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


I^2:"c>si:>eot"OLS 

OF 

THE   SOUTHERN   PLANTER, 


DEVOTED  TO 

AGRICULTURE,  HORTICULTURE  AND  THE  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS. 

Published  at  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 


J.    E.    WILLIAMS,    EDITOR. 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER,  which  has  been  estahlished  for  nineteen  years,  ia  the 
oldest  Agricultural  Paper  in  Virginia,  and  the  Editor  and  Proprietors  feel  that  they  have  a  right 
to  claim  the  patronage  of  the  Farmers  of  Virginia  and  the  Soutli,  if  they  have  succeeded  in 
making  the  paper  worth  the  sum  asked  for  it.  That  they  have  fully  done  tliat,  they  do  not 
doubt  for  one  moment.  Many  of  tlie  best  formers,  and  some  of  them  among  the  ablest  men 
and  best  writers  of  this  and  other  States,  have  enriched  the  pages  of  the  Planter  with  invalua- 
ble essays,  drawn  mostly  from  their  own  e.Kperience  ;  and  in  the  quantity  of  good  original  mat- 
ter, it  exceeds  any  paper  of  its  size  in  the  Union.  In  order  to  diffuse  the  information  tlius  given, 
it  is  necessary  to  extend  the  circulation  of  the  paper;  and  in  asking  the  friends  of  Agrciulture 
throughout  this  and  olher  Southern  States  to  aid  in  doing  it,  the  Proprietors  feel  that  they  ai'e 
not  asking  a  favor  l)ut  offering  a  valuable  consideration. 

The  Editor  is  a  farmer  engrossed  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  wholly  dependent  on  his 
land  for  his  living.  This  may  be  considered  to  some  extent  a  guarantee  of  the  practical  char- 
acter of  the  work. 

The  Planter  is  pu}»lished  in  monthly  numbers,  on  fine  paper,  containing  04  super-royal 
octavo  pages,  exclusive  of  the  Advertising  Sheet ;  bound  in  a  neat  cover,  making  a  volume  of 
768  pages  of  Agricultural  matter,  per  annum,  tor  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  which  may  be  dis- 
charged by  the  payment  of  TWO  DOLLARS  ONLY,  if  paid  in  advance.  6  copies  "for  $10; 
13  copies  for  $20  ;   I  copy  3  years  $5.     Invariably  in  Advance. 

Subscriptions  may  begin  with  any  number,  but  it  is  preferable  that  they  should  begin  with 
the  commencement  of  the  volume. 

No  paper  will  be  discontinued  until  all  arrearages  are  paid,  except  at  our  option, 

J5^"  Exchanges  favorable  to  this  Journal  will  please  notice. 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS,  Proprietors. 


IMPROYED  HOGS. 

The  Subscriber  lias  for  sale  two  very  fine  Essex  BOARS,  rather  more  than  a  year  old. 
Also,.one  SUFFOLK,  one  CHESTER  COUNTY,  and  several  ESSEX  SOWS. 
Price,  $30  each,  delivered  on  the  Cars,  or  other  public  freight  lines. 

JAMES  E.  A^IELIAMS. 

Nov.  1st,  1859. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING   SHEET. 


13 


VALUABLE  LOUISA  LAND 
FOR  SALE. 

Wisliing  to  dispose  of  my  Real  Estate,  in  order 
to  divide  the  proceeds  among  my  children,  I 
offer  lor  sale,  private!}^,  my  Farm, 

SUNNING  HILL. 

This  most  desirable  trtict  of  Land  lies  in  the  heart 
of  the  valuable  tobacco  Lands  of  Louisa,  on  boi  h 
sides  of  the  south  l)ranch  of  the  North  Anna  river, 
adjdinin?  the  hinds  of  H.  P.  Poindexter,  Gabriel 
Jc'iips,  Josenli  M.  Baker  and  olhers,  eight  miles  from 
Louisa  Coiirt-House  and  Tolersville.  on  the  Virginia 
Central  Uailrond,  and  equally  convenient  to  both. 

'J'liis  Farm  contains  1,1)10  acres,  of  which  200  are 
wood  land,  more  thnn  ibrpe-loniths  of  which  are 
heavily  timbered  with  o.ik,  pine  and  hickory  of  orij{i- 
nal  growih.  The  arable  land  is  (iertile  and  in  a  high 
stale  of  improvement — well  adnplcd  to  the  growih  ol 
wheat,  corn  and  tobacc^o.  Tliere  is  a  comfortable 
I)\\'ELLII\(t,  with  eight  rooms,  a  good  barn,  tobacjo 
houses, and  all  necessary  ou^  buildings.  The  locality 
is  healthy  and  the  neighborhood  pleasant.  Presuming 
thai  any  one  wishing  to  pnrc^liase  will  visit  the  Farm 
and  see  for  themselves,  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to 
.speak  farther.  The  Farm  is  capable  of  being  divided 
into  three  tracts,  il'  desired.  Being  very  desirous  of 
selling,  terms  will  be  made  to  accommodate  pur- 
cliasors. 

My  manager,  Mr.,  Groom,  will  take  pleasure  in 
showing  the  |)remises  to  any  one  who  wishes  to  pur- 
cha.se8.  JULL\  A.  HOLLADAY. 

For  further  information,  ajiplv  to  Dr.  W.  C  N. 
Randolph,  Charlot'esville,  Va,;"or,  H.  T.' Holliday, 
Riipiii  Ann  tStation,  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad, 
who  is  authorized  to  sell.  Feb  fcO — tf 


BALTIMORE  ^OVE  HOUSE, 

BIBB  &  CO., 

(Jt  the  old  stand.) 
No.  30  LIGHT  STREET,  Baltimore,  3rd. 

We  particularly  invite  the  attention  of  our 
country  friends  to  our  large  and  varied  assort- 
ment of  STOVES,  embracing  the  best  selection 
to  be  found  in  the  city,  and  will  be  sold  on  the 
most  accommodating  terms. 
Hot  Air  Furnaces,  Ranges,  Cambooscs, 
FirePlace  Stoves,  Parlor  Stoves  and  Grates, 

Gas-birrning  Stoves,       Improved  Old   Dominion, 
Heating  Stoves,  Noble  Penn&  Globe  Stove. 

Repairs  for  all  kinds  of  Stoves  constantly  on  hand. 

Old  Stoves  taken  in  exchange. 
Also.    LITTLE     GIANT    CORN    AND    COB 

MILLS.     AGRICULTURAL  BOILERS,  &c. 

Sep.  1S59— 6t 

J.    R.    KEININGHAM, 

DEALER    IN 

BOOKS  &  STATIONERY, 

211  Broad  Street,  between  4th  and  5ih,  RICH- 
MOND, VA.  March  1859. 


RIPHIIOXD  GROLWD  PLASTER. 

The  undersigned  takes  this  method  of  informing 
the  public  that  our  plaster  has  been  selected  at  the 
North  with  great  care,  purchased  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  interests  of  onr  customers,  and  the  trade 
generally.  We  hazard  nothing  in  saying  that  it  will 
be  to  the  intere.«t  of  those  who  want,  to  give  us  a 
call,  being  longer  in  the  business  than  anv  one  in  the 
city,  and  alteniling  to  the  grinding  and  cooperin" 
personally,  seeing  that  every  barrel  is  put  up  in  good 
order.  Farmers  sending  their  own  bags,  it  can  be 
had  $1  per  ton  less  than  in  barrels. 

We  tender  our  grateful  thanks  for  the  liberal  patro- 
nage bestowed  on  our  old  brand  last  season,  as  well 
as  in  years  past,  and  hope,  by  a  strict  attention  to  the 
business,  to  merit  a  continuance  of  the  same. 

A  Ifberal  discount  to  the  trade. 

J.  &  H.  F.  SHARPE. 

Steam  Plaster  Mills,  South  Side  Dock, 
Oct  59—6  mo— pd]  Richmond,  Va. 


Liberal  Offer  for  1859 ' 

ttSH'S  TRIAL  PIAiOS! 

^^i-^     We  wdl  take  upon  ourselves  the  trou- 
afesH^SaiiSble  and  responsibility  of  selectinc 


for  and  lorwardmg  to  such  persons  as  may  wish  to 
purchase,  and  it  they  do  not  turn  out  to  be  really  sood 
we  W[[,L  BEAK  ALL  THE  EXPENSE^  ^ 

We  know  what  the  PIANOS  are,  and  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  taking  the  risk  of  giving  satisfaction. 

E.  P.  NASH  &  CO., 

April  1859.  Petersburg,  Va. 


C,  H.  M'CORMICK, 

Offers  to  the  Farmers  of  Eastern  Virsinia  and  North 
Carolina  his  Reapers,  and  Reapers  and  Mowers,  de- 
liverable to  order,  through  his  agent, 

WM.  A.  BRAXTON, 

Address  Acquinton  P.  O.,  King  William  Co  ,  Va. 
N.  B.— All  persons  wanting  machiiies,are  requested 
to  send  in  their  orders  early.  \\J .  x,  £_ 

January  1859- tf 


Macfarlane  &  Fergusson, 

BOOK,  JOB, 


AND 


Kit'  'lili'ii  'ui'illl  'iriilSl   '^'iM  '''3  ''lil'iiyi     \ 

PRINTERS, 

CORNER  BANK  AND  12TH  STREETS. 
RICHMOND,  VA. 


14 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADA^ERTISING  SHEET. 


'  J^i  FOR  THE 

.^ST"^-;!     celebrat]:d  premium 

IRON  CILIEER 

Grain  Drill, 


"Witli   tlie   Improved   Guano   Attacliment   and   Grass    Seed'  Sower. 


^n 


PATENTED  IX  1856  AND  1S58. 


I 


'i'a:^:. 


MANTFACTrRED    BY 


BICKFORD    &    HUFFMAN, 

BALTIMORE,  MARYLAND. 


Those  wishing  this  article,  and  one  that  is  universally  acknowlfilged  hy  ihe  Farmers  of  the  South,  Nortli 
and  West,  and  hy  all  lliat  have  examined  it,  to  be  the  best  ever  offered  to  the  public,  ivill  bear  iu  mind  th;.t  un- 
less they  order  early,  may  be  disappointed,  as  hundreds  were  last  season,  by  delay. 


9  TUBE  DRILL, 


E|RI 

90  on 


CES, 


Guano  Attachment, 
Grass  Seed  Sower, 


$90  on 

8        "  "  ...  85  00 

7        "  "  -  -  -  80  00 

All  Orders  promptly  filled  and  information  given,  bv  application  to 

C.  F.  CORSER, 
General  Agent  for  the  Southeru  States, 
0£ice.  Ko.  PO  S.  Charles  Street,  between  Pratt  and  Camden,  Baltimore,  Md. 
For  sale  by  CHURCH  &  FLEMING,  Agents,  Richmond,  Ya. 


|25  00 
10  00 


CAUTION. 


Notice  is  hereby  given  to  all  whom  it  may  concern :  That  this  is  to  forbid  all  persons  makinp,  vending 
Dsin^  or  infrinsin?  upon  our  Guano  ur  Compost  Attachment,  pateuied  April  22d,  1856,  re-issueii  .May  18ih, 
1858.  Any  person  violatins:  our  rishls.  will  be  held  accnuniMble.  None  g  nuine  except  manufactured  bv 
OS,  where  they  can  he  had  on  application  to  C  F.  CORSEK,  our  General  Agent,  at  No-  90  S.  Charles 
Street.  Baliiuiore.  Md.,  or  to  agents  appointpd  to  sell  the  same  by  said  Corser. 
September  1858.— yly  BICKFORD  &  HUFFMANN. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


15 


A.^E^ECA.: 


From   Jarvis"    and    Baker's    Islands^ 

IN  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN, 

XJnder  p*rotectioii  of  tlie  XJ.  S.  GroverniTieiit. 

The  attention  of  the  Planters  anfl  Dealer?  in  Guano  is  called  to  this  valuable  fertilizer,  which  has  been 
used  during  the  Inst  spring  and  fall  with  the  most  satisfactorv  results — not  siupasst-d  bv  anv  fertilizer. 

Annexed  are  Certificates  from  farmers  well  k  lown  in,  Virginia,  many  others  can  be  seen  bv  aj)plica- 
tion  to  me. 


Certificates: 


LocDfT  Grote,  Fluvanna  Co  ,  Va.,  ? 
October  26, 1859.         3 
Felix  H.  Cave,  E=q,., 

Af^^ent  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond- 

Dear  Sir — By  request,  I  furnish  you  with  a  stnte- 
ment  of  the  result  of  niv  experience  with  the  Ameri- 
can Gunno  I  purchased  of  you  last  spring. 

I  used  three  kinds  of  Guano  for  tobacco — Peruvian. 
Elide,  and  American.  After  laving  off  the  rows,  3  teet 
2  inches  apart,  with  a  two  horse  ploui;ii,  I  applied 
about  :i^0  pounds,  broadcast,  to  the  acre,  then  lifted 
or  bedded  with  the  same  plough,  and  planted  without 
billing. 

The  part  in  which  I  used  the  American  was  deci- 
dedly tiie  best,  though  planted  two  days  later  than 
that  in  which  I  used  the  Peruvian. 

I  also  used  it  on  corn,  aj)plyiiig  about  125  pounds, 
broadcast,  to  the  acre,  at  the  liuie  of  the  last  plow- 
ing, with  good  suceess. 

The  land  on  which  1  u«ed  it  was  a  very  poor 
broom  sedge,  old  field,  that  had  not  been  cultivated 
for  many  _\ears. 

I  am  so  well. pleased  with  my  experiment  with  the 
American  Guano  for  tobacco,  that  1  am  using  it  al- 
logether  this  lisill  for  my  wheat- 

Yours,  respectfully, 

GEORGE  T.  THOMAS. 


Hyco,  Halifax  Co.,  Va.,  > 
October  17,  1859.     J 

Felix  H.  Cave,  Esq., 

Agent  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond. 

Sir — Your.s  came  to  hand  a  lew  days  since,  re- 
questing me  to  inform  you  of  the  action  of  the  Amer- 
ican Guano  bought  of  you. 

I  used  it  last  spring  on  my  tobacco.  Oil  the 
same  piece  of  land  1  applied  the  .Auierican  Guano, 
separately,  and  also  an  equal  quantity  of  American 
and  Peruvian  mixed. 

I  could  not  discover  there  was  any  difference  in 
the  siuele  application  and  the  mixture  of  Ameripan 
and  Peruvian. 

I  also  used  it  in  the  same  manner  on  my  corn,  and 
can  say  to  you  that  it  acted  finely. 
Verv  respectfully, 

William  c.  tucker. 


Orange  County,  Va.,  Oct.  10, 1859. 


Mr.  Felix  H.  Cave, 

Agent  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond. 
Dear  Sir— I  am  much  pleased  with  the  Americas 
Guano  as  a  fertilizer.  1  used  100  founds  on  1000 
tobacco  hills,  l)y  the  side  of  UIO  pounds  Peruvian,  on 
the  same  number  of  bills.  The  American  produced 
as  good  tob  icco  as  the  Peruvian.  Bv  the  side  of 
each  I  used  lOl)  pounds  of  American  and  P-ruvian 
mixed,  50  pounds  of  each  •  the  mixed  I  prefer.  The 
tobacco  was  much  belter  than  either  American  or 
Peruvian  unmixed.  I  will  try  the  American  on 
wheat  this  fill. 

Most  Respectfully, 

ifEUBEN  NEWMAN,  Jr. 


Orange  County,  Va.,  Nov.  15th,  1859. 
Capt.  F.  H.  Cave, 

Agent  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond. 

Dear  Sir — Agreeable  to  your  request  I  furnish  you 
B'ith  the  result  of  my  experiment  with  Amerfcan 
Guano.  T  have  onh  used  ii  on  tobacco,  and  in  or- 
der to  test  it  fully,  I  used  one  ton  of  American  and 
one  ton  of  Peruvian,  side  by  side,  throughout  the  en- 
tire crop.  And  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  the 
tobacco  is  of  superior  qrialiiy.  and  that  produced  br 
the  American  Guano  was,  in  every  respect,  fully 
equal  to  that  raised  wiih  the  Peruvi;in.  The'quan- 
tity  applied  was  200  pounds  per  acre,  broad  cast, 
upon  red  land. 

I  have  used  the  American  Guano  upon  wheat  this 
fill.  I  remain  yours. 

Very  truly, 

T.  B  CAVE. 


The  American  Guano  will  be  put  up  in  bags  or 
barrels,  at  the  option  of  the  purchaser,  each  package 
bearing  the  trade  mark  of  the  Company,  (the  Ameri- 
can Eagle,)  and  my  name  in  full,  who  is  the  Sole  Agent 
of  the  American  Guano  Company  for  Richmond. 


FELIX  H.  CAVE 


Dec.  59 — 6mo. 


B.icIimond,  Va. 


16 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


€5^ 


3 


PHOSPHO-PERUVIAN 

(OR  MANIPULATED) 


INTHODXJCED  1856. 

IS  COMPOSED  EXCLUSIVELY  OF 

BEST  PERUVIAN  GUANO,  AND 

FINELY  GROUND  SOMBRERO  GUANO, 

ONE  HALF  EACH, 
IN  MINUTE,  UNIFORM,  AND  INTIMATE  COMBINATION. 

AMMONtAt 8  PER  CENT. 

PHOSPHATE  OF  UWE,  20  TO  55  PER  CENT. 


Sold  b)  the  following  Agents  and  Dealers  in  Virginia. 


STOKES  &  RIVES,  Richmond,  Va 
SCHAER,  KOHLER  &  CO.,  Richmond,  Va. 
HUNT  &  BROTHER,  Rii-hmond,  Va. 
E.  T.  WINSTON.  Richmond,  Va. 
PEEBLES  &  WHITE,  Petersburg,  Va 
WM.  A.  MILLER,  Lvnchbursi,  Va. 


KNOX  &  BROTHER,  Alexandria,  Va. 
HUGH  SCOTT.  Fredericksburg,  Va. 
ROWLAND  &  REYNOLDS.  Norfolk,  Va. 
GRASTY  &  RISON,  Danville,  Ya. 
EDWARD  F.  SIMPSON,  Washington,  D.  C. 


NOTE. 

Tlie  SOMBREKO  GUANO  used  in  our  article  is  imported  direct  by  us,  and  is 
discharged  at  our  Works,  where  it  is  FINELY  GROUND.  Parties  wishing  to  purchase 
SOMBRERO  GUANO  alone,  will  be  furnished  with  it  in  strong  bag-s,  in  quantities  a.s 
desired. 


JOHN  S.  REESE  &  CO., 


Feb  60— tf 


77  South  Street.  Baltimore,  Maryland. 


SOUTIIEl; 


:>VERTISIXC.  SHEET. 


4  Silver  Medals— 3  Diplomas— 68  First  Premiums ! 

J.  MONTGOMERY  &  BRO. 

l.'-j  2^or:b   Hizh  S'iccf. 

BALTIMORE,    Md.  tJ 

IXVF.XTOK.S  A.\D  .MAXLTACTUKERS 

OF    THEIR 

DOL'BI.E  SCREENED 

ROCKAWAY  GRAIN  FAN, 

Celebrated  for  their  efficiency,  durability  and  ease  in 

icorking. 

\Vc  won](]  ptato  for  ihe  inforiiinwon  of  F.nrmers  and  the 
"_-''^'- •"■'-'■'■  trade,  liiat  our  Fan  is  of  ihe  larje?!  size — wiih  6  large 

ixnd  screens,  niaile  of  ihe  best  lirisht  wire,  on  eood  strong  frames.     It  is  made  especially  for  ilie  Sou- 
mrkct,  where  all  implements  oueht  to  be  of  the  best  and  strongest  make.     We  do  not  hesitate  for  a 

•  • '  p.t  niir  Fho  (oi'nsidering  the  make,  the  number  and  quality  of  sieves,  and  the  amonnt  and 

will  ito  in  !i  si'..  I!  time.)  is  from  $10  to  $15  cheaper  than  any  in  ^he  market.     We.  have 
■   II  SHOP,  at  I  \  NCHBURG,  VA.,  for  the  accommodaiioii  ol  those  located  in  thai  section 
:try.     O'lr  Fan  is  so  known  that  it  is  unnecessary   for  ns  to  say  more  than  it  has  not 

oaten  in  a  iriiil  any  ti-^  •-  last  eig-ht  years,  and  cannot  be  beat. 

Represent  wheat  crop  ;-  iy  fiill  of  cockle,  every  farmer  ouziit  to   order  one  of  our   Double 

ted  Rockaway  Eaos  at  once,  us  it  is  ihe  only  Fan  in  the  maiket  that  will  clean  ihe  cockle  from  the 

''     ;r  Fans  in  Baltimore  is  $->4 — and  in  Lynchburg  $36.    Orders  addressed  t(»  us  at  either 
:)ro!npt  attention.     A  liberal  discount  to  the  trade. 

■:-'■  r  tf)  S.  Siinds,  Esq..  ex-eJitor  of  the  "American  Fanner,"  Balii'nore,  as  to  the  charac- 
i;.i- I'iiu  :  :  ilmer,  Sons  &.  Co.,  our  agent.<.  Riohmond.  Va. 

1859— Iv  J.  -MO.NTGOMERY  &  BRO,  Baltimore,  Md. 

C5- TJ  .A.  3xr  O  . 

:  would  call  tlie  attention  of  Guano  Dealers,  Planters  and  Fanners  to  the  article  which  we 

i  i;  !i;iud  ;>.'.i-l  H-r  sale  al 

Tliirty  per  cent  less  than  PernyLin  Onano, 

■     "    •  siii)erior  to  any  Guano  or  lertilizer  ever  iiuporte-.i  or  manufactured  in 
is  importe<l  by  WM.  H.  WEBB,  of  New  York,  from  Jarvis'  and  Bakers'  \ 

,, ,  _  iflc  Ocean,"  and   is   sold  genuine  and  pure  as  imported.     It  has  been 

fcatisfiictordy  tested  Ijy  many  of  out  prominent  Farmers,  and  analyzed  by  the  most  eminent  and 
f)        '    r  Arri;  :dmral  Chemists,  and  found  to  contain,  (as  will  be  seen  by  our  circulars.)  a  large 

Bone  Piioi<pliate  of  Lime  and  Pliosplioric  Acid. 

ihcr  animal  organic  matter,  yielding  ammonia  sufficient  to  j^roduce  immediate  abundant 

.  besi<les  substantially  enriching  the  soil.     It  can  be  freely  used  without  danger  of  burning 

I  -      r  plant  by  coming  in  contact  with  it,  as  in  the  case  with  some  other  fertilizers:  retain- 

i  ,       t  degree  of  moisture,  it  causes  the  plant  to  grow  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  as  experi- 

Free  of  Insects. 

iiy  quantity,  (which   will  be  promptly  attended  to.)  or  pamphlets  containing  full 

rilv-t-<  :ind  test-^  of  farmers.  Applv  to 

JOHN  B.  SARDY,  Agent, 

^'      '  ;ier  of  "Wail  ^r..  Xcw  York  Citv. 


FRUIT  TREES. 

•00  Peach  Trees; 
■20.00IJ  Apple  Trees  : 

I'V'  '>  Pear  Trees; 


^ 


Saddles,  Harness,  &c. 

I  Laaiiufacture  a  superior 
COLLAR 

« iiicli  I  warrant  not  to  chafe  or  gall.  I  liave 
always  on   hand  a  good    assortment  of  all  articles  in 
•11 V  line,  whic!)  I  will  sell,  wholesale  or  retail,  as  cheap 
'Uey  can  be  procured  anywhere.  Xorih  or  South. 
CHARLES  I.  BALDWIN, 
Franklin  St., 2d  square  above  Old  Market. 
.Sent— Iv 


4  SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 

:MIirL3i:P  lilBV^RJil'S    SCHOOX., 

Grace  Street,  Between  1st  and  Foashee,  Richmond,  Va. 

The  next  session  i)f  our  School  begins  on  the  (list  day  of  October,  1839,  and  terminates  on  the  lust  day 
ofJunp,  18G0. 

Our  long  experience  in  leaching,  nnd  the  very  Hl)er;il  patronnge  we  have  received  for  so  many  years, 
have  both  enabled  and  enconiajred  us  to  niake  important  nnprovcnienis  in  ofir  inslitutiou. 

A  course  ot  Literature,  comprisin<^  Eujjtish,  Fn  nch,  German,  Italiaii  and  Spanisli  classic?,  (the  four  last 
through  ^be  medium  of  the  French,)  has  been  successfully  tried  during  the  last  session,  and  will  be  con- 
tinued and  eiilargcd  in  the  next. 

We  have  engused  flJr.  Euwakd  C.  Howard  to  lake  charge  of  the  English  part  of  tliis  course,  as  well  as 
the  Rhetoric,  belief-Letires  ai'd  First  Reading  classes  of  our  Institution.  Mr.  11-  is  a  genllemau  of  the 
highest  qoalificaiions  — and  we  (eel  confident  that  his  .service.i  will  be  duly  appreciated.  We  would  ear- 
nestly recommend  our  Literature  class  lo  graduating  pupils.  ■    , 

Tlie  new  house  which  we  have  erected  will  greatly  add  to  the'  convenience  as  well  as  to  Ihe  comfort  o( 
the  young  Ladies  hoarding  in  our  family.  Two  ^'ouug  Ladles  only  will  occupy  one  room,  except  iu  cases 
when  three  would  desire  to  occupy  the  same  chamber. 

HUBERT  1*.  LEFEBVRE,  A.  M  ,  Principal, 

iNalural  I'hilosophy,  Literature,  Moral  and  Mental  Philosophy,  French. 

WILLLVM  G.  WILLIAMS,  A.  B.,   Vice  Principal,  Astronomy,  Jlalhematics,  Chemistry,  Ilistorv,  Laiiij. 

EDWARD  C.   HOWARD,     Literature,  Rhetoric,  IJelles  Lelires,  Readinsr. 

MRS.  GRACE  BENNETT,  English  Branches.  MLSS  MARY  C  GORDON,  English  Branches. 
MISS  ELIZA  BARTLETT,  Enslisii  Branches.  MADAME  L.  V.  BLANCHETT,  Fr- nch  Governess. 
SENOR  CARLOS-CARUORVEZ  MERA,  Spanish  and  Italian.  MADAME  MARIK  ESI'V'AN.  Vocal 
Music.  SIGNORINA  ANTONlETTA  LRBA.  Vocal  Music.  SIGNORL'sA  MARIETTA  ERBA,  Piano. 
JOHN  A.  CALYO,  Drawing  and  Painting.  WILLIAM  F.  GRABAU,  Piano,  Organ,  Sacred  Mii-ic. 
C.  W.  THILOVV,  Piano.     HENRICH  SCHNEIDER,   Harp.     O.  ERICSSON,  Guitar. 

TERMS. 

For  Board,  .....        |'200  00  For  four  lessons  (of  an  hour)  a  week.     Itjfl  00 

For  Washing,  .  .  .  •  .       20  00  ^  For  Sacred  Music  in  class,         .  .         8  Of) 

For  Lights,  .         ....  10  00  '  For  the  use  of  Piano,  ,  .  .  1000 

For  Fuel,  .....         10  00    For  Drawing,  from  Models,         .  .  .      2000 

For  English  Tuition.         .  .  .  .       40  00    For  Drawing,  from  Nature,  ...  40  00 

For  Modern  Languages,  each,         .  .  20  00  |  For  Painting  in  Water  Colors,  .  .  .      40  00 

For  French,  when  studied  exclusively  of  the  For  Oil  Painting,    .  .  .  .  oO  00 

English  branches,  .  .  .  .40  00    Primary   Department,  for  children    under    11 

For  Latin,    .  .  .  .  .  £0  00  years  of  age,  .  .  .  .         .     30  00 

For  Literature,  .  .  .  .      20  00  |      |^  ,\„  extra  charges. 

For  Music  on  Piano,  Guitar,  Organ  or  Smging  1       .  n  ■  >        ,.  , 

For  one  lesson  (of  an  hour)  a  week,  40  GO  .      A"  'eners  to  be  addres.-ed  lo 

For  two  lessons  (of  an  hour)  a  week.      SO  00  I  HUBERT  P.  LEFEBVRE,  Richmond,    !  , 

For  three  lessons  (of  an  hour)  a  week,    120  tO        aug— tf 

P^IISTTS.  PXTlSrTS.  P^IISTTS. 

No.  122  Main  Street,  corner  18tli,  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIAj  ' 

Offer  at  low  prices,  a  large  and  well  assorted  stock  of  articles  in  their  line — embracing 

PAINTS,   COLORS,  VARNISHES,  OILS,  &G. 

LEWIS'  WHITE  LEAD,  MACHINE  OIL.  •! 

iNEW  J.  WHITE  ZINC,  Horsehead  brand,  PARIS  GREEN,  ' 

CHROME  GREEN,  CHROME  YELLOW, 

VERDIGRIS.  TURKEY  UMBKE, 

TERRA  1)1  SIENNA,  LAMP  OILS, 

LINSEED  OIL,  SPTS.  TURPENTINE. 

All  Colors  for  Painters,  Coach  Makers,  and  others,  Dry  and  in  Oil,  Point  Brushes,  Sand  Paper  and  a  verv 

large  stock  of  best 

ompiising  nearly  every  size  made.    M'e  are  also  prepared  to  take  orders  for  Imported 

Polislied  Plate,  Sky  Light  and  Ornamental  Glass. 

^F°  Particular  attention  to  packing  and  forwarding  all  goods — and  th«  quality  warranted. 

.        '  PURCELL,  LADD  &  CO,  Druqaists, 

■'""«18.'58.  10.2  Main  Street.  Richmond. 


A" 


^^  VOL.  XX. 


0^ 


'^ 


[APRIL.] 


No.  4.  ( 


^C^ 


\^  Published  Monthly.        August  &,  Williajis,  Pkopeietoes. 


J.   E.   WILLIAMS,   Editor, 


DEVOTED   TO 


AGRICULTURE,  HORTICULTURE, 


AND    THE 


HOUSEHOLD  ARTS, 


eou 


yr^ 


PRINTED  AT  RICHMOND,  Va., 
EY  MACFARLAXE   &  FERGUSSON 
1860. 


^^M: 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.--ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


193 

202! 

-'13; 

215, 
210, 
216^ 
217 


218 


co:iSr  TENTS. 

Pliysical  Properties  of  Eartliy  Matter. 

Whnt  has  become  of  our  Bird?  ? 

Advice  to  YouDg  Fanners,  <■  • 

Powhatan  Hole  and  Corner  ('•'■^-  . 

Coal  Ashes  as  a  Fertilizer, 

Chemical  Properties  of  Tobatco, 

Rope  Making,  .... 

Effects  of  Heat  upon  3Ieat, 

A  Practical  Paper  upon  Ganleningr.  Ditch- 
in«  and  Iiiiproviiig  Land, 

The  Edible  Bird's  Xests^ 

The  Early  English  AgricnlturaJ  Authors,  . 

On  the-  ]>-'•■••--  '•  •'-  c  -  .  V-nong 
She^ 

Tobacc". 

Dark  Siabk- 

Breadstuff-.  ;  .  t 

Iron  Maiin!;i  :ie  Unite*!  States,      i 

Why  it  is  important  to  Feed  Fattening 
Animals  Regularly, 

Efficacy  of  Salt  applied  to  the  TbbaCco 
Crop;  .  ;  .- 

Ashes  and  Wood's  Mould,  . 

31anHre— An  Agricultural  Pr'iblem, 

Tbe  Contented  Farmer, 

The  Use  of  Muck.    . 

*•  Vegetable  PhysJoloiiy."      . 

Culture  of  Broom  Corn,  .      .  .  ; 

3Iore  ^bout  Salt  as  a  Preventive  of  Black 
Fire  or  Rot  in  Tobacco,  . 

Seed  Corn,    .  i  .  .  j 

On  Science,  as  a  Branch  of  Edueationj 

Virginian  Independence,     .  ; 

Richmond  Enterprise,  . 

Improved  Stock  and  Farming  Im))lemenls, 

E-xperinients  with  American  and  other 
Guanos — Maryland  State  Agricultural 
Chemist — Broom  Corn.    ;  ;  ; 

Hampshire  Brar — Khaisi  Cattle — Orch- 
ards ai>d  Orcliard  Houses. 

Lines  for  a  Lady's  .\lbum,  . 

Agricultural  Hymn, 

ALEXANDER  GARRETT, 

l-ary  J^treet,  secoud  door  below  13th  street. 
Adjoining  tbe  Old  Columbian  Hotel, 
-  KICHMOXD,  YA., 
GENERAL  COMMIKSION  MERCHANT,! 

-WD    DEAJ.EK    IX  ! 

OROCERIESi  ! 

PEEUYIAX,  ELIDE  ISLAND.  AND  RLFFIN'9  PROS- ' 
MU  GCANO,  PLAblEJl.  iC  ! 

Particular  uiieiiiiun  paid  to  ihe  sale  of  all  kinds  of 
counrrv  produce  : 

Wheat,  Corn,  Flour,  Tohacco,  Oats,  d-c.        \ 

I  have  made  arrangeiuenU  wiih  .Mr.  J.vo.  .M.Shep- 

FARD,  Jr,  one  of  the  best  judjies  and  salesmen  of 

Tobacco  -u  this  city,  to  mtend  to  the  sale  of  all 

tobacco  con^isDCi]  to  lue.  Julv  59 |y     1 


ALBANY  DRAIi  TILE  WORKS, 

Corner  Clinton  Avenue  and  Knox  Sts., 
ALBANY,  N.  Y. 


Ij  inches  Rouii 


$  8,00  per  1000  feet. 
12,00     "       "       " 

40.00     «       ■'-■       " 


245 
245 
245 
24'J 
253 
253 

254 


Orders  solicited.     Ternis  Cash. 
Address  C.  &  W.  3IcCA3IMOX. 

April  00— ly  Albany,  X.  Y 


Liberal  offer  for  18-39! 

NASH'S  ML  PliOlOS! 

-    iss^! — \  We  wdl  tukc  upon  ourselves  the  trou- 

jt-r^-J--.!  jgtiie  and  r(>s))niisil)ilitv  of  selcciinff 

for  and  forwardin?  to  such  persons  as  may  wish  to 
purciin^e,  and  ifthev  do  not  turn  onl  td  he  really  good, 
we  WILL  BEAR  ALL  THE  EXPENSE. 

We  know  whnt  the  PIANOS  are.  and  have  no  hesi- 
tation ifl  taking  thfe  risk  of  {riving  sntisfueiion. 

E.  P.  !XASH  &,  CO., 

April  1859.  Petersburg,  Va. 


The  Southern  Planter, 

OFFICE 

NO.  148  MAIN  STREET, 

A  few  Doors  below  the  Exchange  Bank, 

RICHMOND,  VA. 


TH  E 


Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Sorticulture,  and  the  SouseJiold  Arts. 


Agriculture  is  the  nursing  naother  of  the  Arts. 

[Xenophon. 


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


J.  E.  WILLIAMS,  Editor. 


AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS,  Prop'ks. 


Vol.  XX. 


RICHMOND^  VA.,  APRIL,  1860. 


No.  4. 


From  Josiah  Parkes^  Essays  om  the  Philosophy  and 
Art  of  Land-Drainage. 

[CONTIXtTED    FROM    MARCH    XO.    SOUTHERN    PLANTER.] 

Sectiox  v. 

On  the  Quantity  of  Rain  Compared  with 
the  Quantity  of  Water  Evaporated  from 
or  filtered  through  Soil;  icith  f:ome  Ob- 
servations on  the  Quantity  of  Rain-  Wa- 
ter discharged  hy  Drains. 

We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  John  Dickinson, 
of  Abbott's  Hill,  near  Kind's  Langle}', 
Herts,  (the  eminent  paper  manufacturer,) 
for  a  register,  extending  over  a  period  of 
the  la-t  eight  years,  of  the  quantity  of  rain 
whieh  has  fallen  in  his  locality,  and  of  the 
quantity  which  may  be  presumed  to  have 
passed  through  the  soil.  The  first  datum 
is  determined  by  the  common  rain-gauge ; 
the  second  is  derived  from  a  gauge  invented 
many  years  since  for  this  special  purpose, 
by  the  illustrious  Daltun.  And  hereby  we 
obtain,  very  unexpectedly,  as  regards  both 
the  facts  and  the  extensive  range  of  obser- 
vations, experimental  illustrations  of  the 
desiderata  numbered  5  and  6  [in  the  pre- 
ceding section.]  The  construction  of  the 
rain-gauge  needs  no  remark,  and  the  Palton 
gauge  is  equally  simple.  It  consists  of  an 
open-top  cylinder  or  rain-receiver  sunk  verti- 
13 


cally  in  the  earth,  level  with  its  surface,  hav- 
ing a  false  bottom  perforated  with  holes  like 
a  cullender,  which  supports  three  feet  depth 
of  soil  within  the  cylinder,  through  which, 
and  through  the  cullender,  the  excess  of  the 
rain — or  the  portion  not  evaporated — fil- 
trates to  the  close  bottom  of  the  vessel ;  and 
this  communicates,  by  means  of  a  small 
pipe,  with  a  vertical  tube,  whose  diameter 
bears  some  definite  proportion  to  that  of 
the  receiver,  and  is  sunk  so  much  lower  in 
the  earth  as  to  have  its  top  nearly  on  a  level 
with  the  bottom  of  the  receiver.  Thus,  all 
the  water  which  permeates  the  soil  contain- 
ed wi'hin  the  rain-receiver  flows  into  the 
tube,  and  is  measured  by  a  float,  carrying  a. 
divided  stem,  and  indicating,  in  parts  of 
] -100th  of  an  inch  the  quantity  of  rain 
which  has  entered  it.  The  measuring  tube 
has  a  cock  at  the  bottom  for  evacuating  its 
contents  from  time  to  time  and  bringing  the 
scale  to  zero. 

Mr.  Dickinson's  rain-receiver  has  a  diam- 
eter of  twelve  inches,  and  is  thirty-six  inches 
deep  to  the  Mic  bottom  ;  it  was  original!" 
filled  with  the  soil  of  the  country,  a  sandy, 
gravelly  loam,  and  has  constantly  had  grass 
srowina-  on  it.  The  contents  of  the  receiv- 
er, therefore,  represent  fairly  the  natural 
state  of  the  sdl ;  whilst  the  gauge  indicates 
the  quantity  of  water  which  a  drain,  at  the 


194 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


depth  of  three  feet,  would  have  to  convey 
away.  The  proportion  which  this  quantity 
bears  to  the  rain  is  obtained  by  comparison 
with  the  rain-gauge ;  and  their  difference 
gives  the  quantity  evaporated,  assisted  by 
the  action  of  the  succulent  grasses.  We 
may,  however,  for  the  present  purpose,  con- 
sider the  whole  of  this  last  quantity  under 
the  term  evaporation. 

It  will  be  interesting  and  useful  to  agri- 
culturists to  learn  Mr.  Dickinson's  object,  as 
a  manufacturer,  in  ascertaining  and  regis- 
tering phenomena  of  this  nature.  Having 
several  mills  on  the  river  Colne  or  its  tribu- 
taries, it  was  a  matter  of  importance  to  him 
to  be  able  to  calculate  the  power  of  the  wa- 
ter on  which  he  might  depend  for  use  at 
different  periods  of  the  year ;  and,  having 
noticed  that  a  considerable  period  elapsed 
after  rain,  owing  to  the  extent  and  stratifi- 
cation of  the  country,  before  the  springs 
were  affected  by  it,  he  fixed  a  rain  and  Dal- 
ton  gauge  to  assist  his  judgment  in  forming 
an  estimate  of  the  amount  and  duration  of 
their  flow  according  to  the  varying  seasons, 
and  the  proportionable  water-power  on  which 
he  might  count.  These  registers,  combined 
with  observation,  have  since  enabled  him  to 
regulate  his  manufacturing  operations,  and 
to  foresee  what  dependence  he  could  place 
on  the  mill-streams,  and  to  what  extent  he 
should  require  the  aid  of  steam-power  for 
fulfiling  his  contracts  and  engagements. 
This  is  a  very  remarkable  and  honoTable  in- 
stance of  the  application  of  meteorological 
"science  to  practice." 

Nor  is  this  all — for  the  knowledge  ac- 
quired by  means  of  these  instruments  and 
the  exposition  of  the  results  of  rain  and  fil- 
tration proved  by  them,  together  with  a  just 
acquaintance  with  the  area  and  nature  of 
the  soils  in  the  district,  supplying  the 
streams  (about  120  square  miles)  enabled 
My.  Dickinson,  *  *  *  to  demonstrate? 
the  impracticability  of  a  scheme  for  fur- 
nishing the  metropolis  with  water  proposed 
to  be  drawn  from  the  valh-y  of  the  Colne, 
which  must  have  inflicted  irreparable  injury 
on  the  mill-owners,  at  the  same  time  that  it 
would  hav6  proved,  in  all  probability,  an 
abortive  speculation  to  the  adventurers. 
Such  are  the  various  and  often  unexpected 
fruits  of  exact  knowledge.  It  was  Mr. 
Dickinson's  communication,  of  his  experi- 
ments to  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers 
last  year,  which  introduced  me  to  his  ac- 
quaintance, and  has  enabled  me  to  apply 


his  acquired  facts  to  the  subject  of  agricul- 
tural drainage.  - 

The  annexed  table,  No.  I.,  contains  the 
monthly  and  annual  indications  of  the  two 
gauges  for  the  years  1836  to  lS4o  inclusive; 
those  of  the  rain-gauge  being,  Mr.  Dickin- 
son informs  me.  generally  corroborated  by 
another  gauge  kept  by  the  Grand  Junction 
Canal  Company,  about  eight  miles  distant 
Table  II.  gives  the  mean  result  of  eight 
years  observations  for  each  month,  and  the 
whole  period,  in  terms  of  the  depth  of  rain 
'  which  fell  on  the  surface — of  the  amount 
'which  filtered  through  the  Dalton  cauge — 
and  of  that  which  was  evaporated  or  again 
restored  to  the  atmosphere  in  the  shape  of 
j  vapour — with  two  columns  showing  the  pro- 
:  portion  per  cent,  of  filtration  and  evapora- 
jtion. 

1  Table  III.  presents  to  view  the  total 
amount  of  rain  which  fell  during  each  year, 
I  with  the  per  centage  of  filtration  and  evap- 
■  oration ;  and 

I  Table  IT.  illustrates  the  quantity  of  rain, 
!  and  the  proportion  of  water  disposed  of  bj 
;  filtration  and  evaporation  during  the  six 
hotter  and  the  sis  colder  months  of  each 
year  respectively.  To  these  last  tables  I 
have  added  columns  exhibitinj:  the  weight 
of  rain  in  tons  per  acre,  as  that  expression 
may  convey  to  the  farmer  a  clearer  idea  of 
its  amount,  than  the  more  usual  mode  of 
stating  it  in  inches  of  depth.  By  means  of 
this  tabular  analysis  we  shall  find  the  phe- 
nomena, as  they  may  be  applicable  to  agri- 
culture, early  brought  before  us. 

The  first  important  fact  disclosed  is,  that, 
of  the  whole  annual  rain  about  421  per 
cent.,  or  11  3-lOth  inches  out  of  26  6-lOth 
inches  have  filtered  through  the  soil ;  and 
that  the  annual  evaporation  force  is  only 
equal  to  the  removal  of  about  57*  per  cent 
of  the  total  rain  whiclj  falls  on  any  ^ven 
extent  of  earth  three  feet  in  depth.  (Ta- 
ble II.) 

By  a  closer  scrutiny  we  learn  (table  IV.) 
that  only  about  25?  per  cent,  of  the  rain 
which  ialls  from  October  to  March  inclu- 
sive, passes  back  to  the  atmosphere  by  evap- 
oration in  the  same  period ;  whereas,  from 
April  to  September  inclu.^ive,  about  93  per 
cent,  is  evaporated.  It  appears  then  that 
there  is  even  a  balance  on  the  side  of  rain 
over  evaporation  during  the  six  hottest 
months ;  and  we  discover  only  two  years, 
1840  and  1841,  in  which  no  filtration  oc- 
curred within  that  period.     Table  11.  shows 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


195 


that  in  Aitgust  the  soil  is  in  its  driest  state ;  i 
but,  even  in  that  month,  some  filtration  took 
place  in  three  out  of  the   eight  seasons  re- 
corded.    It  will  be  understood,  that,  though 
a  near  balance  is  shown  to  subsist  between  i 
rain  and  evaporation  during  the  six  hottest 
months,   on   an   average  of  years,    the  hj- 
grometric   condition  of  a  soil,  ?'.  e.,  its  state' 
of  wetness  or  dryness  at  any  particular  time, 
is  not  indicated   by  the  Dalton  gauge.     A 
soil  may  be  in  a  state  of  drought  or  of  hu- 
mid satui'ation,   at    diflFerent   times    during 
these  months,  and  according  to  the  season. 
It  is,  however,  manifest,  from  these  regis- 


ters, tliat  if  all  the  water  derived  from  rain 
during  the  six  colder  months  were  allowed 
to  accumulate  in  a  soil,  such  land  must  be 
perpetually  icct ;  and  coupling  this  fact  with 
the  performance  of  drains,  which  I  am  now 
enabled  to  exhibit,  it  appears  that  six  months 
are  expended  in  nuiintaining,  by  the  sole 
unaided  force  of  evaporation,  an  .uiidrained, 
retentive  soil  in  a  tolerably  uniform  moist 
condition,  whilst  deep  covered"  drains  re- 
lieve the  same  soils  of  excess  of  humidity 
in  a  very  few  hours  after  every  fall  of  rain 
even  in  the  wettest  season. 


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196 


THE    SOUTHEHN    PLANTER. 


[April 


TABLE  II. 

MONTHS. 

Mean  of  each  Month  and 

of  eight  Years. 

Rain.    1 

Filtration.;  Evaporation. 

Filtration. 

Evaporation- 

Inches. 

Inches,    i       Inches. 

Per  Cent, 

Per  Cent. 

January,      -     - 
February,   -     - 
March,   -     -     - 
April.     -     -     - 
May,      -    -    - 
June.      -     -     - 
July,       -     -     - 
August,  -     -     - 
September, 
October,      -     - 
November, 
December, 

1.847   ! 

i 

1.971 

1.307               0.540 

70.7 

29.3 

1.547 

0.424 

78.4 

21.6 

1.617 

1.077 

0.540 

66.6 

33.4 

1.456 

0.306 

1.1.50 

21.0 

79.0 

1.856 

0.108 

1.748 

5.8 

94.2 

2.213 

0.039 

2.174 

1.7 

98.3 

2.287 

0.042   • 

2.245 

1.8 

98.2 

2.427  . 

0.036 

2.391 

1.4 

98.6 

2.639 

0.369 

2.270 

13.9 

86.1 

2.823 

1.400 

1.423 

49.5 

50.5 

i   "3.837 
1    

3.258 

0.579 

84-9 

15.1 
00.0 

1.641 

1.805 

0.164 

100.0 

Total.     -     -     - 

1    26.614 

1 1 .294 

15.320 

1   •     42.4 

-57.6 

TABLE  III. 

Total  of  each   Year. 

Years. 

Rain.   I 

Filtration. 

Evaporation. 

Rain  per  Acre. 

Inches. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Tons. 

1836, 

31.0 

56.9 

43.1 

3139 

1837, 

21.10 

32.9 

67.1 

2137 

1838, 

23.13 

37.0 

63.0 

2342 

1839, 

31.28 

47.6 

52.4 

3168 

1840, 

21.44 

38.2 

61.8 

2171 

1841, 

32.10 

44.2 

55.8 

3251 
267  G 

1842, 

26.43 

44.4                  55.6 

1843, 

26.47 

36.6                   64.0 

2680 

Mean, 

i      26.61 

i        42.4                   56.7 

'           2GP5 

I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


19T 


TABLE   IV. 

April  to  September  inc 

iusive. 

• 

Years. 

pj 

c 

_o 

es 
).. 
o 

a 

> 

o 
a 

s 

_o 

« 
o 

Rain  per 

Acre 
Filtrated. 

Rain  per 

Acre 
Evaporated. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

1836, 

12.20 

2.10 

10.10 

17.3 

82.7 

212 

1023 

1837, 

9.80 

0.10 

9  70 

1.0 

99.0 

10 
12 

982 
1082 

1838, 

10.81 

0.12 

10.69 

1.2 

98.8 

1839, 

17.41 

2.60 

14.81 

15.0 

85.0 

263 

1500 

1840, 

9.68 

0.0 

9.68 

0.0 

100.0 

980' 

1841, 

15.26 

0.0 

15.26 

0.0 

100.0 

1545 

1842, 
1843, 

12.15 

1.30 

10.85 

10.7 

89.3 

131 

1099 

14.04 

0.99 

13.05 

7.1 

92.9 

100 

1322 

Mean, 

12.67 

0.90 

11.77    1          7.1 

92.9                 91 

1292 

October  to  March  inclu 

sive. 

1836, 

18.80 

15.55 

3.25 

82.7 

17.3 

1574 

3.30 

1837, 
1838, 

11.30 
12.32  " 

6.sr. 

8.45 

4.45 
3.85 

60.6 
68.8 

39.4 
31.2 

693 
855 

452 
393 

1839, 

13.S7 

12.31 

1.56 

88  2 

11.8 

1246 

159 

1840, 

11.76 

8.19 

3.57 

69.6 

30.4 

829 

362 

1841, 

16.84 

14.19 

2.65 

84.2 

15.8 

1437 

269 

1842, 

14.28 

10.46 

3.82 

73.2 

26.8 

1059 

387 

1843, 

12.43 

7.11 

5.32 

57.2 

42.8 

720 

538 

Mean, 

^ 

13.95 

10..39 

3.56 

74.5 

25.5 

1052 

360 

Note.— The  quantities  of  rain  in  the  oclumns  headed  Filtration,  represent  the  required  per- 
Ibnnance  of  drains  in  retentive  soils.  One-tenth  of  an  inch  of  rain  in  depth  amounts  to  10.128 
tons  per  acre. 


198 


THE  SOUTHEKX  PLANTER, 


[April 


Table  IV.  shows  that  the  mean  excess  of 
rain-water  to  be  disposed  of  during  the  six 
coldest  months  by  some  other  process  than 
evaporation,  amounts  to  no  less  a  weight 
than  about  1,050  tons  per  acre. 

Evaporation  is  the  only  natural  agent 
for  diminishing  the  quantity  of  water  ab- 
sorbed by*retentive  soils,  but  it  is  not  at  our 
command.  When  such  soils  are  perfectly 
saturated,  the  superfluity  must  cither  stag- 
nate upon  the  surface  or  flow  away  from  it ; 
and  proof  is  here  offered,  that  the  force  of 
evaporation  is  scarcely  equitalent  to  the 
duty  required  of  it  during  one  half  of  the 
year ;  also  that  it  greatl}-  falls  short  of  the 
requisite  power  during  the  six  colder  months. 
This  invention  of  subterranean  drains  sup- 
plies an  effective  artificial  method  of  com- 
pensating the  deficiency  of  the  evaporative 
force  in  our  climate,  and  it  is  capable  of 
placing  the  retentive  soil  in  the  same  favor- 
able condition  as  respects  meteorological 
agency  and  the  fruition  of  every  agricultu- 
ral process,  as  soils  naturally  porous,  and 
free  from  stagnant  water.  But,  it  must 
constantly  be  borne  in  mind,  that,  in  order 
to  assimilate  this  artificial  process,  to  that 
of  nature,  drains  should  be  deeply  laul^  as 
the  floor  of  the  drains  forms  the  limit  of 
their  action,  and  determines  the  depth  be- 
low the  surface  at  which  water  must  still  re- 
main in  a  state  of  nearly  constant  excess 
and  stagnancy. 

A  study  of  the  results  registered  in  these 
Tables,  puts  us  in  possession  of  many  other 
facts  of  import  to  the  agriculturist,  as  enfor- 
cing the  warning — which  experience  cannot  i 
have  taught  him — to  adopt  evei'y  appliance 
at  his  command  fur  placing  his  soil  in  such  | 
condition   as  to  derive   the  greatest  benefit 
and  the  least  evil  from  elemental  influences; 
for,  so  variable  are  the  seasons,  that  no  ave-  j 
rage    can    properly    display    the   changing] 
amounts   of    meteorological   quantities  and , 
forces.     It  seems   from    Table  I.,  that  the  j 
discharge  of  water  by  drains  occurs,  on  the 
average,  during  seven  months  of  the  year. ' 
In  1840  and  184:1,  however,  rain  was  in  ex-! 
cess   over     evaporation    only    during    four  | 
months;  though  in   the  first  year  21  4-10 
inches  of  rain  fell,  whilst  in  the  second  the| 
earth  received  32  1-10   inches,  or  50  per 
cent  more  rain  in  the  latter  than  in  the  for-  j 
mer  year ;  yet,  the   soil  was  equally  dry  in 
both  years  on   the  mean   of  the  six  hottest 
months,  for   the   evaporative  force  was  able 
to  relieve  the  soil   of  all  the  rain  that  fell. 


though  the  quantities  were  so  widely  differ- 
ent, being  15  2-10  inches  in  1841,  and  only 
9  6-10  inches  in  1S40.  But,  turning  to  the 
colder  months  of  the  same  years,  we  find 
the  case  reversed,  for  the  proportionate 
evaporation  in  1840  was  double  that  in 
1841.  It  appears,  too,  that  in  1836,  when 
the  quantity  of  rain  was  only  about  one 
inch  less  tban  the  maximum  in  1841.  the 
force  of  evaporation  was  13  per  cent,  less, 
and  water  filtered  through  the  gauge  in  va- 
rious proportions  during  every  month  of 
that  year,  and  tbe  same  in  1839.  Thus  in 
preparing  soil  to  receive  the  utmost  benefit 
and  the  least  evil  from  rain,  however  slight 
or  excessive,  it  should  be  put  into  a  state  to 
refuse  holding  water  in  excess,  but  be  capa- 
ble of  absorbing  humidity  freelv,  and  re- 
taining it  deeply;  whilst  the  drains  should 
admit  water  with  facility,  and  convey  it 
away  with  dispatch. 

Observations  on  the  qvantity  of  Rain-icater 
discharged  by  Drains. 

The  quantities  of  rain  and  filtration  de- 
noted by  Mr.  Dickinson's  gauges  are  daily 
registered,  and  this  record  has  enabled  me 
to  ascertain  a  remarkable  coincidence  be- 
tween the  action  of  the  Dalton  gauge  and 
that  of  Mr.  Hammond's  inch-pipe  drains, 
as  reported  by  me  to  the  Royal  Agricultu- 
ral Society,  in  Journal,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  375. 
It  appears,  according  to  the  rain  gauge, 
that  48-lOOths  of  an  inch  of  rain  fell  on 
the  7th  and  8th  of  Xovember  last ;  and  by 
the  Dalton  gauge,  on  the  9th,  46-lOOths,  or 
nearly  the  whole  of  this  quantity,  had 
passed  through  it.  It  was  on  the  9th  that 
I  inspected  the  drainage  of  Mr.  Hammond's 
farm,  recording  the  fact  that,  after  a  rain  of 
about  12  hours'  duration  on  the  7th,  I  found 
the  urains  on  the  9th  in  a  nine-acre  piece, 
3  feet  deep,  jiJst  dribbling,  and  those  in  a 
hop-ground  adjoining,  4  feet  deep,  ex- 
hausted ;  Mr.  Hammond  having  observed, 
previously  to  my  arrival,  that  the  greatest 
stream  at  the  outfall  of  each  drain,  amount- 
ed to  about  the  half-bore  of  the  inch-pipes. 
The  times  occupied  in  the  discharge  of  the 
water  by  the  gauge  and  the  drains  may, 
therefore,  be  con.sidered  to  be  identical,  and 
as  comprising  about  48  hours  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  rain.  In  drawing  this 
parallel  between  the  action  of  the  gauge 
and  these  drains,  I  am  presuming  that  the 
fall  of  rain  at  Penshurst  was  equal  to  that 
at  King's  Langley;  and  I  think  this  may 


I860.] 


THE    SOUl^HERN    PLANTER. 


199 


be  assumed  to  be  near  enough  to  the  truth,  there  exceeded  1  inch  in  24  hours,  during 
as  I  have  learnt  that  a  nearly  similar  downfall  the  same  period  of  8  years,  the  greatest 
(5-lOths  of  an  inch)  was  recorded  at  Bur-  quantity  having  been  1  6-lOths  of  an  inch 
minsham  northwards,  and  a  rain  of  similar  on  December  4th,  1841.  Vt'e  may,  there- 
duration  occurred   at  Brighton  southwards,  fore,  consider  the  fact   of  the  sufficiency  of 

This  experimental  corroboration  of  the  inch-bore  pipes  for  agricultural  drainage  to 
sufficiency  of  such  small  drains,  will  have  ^  be  fully  demonstrated  both  by  experience 
its   weight  with  practical  men ;  but  I  am  and  experiment. 

further  able  to  demonstrate,  by  simple'  I  will  now  mention  an  experiment  which 
arithmetical  computation,  how  very  sniall  is' every  farmer  is  competent  to  make,  and 
the  quantity  of  watfer  required  to  enter  the '  which  can  not  foil  to  throw  light  on  the  ac- 
crevice  formed  by  the  imperfect  junction  of  tion  and  effect  of  his  drains,  and  on  the  rel- 
two  pipes.  The  rain-gauge  informs  us,  that '  ative  condition  of  different  pieces  of  land 
48-lOOths  of  an  inch  in  depth  of  rain  fell ;  as  to  porosity,  or  filtrating  activity — I  allude 
upon  each  square  foot  of  surface  in  the  ob-!to  the  simple  ascertainment  by  measure,  of 
served  time  of  12  hours.  The  quantity  is}  the  quantity  of  water  discharged  from  dif- 
equivalent  to  69  1-lOth  cubic  inches,  or  22-iferent  drains,  after  rain,  in  the  same  time, 
pounds,  which,  divided  by  12  hours,  gives!  In  reply  to  numerous  inquiries  on  this  sub- 
little  more  than  2-lOths  of  a  pound  per 'ject.  I  have  only  succeeded  in  ot>taining  suf- 
square  foot  of  surface  per  hour  for  theficiently  exact  information  from  3Ir.  Ham- 
weight  of  the  rain.  j  mond,  whose   intelligence  had    led   him   to 

The  drains  were  24  feet  asunder,  and  make  the  experiment  without  any  suggestion 
each  pipe    a   foot   in    length,   so  that  each  i  from   me.     He  states :  *'  I  found  after  the 


lineal  foot  had  to  receive  the  water  falling 
on  24  square  feet  of  surface,  equal  to  60 
pounds,  or  6  grallons  ;  and  as  the  time  which 


late  rains,  (Feb.  ITth,  1844,)  that  a  drain, 
4  feet  deep,  ran  8  pints  of  water  in  the 
same  time  that  another,  3  feet  deep,  ran  5 
this  quantity  occupied  in  descending  through  I  pints,  although  placed  at  equal  distances." 
the  soil  and  disappearing  was  about  48 !  The  circumstances  under  which  this  experi- 
hours,  it  results,  that  1}  pounds,  or  one  ment  was  made,  as  well  as  its  indications, 
pint,  per  hour,  entered  the  drain  through  deserve  particular  notice.  The  site  was  the 
the  crevice   existing  Ibetween  each  pair  of  hop  ground  before  referred  to,  which  had 


pipes.     Every  one 

recourse   to    strict 

small  a   hole  will  let  a  pint  of  water  pass 

through  it  in   an  hour,  beincr  one-third  of 


knows    without  having 
experime.it.    how   very 


been  underdrained  35  years  since  to  the 
depth  varying  from  24  to  30  inches ;  and 
though  the  drains  were  laid  somewhat  irreg- 
ularly and  imperfeetl}-,  they  had  been  main- 
an  ounce  per  minute,  or  about  twice  the  con- 1  tained  in  good  action.  Mr.  Hammond, 
tents  of  a  ladies  thimble.  however,  suspecting  injury  to  be  still  done 

The  weight  of  rain,  per  acre,  which  fell  to  the  plants  and  the  soil  by  Lottom  water, 
during  the  12  hours,  amounted  to  108.900  which  he  knew  to  stagnate  below  the  old 
pounds,  or  48  6-10  tons,  which  on  the  drains,  again  underdrained  the  piece  in 
whole  piece  of  nine  acres,  is  equal  to  437!  1842  with  inch  pipes,  in  part,  to  3  feet,  and 
4-10  tons;  and  each  drain  discharged  lOiin  part,  to  4  feet  in  depth,  the  effect  pro- 
tons, equal  to  about  4-lOths  of  a  ton  per  I  ving  very  beneficial.  The  old  drains  were 
hour,  on  the  mean  of  48  hours;  but  when  left  undisturbed,  but  thenceforth  ceased 
the  flow  was  at  the  greatest,  I  find  that  j  running,  the  whole  of  the  water  passing  be- 
each  drain  must  have  discharged  at  the  rate  low  them  to  the  new  drains,  as  was  to  be 
of  five  times  this  quantity  per  hour,  which  I  expected  The  distance  between  the  nev,' 
affords  proof  of  the  faculty  of  the  pipes  to  drains  is  26  feet,  their  length  150  yard.-, 
receive  and  carry  off  a  fall  of  rain  equal  to  i  the  fall  identical,  the  soil  clay.  The  expcr- 
22  inches  in  12  hours,  instead  of  half  an  j  iment  was  made  on  two  drains  adjoinirir 
inch,  a  fall  which  is  (juite  unknown  in  this  each  other,  ('.  e..  on  the  last  of  the  series  ef 

the  3  feet,  and  the  first  of  the  series  of  the 
4  feet  drains.  The  sum  of  the  flow  from 
these  two  drains,  at  the  time  of  the  trial, 
was  975  pounds  per  hour,   or  at  the  rate  of 


climate.  Half  an  inch  of  rain  in  12  hours 
is  a  very  heavy  rain.  I  learn  from  Mr. 
Dickinson  that  his  rain-gauge  has  never  in- 
dicated so   ereat  a  fall  as  Iv  inches  in  24 


hours  :  and  from  Dr.  Ick,  the  Curator  of  19o-  tons  per  acre  in  2-i  hours— -the  propor- 
the  Burmingh&m  Philosophical  Institution,  tionate  discharge,  therefore,  was  12  tons  by 
that  only  on   five   occasions   has   the  rain 'the  4  feet,  and  7^  tons  by  the  3  feet  drain. 


200 


THE    SOUTHERN'  PLANTER. 


[April 


No  springs  affected  the  results.     Hence,  we 
have  two  phenomena  very  satisfactorily  dis- ' 
closed  :  1st,  that  the  deepest  drain  received ! 
the  most  water;  2ud,  that  it  discharged  the  • 
gi-eatest  quantity  of  water  in  a  given  time — 
the  superficial   area   of   supply,   being   the 
same    to    both    drains.     It   would   appear, : 
then,  either  that  the  deeper  drain  had  the' 
power  of  drawing   water  from  a  horizontal 
distance  greater  by  the  ratio  of  8  to  5  than  I 
the  shallower  drain  ;  or  that  the  perpendic- 1 
ular   descent  of  the  water  was  more  rapid ' 
into  the  4  feet  drain  ;  or  that  its  increased  i 
discharge  was  owing  to  both  these  .causes' 
combined.     The    phenomenon    of    a    deep  | 
drain   drawing  water   out   of  soil,   from   a  I 
greater  distance  than  a  shallower  one,  is  con- 
sistent with  the   laws   of  hydraulics,  and  is 
corroborated*  by  numberless  observations  on ' 
the  action   of  w-ells,  &c. ;  but   the  cause  of  | 
the  deeper  drain  receiving  more  water  in  a  I 
given  time  is   not  so  obvious.     An  opposite ; 
result,  as  to  time,  would  rather  be  expected 
from  the  fact  of  water  falling  on  the  surface, 
having  to  permeate  a  greater  mass  of  earth, 
Loth  perpendicularly  and  horizontally,  in  or- 
der to  reach  the  deep  drain.     A  natural  ag- 
ricultural bed   of  porous  soil  resembles  an 
artificial  filter,  and  it  is  unquestionable  that, 
the  greater  the  depth   of  matter  composing 
such  filter,  the  slower  is  the  passage  of  wa- 
ter  through  it.     In   stiff  loams  and   clays, 
however,   but  more   particularly  as  regards 
the  latter  earth,   the   resemblance  ceases,  as 
these   soils    can    permit    free    ingress   and 
egress   of  rain-water,   only  after  the   estab- 
lishment   of    that     thorough    net-work    of 
cracks  or  fi.ssures  which    is    occasioned  in 
them   by  the  shrinkage   of  the  mass  from 
the   joint  action   of  drains  and   superficial 
evaporation.     These    fi.ssures  seem  to  stand 
in  the  stead   of  porosity  in  such  soils,  and 
serve  to  conduct  water   to  drains  rapidly, 
after  it  has  trickLd    through    the   worked 
bed ;  it  is  possible,  too,  that  in  deeply  drained 
clays  of  certain  texture,  the  fissures  may  be 
wider,  or  more  numerous  in  consequence  of 
the  contraction  of  a  greater  bulk  of  earth, 
than   when   such   soil    is  drained   to  a  less 
depth.     However   this   may  be,   it  is  ascer- 
tained by  several  respectable  and  intelligent 
farmers  in  Kent,  who  have  laid  drains  very 
deeply  in  clays  and  stiff  soils,  that  the  flow 
from    the    deepest    drains    invariably    com- 
mences and  ceases  sooner   than   from  shal- 
lower drains,   after   rain.     On  this  interest- 
ing and   unexplored   subject  I  hope   to  be 
able  to  furnish  multiplied  observations  after 


next  winter,  and  trust  also  to  receive  the  co- 
operation of  the  members  of  the  Society  in 
making  them  in  different  soils,  and  with  due 
regard  to  all  those  phenomena  which  may 
iutiuence  tHe  results,  or  be  detected  by  them. 
The  consideration  of  the  depth  of  drains 
has  been  too  generally  limited  to  the  mere 
exigencies  of  culture  and  implements,  com- 
bined with  the  natural  desire  to  restrict  ex- 
pense when  the  materials  used  were  dear, 
and  the  cost  of  eai-th  work  great.  These 
adventitious  circumstances  have  certainly 
tended  to  obscure  from  view  the  true  princi- 
ples on  which  drainage  should  be  founded, 
and  on  which  the  utmost  benefits  to  be  de- 
rived from  it  depend.  The  question  of  dis- 
tance between  drains  is  important  on  the 
score  of  expense,  and  it  will  be  wise  to  err 
on  the  right  side,  and  keep  within  safe  limits ; 
but  insufficiency  of  depth  can  only  be  reme- 
died by  a  new  outlay.  So  far  as  experience 
can  illuminate  the  subject,,  we  know  that 
many  agriculturists  have,  a  second  time, 
drained  their  fields  to  a  greater  depth  j  it 
may,  however,  be  doubted  whether  any  one 
has  taken  up  deep  drains,  and  placed  them 
nearer  the  surface,  or  nearer  together.  The 
.s}-stern  of  deep  drainage  has,  doubtless,  been 
encouraged  by  the  cheapness,  lightness  and 
approved  action  of  the  pipe-tiles,  combined 
with  the  more  modeilite  cost  of  the  earth- 
work incident  to  their  small  dimensions,  and 
to  the  facility  of  laying  them.  The  aggre- 
gate cheapness  of  the  work  has  set  the 
mind  of  the  farmer  free  to  contemplate 
more  exclusively  and  attentively  the  per- 
fection of  the  end  in  view ;  and  it  is  well 
worthy  of  remark,  that  experiment  and  ex- 
perience have  rapidly  induced  the  adoption 
of  a  system  of  parallel  di'ains  consederably 
deeper,  and  less  frequent,  than  those  com- 
monly advocated  by  professed  drainers,  or 
in  general  use.  I  gave  several  instances  of 
this  practice  in  Kent,  in  the  report  of  last 
year,  already  alluded  to,  and  it  is  rapidly 
extending.  Mr.  Hammond  stated  {Joxirnal, 
\^ol.  IV.,  p.  47),  that  he  drained  "  i-tiff 
clays  2  feet  deep,  and  24  feet  between  the 
drains,  at  £3.  4.  3.  per  acre,"  and  "porous 
soils  3  feet  deep,  o'6h  feet  asunder,  at  £2. 
5.  2.  per  acre."  I  now  find  him  continuing 
his  drainage  at  4  feet  deep,  wherever  he  can 
obtain  the  outfall,  from  a  conviction,  founded 
on  the  experience  of  a  cautious  progres.sive 
practice  as  to  the  depth  and  distance,  that 
depth  consists  with  economy  of  outlay  as 
well  as  with  superior  effect.  He  has  found 
4  feet  drains  to  be  efficient,  at  50  feet  asun- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN   PLANTER. 


201 


der,  in  soils  of  varied  texture — not  uni- 
form clays — and  executes  them  at  a  cost  of 
about  £'1.  5.  0.  per  acre,  being  18s.  4d.  for 
871  pipes,  and  £1.  G.  G.  for  53  rods  of  dig- 
ging. Communications  have  been  recently 
made  to  me,  by  several  respectable  Kentish 
farmers,  of  the  satisfactory  performance  of 
drains  deeply  laid  in  the  Weald  clays,  at 
distances  ranging  from  30  to  40  feet,  but  I 
have  not  had  the  opportunity  of  personally 
inspecting  these  drainages.* 

The  following  little  table  shows  the  actual 
and  the  respective  cost  of  the  above  three 
cases  of  under-draining,  calculated  on  the 
effects  really  produced,  /.  c,  on  the  masses 
of  earth  effectively  relieved  of  their  super- 
fluous water  at  an  equal  expense.  I  con- 
ceive this  to  be  the  true  expression  of  the 
work  done,  as  a  mere  statement  of  the  cost 
of  drainage  per  acre  of  surface  conveys  but 
an  imperfect,  indeed,  a  very  erroneous  idea 
of  the  substantive  and  useful  expenditure 
on  any  particular  system.  This  will  le  ap- 
parent on  refereuce  to  the  two  last  columns 
of  the  table,  which  give  the  cost  in  cubic 
yards  and  square  yards  of  soil  drained  for 
one  penny  at  the  above  mentioned  prices, 
depths  and  distances. 


o  c 
H-.S 

Q  '- 

Distance  be- 
tween    the 
Drains  in  feet. 

Mass  of  Soil 
Drained  per 
acre,  in  cubic 
yards. 

Ma.*sof  Soil 
Drained    for 
Id.    in    cubic 
yards. 

Surface    of 
Soil    Drained 

for  Id.  in 
square  yards. 

2 
3 
4 

24 

33i 

50 

3226^ 

4840 

6453 

4.1 

8.93 

12.00 

6.27 
8.03 
8.96 

I  may  here  observe,  that  Mr.  Hammond, 
when  draining  tenacious  clays,  chooses  the 
month  of  February  for  the  work,  when  he 
lays  his  pipes,  (just  covering  them  with  clay 
to  prevent  crumbs  from  getting  in,)  and 
leaves  the  trenches  open  thiough  March,  if 
it  be  drying  weather,  by  which  means  he 
finds  the  cracking  of  the  soil  much  acceler- 
ated, and  the  complete  action  of  the  drains 
advanced  a  full  season.  The  process  of 
cracking  may,  doubtless,  be  hastened  both 
by  a  choice  of  the  period   of  the  year   in 


*  The  cost  above  given  can  only  be  taken  as 
that  of  the  particular  case.  The  co.«t  of  drain- 
age (See  page  63)  is  aftected  by  the  texture  o/ 
soils,  their  stoniness,  &c.;  and  rates  of  work  are 
being  jiaid.  varying  from  3d.  to  even  Is.  6d.  per 
roi!  (5^  yards),  causing  tlie  cost  of  drainage  per 
acre  to  vary  from  £2.  to  even  £o.  per  acre,  ac- 
cording to  circumstances. 


which  the  drains  are  made,  and  by  such  a 
management  of  the  surface  as  to  expose  it 
to  the  full  force  af  atmospheric  evaporation. 

Recurring  to  the  foregoing  tables,  it  must 
be  noticed  that  the  mean  annual  fall  of  rain, 
as  therein  registered,  is  below  the  average 
of  Britain,  whilst  the  force  of  evaporation 
is  probably  higher  than  the  average ;  and 
the  monthly  as  well  as  annual  amounts  of 
filtration  and  evaporation  may  be  expected, 
in  different  latitudes,  localities  and  soils,  to 
vary  greatly  from  these  records.  Similar 
observations  obtained  on  different  soils,  and 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  when  com- 
bined with  the  indications  of  thermometers 
sunk  in  the  earth,  would  put  us  in  posses- 
sion of  that  condition  of  soil,  which  may 
not  be  improperly  termed  climate^  of  which 
no  certain  knowledge  can  be  deduced  from 
purely  meteorological  phenomena,  but  upon 
which  the  atmospheric  climate  of  a  district 
is  known  greatly  to  depend. 

Meteorologists  have  recorded,  for  many 
years,  the  amount  of  terrestrial  evaporation,- 
as  denoted  by  a  gauge  invented  by  Mr. 
Luke  Howard,  and  have  considered  it  as 
indicative  of  the  quantity  of  moisture  taken 
up  by  the  atmosphere  from  the  earth;"  but, 
this  instrument  only  denotes  the  evaporation 
from  a  dish  of  water  placed  on  the  earth's 
surface,  and  therefore  supplies  no  fact  of 
direct  use  to  the  agriculturist,  for  cultivated 
soils  are  not  under  the.se  circumstances,  and 
the  power  of  the  sun's  rays  in  heating  soils 
is  but  indifferently  represented  by  their  ef- 
fect in  transforming  water  into  vapour.  The 
difference  between  the  indications  of  the 
Howard  and  Dalton  gauges  is  most  remark- 
able. Professor  Dbniell  states  {Brithh 
Almanac)  the  mean  annual  rain  in  London 
to  be  22.199  inches,  and  the  mean  evapo- 
ration 23.981  inches,  or  1.782  inches  more 
than  the  rain ;  and  the  results  recorded  by 
tl\e  Burmingham  Philo.sophical  Institution 
for  1843  are,  rain  26.71G  inches,  evapora- 
tion 31.982  inches,  or  5.2GG  inches  more 
than  the  rain.  But  we  learn  from  the  Lal- 
ton  gauge  that,  in  Hertfordshii-e,  out  of 
26.614  inches  of  rain  on  15.32  inches 
were  restored  to  the  atmosphere — the  re- 
mainder pa.ssed  through  the  earth  into  tho 
rivers;  and  this  is  the  real  fact  on  compar- 
ing the  amount  of  rain  with  the  amount 
evaporated  from  soil  3  feet  deep. 

We  must  never  forget  that  accurate  and 
multiplied  quantitative  facts  form  the  only 
substantial   basis  of  science ;    and  obscrva- 


202 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


tions  of  the  rain  and  Dalton  gauges  would 
be  usefully  varied  by  placing  the  latter  at 
different  depths,  as  at  1,  2,  3  and  4  feet,  or 
more,  below  the  surface,  and  filled  with  a 
diversity  of  soils,  whence  information  may 
be  expected  to  arise  of  great  practical  value 
to  the  agriculturist. 

\_To  he  concluded  in  our  next  number,  iclth 
the  author's  Lecture  on  Draining.'] 


For  the  Soutlicrn  Planter. 

What  has  become  of  our  Birds  ? 
Mr.  Editor  : 

The  aged  and  infirm,  in  general,  should 
not  wait  to  be  advised  by  others  to  withdraw 
from  much  intercourse  with  the  public.  The  ' 
aged,  however,  ought  to  be  best  qualified  to 
answer  the  question,  forming  our  caption. 
They  have  lived  during  the  time  that  much 
of  the  diminution  in  the  number  of  birds — 
so  much  complained  of  in  our  agricultural 
journals  of  lute — has  been  occurring,  and  if 
they  have  been  in  the  habit  of  noticing 
things  around  them,  must  be  able  to  tell 
something  of  the  rapid  decrease  in  the  num- 
ber of  birds,  as  also  of  the  consequent  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  insects.  : 

A  "scarcity  of  birds  is  a  misfortune  to  any 
countl-y  and,  agriculturally,  it  is  a  calamity. 
This  hardly  needs  illustration,  for  it  is  man- 
ifest to  all  who  will  recollect  what  destruc- 
tive depredations  have  been  committed,  eveu 
in  the  experience  of  our  young  farmers,  on 
our  sprouting  and  young  corn,  by  ckiver- 
wornis,*  wire-worms,  cut-worms  and  a  vari- 
ety of  other  vermin  of  this  description — on 
our  wheat,  b}-  chinch-bugs,  Hessian-fly,  joint- 
worms,  etc.  These  are  the  most  common 
depredating  insects ;  space  is  not  allowed  to 
specify  all  which  I  could  enumerate.  Let 
him  who  doubts  whether  birds  eat  insects  to 
any  useful  extent,  confine  his  turkeys,  or  his 
Guinea  fowls — which  are  said  to  be  better — 
for  one  season  on  a  tobacco-lot,  and  he  will 
have  to  account  for  the  absence  of  horn- 
worms.  But,  I  believe,  the  fact  is  admitted 
by  all.  '  I 

The  scarcity  of  our  birds,  or  rather  the 
decrease  of  our  former  supply,  is  ascribable 

•  Most  of  tliese  little  rascals  may  be  defeated 
in  their  evil  purposes,  by  soaking  the  seed  corn 
one  night  in  warm  water,  smearing  with  tar  next 
morning,  and  rolling  in  flour  of  sulphur  and 
plaster  of  Paris.  If  the  soaking  be  neglected, 
the  corn  will  not  sprout  in  a  dry  spell  of  wea- 
ther, being  coated  with  tar.  ! 


to  several  causes,  some  of  which  are  hardly 
removable ;  but  I  would  faiu  hope,  they  are 
all  by  a  judicious  and  united  pubhc  senti- 
ment and  effort,  capable  of  mitigation.  In 
enumerating  these  causes,  I  would  set  down 
as  most  efficient — 

I.  Peculiarities  in  our  climate,  which 
have  doubtless  increased  since  the  settlement 
of  the  country  and  clearing  away  the  forests. 
These  consist  in  very  sudden  and  violent 
changes  of  weather,  dependent  mainly  on 
the  direction  whence  the  wind  blows,  both 
in  winter  and  summer,  and  affect  different 
classes  of  birds  as  the  season  in  which  they 
prevail  may  be  present.  The  varieties  of 
our  feathered  tribes  may  be  divided  into 
several  classes.  There  are  such  as  may  be 
called  the  indigenous  or  aboriginal  birds,  or 
those  which  remain  with  us  all  the  year 
round.  These  are  the  turkey,  pheasant, 
quail,  or,  as  we  call  him,  partridge ;  the 
crested  or  winter  red-bird,  the  cres'ted  tit- 
mouse and  some  others.  Of  this  class,  the 
crow  and  the  wild  turkey  may  sustain  life, 
when  the  ground  is  deeply  covered  with 
snow — and  when  food  is  obtainable,  they  re- 
gard not  the  cold — by  picking  the  seed  from 
the  cones  or  burs  of  the  pines,  so  abundant 
with  us.  The  pheasant  at  such  times  finds 
nourishment  perhaps  from  pine-seed,  and 
doubtless  from  berries  which  grow  in  the 
ranges  which  alone  he  will  consent  to  abide 
in.  I  suspect  the  berries  borne  by  what  we 
call  the  green-barked  swamp-dogwood,  and 
by  the  bamboo,  are  his  favorites.  But  poor 
Bob  White  I  All  the  grass,  clover  and  weed- 
seed  on  which  he  relies  for  his  winter  store 
of  provision  being  covered  a  foot  or  two 
deep,  must  go  supperless  to  bed  and  starve, 
unless  he  luckily  find  some  rare  friend,  such 
as  a  good  man  whom  I  once  knew — my 
blessings  on  his  memory  I — who  kept  an  old 
negro  man,  skilful  in  the  art,  cooping  and 
trapping  partridges  all  the  fall  and  winter. 
1'he  captives  were  imprisoned  during  the 
winter  in  a  close  room,  well  fed  and — ex- 
cept a  decimation  taken  by  the  wife,  when 
.she  wanted  birds  for-  dinner — turned  loose 
in  the  spring,  to  multiply  and  replenish  the 
earth.  Were  this  practice  generallj'  follow- 
ed, partridges  would  become  numerous  ;  and 
I  learned  lately  from  "  The  Planter,"  that 
they  have  a  taste,  surely  not  to  be  admired, 
for  eating  chinch-bugs.  However  odd  the 
taste,  it  is  possessed  in  an  equal  or  stronger 
degree,  as  I  have  learned  from  the  best  au- 
thority, by  a  beautiful  favorite  of  some  of 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


203 


our  amateur  ornithologists.  I  mean  the  com- 
mon Blue  bird.  Common  chickens,  I  am 
told,  will  also  eat  them.  Can  yo^i  believe, 
sir,  that  any  created  thing  \yill  eat  chinch- 
bugs  ?  I  had  believed,  untill  lately,  that 
they  were  a  black  little  curse  upon  us,  with 
a  mark  on  their  foreheads  or  elsewhere  on 
their  persons,  forbidding  all  creation  to  touch 
them  ;  that  nothing  but  natural  death  could 
hurt  them  ;  and  I  even  feared  that  instead 
of  dying,  they  crept  out  of  their  skins  and 
went  to  work  again.  But  when  I  learned 
that  some  birds  would  eat  them,  I  cast  aside 
despair,  buckled  on  my  old  armor  and  de- 
termined to  make  one  more  blow,  even 
though  it  might  foil  as  feebly  as  the  last 
cast  of  the  lance  of  old  king  Priam. 

II.  Another  class  of  birds  come  to  us 
from  the  North,  in  the  fall,  seek  food  here 
during  winter,  and  return  northwardly  to 
rear  their  families,  as  soon  as  sustenance  for 
the  purpose  can  be  found  in  their  native 
haunts.  The.se  consist  chiefly  of  geese, 
ducks,  skimming  or  Canada  hawks,  and  very 
rarely,  white  owls,  and  would  not  require 
notice  in  an  agricultural  article,  were  it  not 
for  the  amazing  destruction  of  partridges 
produced  by  the  hawks.  These  piratical  ma- 
rauders skim  near  the  surface  all  day,  and 
the  prey  must  hide  well  which  can  elude 
their  vigilant  foraging.  A  law  for  the  de- 
structiun  of  these  daring  scoundrels  would, 
I  think,  at  least  be  more  dignified  than  our 
county  crow-laws.  I  wonder  our  enthusias- 
tic sportsmen  have  never  formed  associa- 
tions for  trapping  and  shooting  all  of  them 
that  come  here.  The  first  I  saw  of  them 
was  about  the  begicning  of  this  century,  I 
believe  in  1807.  By  1810  they  became  nu- 
merous. In  January  1856  and  also  in  1857, 
very  deep  snows  fell,  followed  by  much  bit- 
ter weather,  nearly  all  our  partridges  per- 
ished. Since  then  I  have  seen  but  one 
Canada  hawk.  Cold  winter  weather  can 
only  affect  these  two  classes  of  birds,  as  all 
others  generally  get  out  of  its  way.  I  be- 
lieve that  most  of  them  could  withstand  the 
cold,  were  they  not  deprived  of  food  by  the 
accompanying  deep  snows.  Small  quadru- 
peds, such  as  hares,  which  do  not  hibernate, 
perish  in  the  same  way.  I  have  kept  in  my 
garden  and  about  my  ])remises,  much  berry- 
bearing  shrubbery  and  vines,  and  I  do  not 
recollect  a  winter  during  which  one  or  more 
mocking  birds  did  not  abide  with  me.  Did 
such  birds  know  that  the  berries  would  af- 
ford them  food  for  the  winter  ?      There  are 


strange  mysteries  in   natural  history.     My 
father,  nearly  sixty  years  ago,  was  in   the 
habit  of  spreading  his  straw,  as  he  threshed 
out  the  wheat,  on  the   next  year's   tobacco 
ground.     An  excellent  practice,  and  none 
who  have  not  tried  it,  can  believe  how  much 
tobacco  is  improved  by  having  land  to  grow 
on  manured  the  season  previous  to  its  culti- 
vation.    Invariably  in  twenty-four  hours  af- 
ter the  straw  was   spread,   countless  multi- 
tudes   of    the    spotted    plover    visited    the 
ground  ;  so  numerous  were  they,  that  I  have 
on  several  occasions  killed  eight  at  one  shoot, 
I  firing  on  the  wing  at  the  gang.      The  prac- 
j  tice  was  intermitted  for  several  years,  from 
j  scarcity   of   provender  for  stock.     But  as 
soon  as  it  was  resumed,  the  birds  retuined. 
Now   the  mystery   to  me   is,  whence  they 
'  came,   whither  they   went,    and   how   they 
j  knew  that  the  straw  was  spread.     I  have 
never  seen  a  spotted  plover  before,  nor  since, 
jand  know   not  in   what   region  they  could 
have  been  reared.     Some  two  or  thrce'cur- 
lews  usually  came  with  them.      These  were 
j  so  shy  that  I  never  knew  one  of  them  to  be 
I  killed. 

j  III.  Another  set  of  our  birds  consists  of 
'those  which  remain  in  the  State  through  the 
'year,  but  retire  to  the  sea  coast  in  very  cold 
spells,  such  as  blue  birds,  robins,  killdeers 
(perhaps),  and  a  few  others.  Some  of  these 
arrive  here  so  speedily  after  the  wind  shifts 
i  to  a  warmer  point,  that  we  cannot  withhold 
'from  them  credit  for  grcater^weather  wis- 
dom than  belongs  to  many  of  our  wiseacres 
;  who  set  up  for  seers  in  this  line.  As  the 
\  weather  can  hardly  hurt  these  shrewd  little 
star-gazers,  we  must  leave  them  to  the  ten- 
I  der  mercies  of  other  destroyers  fully  as  re- 
!  lentless,  to  be  noticed  in  the  sequel. 
■  TV.  The  greatest  variety  of  our  birds 
_is  made  up  of  those  which  spend  the  sum- 
mer with  us,  and  depart  on  the  approach  of 
winter.  It  is  from  this  class  that  I  have  ob- 
served the  most  striking  diminution.  So 
!  great,  indeed,  has  this  been,  that  I  shall 
hardly  gain  credence,  from  any  but  the 
aged,  in  what  I  shall  state.  Yet  who  that 
can  remember  Richmond,  in  the  close  of  the 
last,  and  commencement  of  this  century, 
bow  its  atmosphere  was  blackened  by  the 
myraids  of  house-martins,  ajid  other  varie- 
ties of  swallows,  which  caroled  and  twit- 
tered and  glided  through  the  air,  can  have 
forgotten  the  countless  winged-rollickers? 
I  was  told  that  the  martins  found  their  way, 
[  in  vast  numbers,  into  the  roof  of  the  capitol, 


204 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[Apeil 


in  which  were  stored  thousands  of  muskets  | 
and  other  arms  of  the  State,  and  that  they 
became  vexatiously  pestiferous  to  the  arrao- ' 
rers,  by  defiling  these  articles.     I  sometimes 
go  to  Richmond,  in   summer,  and   miss   the  ' 
birds  much,  but  think   the  musquitos   have 
greatly  multiplied.     When  I  was  a  boy  the  ' 
maxim  prevailed,  that  martins  would  fill  all ' 
the  boxes  you  might  set  up  for  them.  When  ' 
I  became  a  man  I  nearly  verified  this,  for , 
the  martins  not  only  filled  all  the  boxes   I 
provided  for  them,  but  took  possession   of, 
the    pigeon-house.      I    believe    there   were  | 
hard  upon   a  thousand   about  my  premises. , 
This  was  very  nearly  "  too  much  of  a  good  j 
thing" — too  much  noise   of  the   same  sort. 
But  we   began   to  have  very  cool  spells  in ' 
spring  and  summer,  and  these  birds  visibly 
diminished  in  number,  and  I  think   it  was ' 
early  in   July,  1886,  a  wet,  cold,  spell   oc-  \ 
curred   and   lasted   for  many   days,   during  [ 
which  nearly  every  martin  died — the  young 
in  the  nests,  and  old  ones  were  found  dead  on  i 
fences,  and  all  over  the  farm.     Whether  the 
cold   directly  killed   them,  or   caused   their 
starvation  by  destroying  the  insects  on  which 
they  fed,  or  driving  them  into  inaccessible ; 
hiding-places,    is    doubtful.      For   the    last; 
twenty  years  I  have  tried  much  to  tempt 
the  martins  to  abide  with   me   again — but 
have  failed  greatly,  as  with  all  my  efl"orts  I 
have  enticed  but  five  or  six  to  do  so,  whilst 
provision  for  many  more  has  been  made. 

The  swall^s,  sixty  years  ago,  were  also 
very  numerous.  They  took  possession  of 
every  chimney-flue  under  which  fires  were 
not  kept,  and  our  good  mothers  and  grand- 
dames  would  humanely  suffer  with  cold 
rather  than  annoy  the  swallows  by  having 
fires  kindled  under  them.  I  often  bless  the 
mother  who  taught  me  to  put  a  nest  of  un 
fledged  young  ones — which  had  fallen,  from 
its  weight,  in  a  damp  spell — into  a  little 
basket,  tied  to  a  pole,  and  put  it  up  the 
chimney  in  reach  of  its  parents.  How  far 
birds  ot  the  swallow  tribe  may  employ  them- 
selves in  catching  insects  agriculturally  in- 
jurious, I  know  not,  but,  as  they  live  so 
much  on  the  wing,  I  should  think  any  man 
who  hates  musquitos  would  regret  their  ab- 
sence. Birds  of  this  kind  certainly  resort 
much  to  .sheets  of  water,  streams,  and  boggy 
grounds,  to  perform  their  aeronautical  evo- 
lutions. They  usually  construct  their  nests 
in  places  out  of  reach,  both  of  the  little 
urchins,  black  and  white,  who  rob  bird- 
nests,  and  also  of  the  hawks,  and  we  would 


hope  that  one  sportsman  enough  to  hit  one 
of  them  on  the  wing,  would  find  better  em- 
ployment.. So  that  their  wonderful  diminu- 
tion may  fairly  be  charged  to  cold  weather, 
or  a  change  in  our  climate. 

Cold  weather  can  hardly  kill  snow-birds. 
Yet  there  has  probably  been  a  much  greater 
decadence  in  the  number  of  these,  within 
the  memory  of  man,  than  of  any,  or  per- 
haps of  all  others.  About  the  year  1796 
or  7,  the  writer  thinks,  he  was  one  of  four 
boys,  at  a  boarding-school,  who  caught,  in 
little  pit-fall  traps,  180  odd  snow-birds  in 
one  day.  The  next  day  the  good  lady  of 
the  house  regaled  us  with  a  pot-pie,  which, 
to  our  boyish  taste,  produced  impressions 
unequalled  by  any  feasting  since.  I  for- 
merly heard  it  said,  that  it  was  about  the 
best  sign  of  snow  falling,  when  these  pretty 
little  fellows  congregated  thickly  enough 
for  one  to  kill  six  at  a  shoot.  I  rarely,  in 
in  these  days,  see  more  than  that  number  at 
one  view,  however  scattered.  These  birds 
are  said  to  build  in  ranges,  on  the  Alle- 
ghany mountains,  aS"ording  a  supply  of 
suitable  food  for  their  young.  The  settle- 
ment of  these,  in  the  progress  of  civilization, 
and  consequent  dispersion  of  the  birds,  will 
account,  mainly,  for  their  diminution.  Some 
drawback  on  their  apparent  numbers,  by 
their  scattering  over  wider  areas  of  cleared 
lands,  in  their  modern  migrations,  may  be 
made,  but  not  much,  as  they  chiefly  as.sem- 
ble  about  homesteads  in  snowy  weather. 

We  have  mentioned  the  weather,  the 
Canada  hawks — and  we  had  too  niany  land- 
pirates  of  this  sort  before  they  came — and 
the  settlements  among  the  Alleghanies,  as 
causes  of  destruction  to  our  birds.  We 
come  now  to  the  knights  of  the  bird-bag. 
In  the  first  place,  I  must  co..fe.ss  that  I  once 
belonged  to  the  fraternity.  But  while  I  at- 
tempt to  plead  their  cause,  1  must  entreat 
any  young  brother,  who  is  in  the  habit  of 
bagging  from  fifty  to  three  times  fifty  at  a 
shooting,  to  remember  that  they  are  now 
said  to  eat  chinch-bugs.  3Iy  common  cus- 
tom was  to  take  my  gun  and  pointer,  an 
hour  or  two  before  sunset,  and  I  thought  I 
did  well  if  I  brought  in  from  ten  to  twenty 
birds.  I  was,  however,  not  a  good  shot,  or 
I  might  have  done  worse  than  that.  I  con- 
sider shooting  as  a  fine  exercise  and  amuse- 
ment, and — when  not  carried  to  excess — it 
invigorates  both  mind  and  body,  affords 
dexterity  in  the  use  of  fire-arm.s,  and  keeps 
down   the  number  of  squirrels,  hares  and 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


205 


other  predatory  vermin.  As  to  cruelty,  it 
does  not  compare  with  the  daily  butcherina 
and  wringing  of  necks  among  our  brutes  and 
poultry.  I  would  recommend  to  young 
sportsmen,  in  their  shooting  contests,  to  let 
one  common  hawk  count  for  a  tenth,  and  a 
Canada  hawk  for  a  fifth  of  the  whole  num- 
ber of  birds  killed,  or  to  agree  upon  some 
rule  by  which  all  bird-destroyers,  except 
themselves,  should  be  put  out  of  the  way. 
They  may  rely  upon  it,  that  every  such  de- 
stroyer slain  is  a  constantly  working  rival 
removed.  In  this  way  they  may  even 
prove  to  be  friends  to  the  birds — for  all  they 
destroy  would  amount  to  nothing  like  a 
moiety  of  those  devoured  by  hawks,  owls, 
foxes,  minks,  and  other  such  vermin.  As 
to  a  younger  class  of  sportsmen,  who,  soon 
after  getting  out  of  leading  strings,  are  fur- 
nished with  accoutrements  for  the  business^ 
and  roam  the  fields,  shooting  every  pretty 
bird  they  see,  and  often  themselves,  I*  can- 
not be  apologist  for  them,  or  their  parents. 
One  such  little  gentleman,  some  six  or  seven 
years  ago,  got  to  visiting  my  farm  with  his 
double-barreled  gun,  in  mid-sumn?er,  when 
almost  all  the  birds  had  nests.  I  had  often 
boasted  that  I  had  counted  twenty  red-birds, 
at  one  view,  in  my  garden,  enticed  there, 
doubtless,  by  the  berries.  This  young  sports- 
man dropped  them  along  the  river-bank  with 
a  hand  so  unsparring  that  I  have  seen  but 
one  red-bird  on  the  farm,  that  I  recollect, 
since.  The  blue  tanagens — also  numerous 
and  a  very  pretty  kind  of  bird — fared  as 
badly.  I  had  thought  that  such  gunners 
did  but  little  harm.     I  now  retract. 

There  is  a  class  of  bird-killers — and  not 
a  small  one — which  we  should  not  pass  by 
unnoticed.  Grown-up  men,  who,  having 
sufiered  prejudice  to  take  the  place  of  close 
investigation,  ignorantly  and  recklessly  de- 
stroy most  useful  birds.  The  kiljdcer — 
most  faithful  guardian  of  our  turnip-patches 
— charged  with  eating  young  turnips;  the 
difiierent  kinds  of  wood-peckers — guardians 
of  our  trees — are  murdered  ruthlessly  for 
making  holes  in  ears  of  corn,  in  pursuit  of 
worms,  and  for  feeding  their  young  on  cher- 
ries. The  sweetly-singing  thrush  is  killed 
for  pulling  up  corn,  which  the  farmer  might 


nothing.  Another  sweet  songster,  the  cat- 
bird, is  hated  and  killed  for  scolding  when 
his  persecutors  go  near  his  nest.  I  have, 
several  times,  dissected  the  gizzards  of  kill- 
deers — they  have  no  crops  or  craws — to 
show  their  destroyers  that  they  contain  no 
vegetable  substance,  and  nothing  indeed 
but  the  little  bug  so  famous  for  destroying 
young  turnips  and  tobacco  plants.  'J'hese 
bugs  can  be  kept  out  of  plant-beds  by  a 
perfect  fence,  three  feet  high,  without  a 
crack.  A  neat  log  fence,  well-daubed  with 
mud,  will  answer.  I  never  could  raise  egg- 
plants until  1  elevated  boxes,  in  which  the 
seed  were  sown,  beyond  their  reach.  They 
can  hop  like  fleas — crawl  with  difficulty — 
and  if  they  ever  fly,  rarely  do  it,  for,  with 
close  watching,  I  have  never  .seen  them' per- 
form the  exploit.  These  little  hopping 
beetles  are  a  great  nuisance  in  the  land — 
and  I  fear  are  rapidly  increasing.  I  he  kill- 
deers  seem  to  be  their  natural  enemies,  and 
formerly  collected  in  vast  numbers,  and 
now  in  small  ones — if  even  small  ones  con- 
venient, may  happen  to  exist — to  fulfil  the 
purpose  of  their  mission.  I  seldom,  now-a- 
days,  hear  the  cheery  ring  of  the  killdeer's 
voice.  Let  no  man  henceforth,  kill  one,  ex- 
cept to  convince  himself  and  others  that 
they  eat  no  young  turnips.  The  sacrifice 
of  one  producing  such  conviction  may  save 
hundreds  of  his  brethren.  The  wood- 
pecker tribe,  I  look  upon  as  very  valuable. 
The  lively,  spotted  little  fellow,  who  strik- 
ingly verifies  the  adage  about  giving  a  dog 
a  bad  name,  called  sapsucker,  has  often  been 
shot  while  picking  grubs  from  the  rind  of 
some  neglected  apple-tree,  which  its  owner 
should  have  saved  by  scrubbing  the  bark 
well  with  ley,  because  his  unlucky  name 
seemed  to  imply  that  he  was  sucking  out  its 
sap.  His  handsome  compeer,  the  large, 
spotted  woodpecker,  much  tinged  with  yel- 
low,— called  lark-woodpecker,"  and  by  the 
boys,  yueker— is  the  only  bird  I  ever  saw 
picking  out  and  eating  the  worms  from  the 
roots  of  peach-trees.  Spare  him,  ye  far- 
mers, and  teach  youj-  boys  to  spare  him  ! 
But  where  is  the  red-headed  woodpecker — 
the  guardian  of  the  olden  forests.  His  oc- 
cupation's   nearly   gone.       Civilization    has 


prevent  by  soaking,  tarring  and  sulphuring! almost  banished  them  all,  as  it  did  the  s 
his  seed-corn.     Ah,  but  the  birds  will  still  '  '   '  ' 

pull  it  up,  if  they  do  not  eat  it.  Now, 
crows,  etc.,  are  industrious  in  gratifying- 
appetite,  but,  like  men,  they  soon  become 
weary,  when   they  find  their  work  is   for 


snow- 


birds, among  the  Alleghanies.  We  have 
cut  down  much  the  greater  part  of  our  forest- 
lands.  We  have  ceased  girdling  trees,  in 
the  half-rotten  parts  of  which  these  birds 
could  peck  out  holes  for  their  nests.     We 


206 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[April 


even  search  out  the  old  and  dead  trees  for 
fuel.  Where  are  the  poor  birds  now  ? 
Like  many  of  us,  seeking  homes — from  dire 
necessity — far  away.  I  have  known  a  hirge 
community  of  them  actually  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  destruction,  from  the  pine-borer, 
in  a  forest  where  one  pine-tree  had  been 
felled  convenient  to  a  field  of  thickly  gird- 
led trees  in  which  they  dwelt.  They  are 
nearly  gone  now.  A  solitary  lingerer  occa- 
sionally startles  us  with  his  merry  squeal, 
but  it  excites  rather  sad  assoc  ations.  This 
is  no  longer  a  home  for  them.  What  is 
called  bat- fowling,  also  causes  great  increase 
of  insects.  The  number  of  bull-bats  has 
very  much  declined  in  modern  times.  We 
thresh  wheat  so  much  earlier  than  formerly, 
that  we  can  better  dispense  with  the  bats, 
as  the  suuimer-weavil,  a  favorite  food  with 
them,  annoys  us  less.  Leather-winged  bats 
— ignored  by  ornithologists — should  be 
prized  by  farmers.  They  live,  I  believe, 
entirely,  on  insects,  and  in  their  destruction 
of  them  may  substitute  birds.  But  preju- 
dice will  not  spare  even  these  poor,  ugly 
little  flutterers.  They  are  accused  of  breed- 
ing chinches.  Such  bugs  may  get  into 
sycamore-hollows,  and  their  other  domicils. 
But  would  any  man  destroy  his  poultry  be- 
cause chinches  infest  his  hen-house.  This 
they  often  do.  Bats  live,  by  hundreds,  under 
the  barge-boards  of  my  dwelling-house.  I 
know  no  residence,  within  ten  miles,  where 
musquitos  are  scarcer — (and  I  may  say 
chinches,  too,  if  none  will  call  it  bragging) 
— although  there  is  a  curved  river-boundary, 
of  more  than  two  miles,  within  half  a  mile 
of  the  house.  Pardon  this  and  several  other 
digressions.  The  whole  article  is  written, 
mainly,  for  the  good  of  agriculture,  at  which 
these  digressions  are  aimed. 

The  Great  Creator  can,  by  storms  and 
tempests — or,  according  to  His  own  good 
pleasure — exterminate  all,  or  any  of  His 
creatures.  But  He  has  so  guarded  animals 
preyed  upon,  against  their  marauders,  by 
the  law  of  action  and  reaction — in  other 
words,  of  supply  and  demand — that  the 
latter  work  against,  weaken,  or  starve  them- 
selves, when  they  approach  too  near  an  ex- 
tinction of  the  former.  A  community  of 
cats,  feeding  only  on  one  of-  rats,  commit 
indirect  suicide  on  themselves,  when  they 
carry  on  the  destruction  too  rapidly,  and 
must  themselves  decrease  to  that  point  at 
which  the  rats  and  their  oflFspring  can  sus- 
tain them.     Well-fed  cats — which  are  much 


the  most  valuable  — might  succeed  in  effect- 
ing their  destruction.  Nature  shields  the 
birds,  generally,  in  this  way,  from  utter  ex- 
tinction. Even  man  would,  probably,  re- 
linquish their  pursuit,  when  it  ceased  to  pay 
in  profit  or  amusement. 

The  question  has  not  been  settled,  and 
probably  never  will  be,  whether — on  the 
whole — crows  do  most  good  or  harm.  I  will 
not  shirk  it,  though  I  confess  ignorance 
and  doubt.  It  seems  as  if  it  hardly  need 
be  settled,  as  in  our  region,  in  despite  of 
some  very  keen  crow-killers  in  my  know- 
ledge, their  numbers,  though  confessedly 
prodigiously  reduced,  are  far  greater,  in 
proportion  to  size,  than  those  of  any  of  our 
other  birds.  There  are  two  or  three  ani- 
mals which,  some  say,  never  die  a  natural 
death.  I  think  the  crow  has  as  fair  a  title 
•to  this  distinction  as  either  of  them.  He 
has  yo  destroyer  but  man,  and  among  men 
there  are  so  few  who  possess  the  genuine 
crow-killing  talent,  that,  I  think,  with  all 
his  cunning  in  eluding  pursuit,  and  his 
great  prolificness,  the  danger  of  his  exter- 
mination is  not  very  great. 

Some  people  protect  crows  as  very  valu- 
able. The  late  John  Randolph  would  not 
suffer  one  of  them  to  be  shot  on  his  farm. 
Indeed,  he  fed  them  liberally  when  his 
young  corn  could  be  injured  by  them.  I 
tried  this  once,  but  they  had  not  faith  in 
me — the  black  rascals  pulled  up  the  corn 
close  by  the  bait.  Probably  they  prefer  it 
soured  or  softened  in  the  ground  for  their 
young.  In  that  case,  by  soaking  the  feed 
in  water  a  day  or  two,  they  might  be  accom- 
modated. I  suspect  that  even  then,  from 
a  proclivity  to  mischief  natural  to  them, 
they  would  continue  the  depredation,  in 
conformity  with  the  boast  of  the  black-bird 
to  the  crow,  in  the  old  nursery  song : 

"Ever  since  old  Adam  was  made, 
To  pull  up  corn   has  been  our  trade." 

Some  hate  crows  so  much  as  to  put  food 
within  their  reach,  impregnated  with  a  so- 
lution of  arsenic,  and  kill  them  by  Avhole- 
sale.  The  gentleman  mentioned  above, 
declared  to  me,  that  he  never  could  bring 
himself  to  administer  poison  to  any  of 
God's  creatures — not  even  to  rats ;  that  he 
left  arsenic  to  the  doctors,  and  doubted 
whether  many  of  them  used  it  to  advan- 
tage. 

There  is  an  insolence  and  audacity  about 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


207 


the  crow  in  the  achievement  of  his  thieve- 
ries, seeming  to  defy  retribution  and  chal- 
lenge assault.  Could  the  Avarmest  apologist 
for  crows — on  finding  thirty  or  forty  of  the 
best  melons  in  his  patch  pecked  to  pieces, 
while  the  saucy  rogues  were  chuckling 
noisily  over  the  feat  in  the  neighbouring 
trees,  beyond  the  reach  of  gunshot,  how- 
ever— look  at  the  black  thieves,  without 
tcishinij  them  all  dead  ?  If,  on  the  whole, 
they  do  more  good  than  harm,  it  is  with  a 
very  bad  grace,  and,  like  all  the  good  done 
by  scoundrels,  with  a  bad  motive.  My  rule 
has  been,  whilst  I  have  by  no  means  loved 
the  crows,  to  let  them  alone,  except  such  as 
took  to  stealing  the  eggs  and  catching  the 
young  of  my  domestic  fowls.  I  have  sought 
the  lives  of  these  most  sedulou.'^ly.  I  would 
also  contend  for  my  melons,  savagely,  if 
need  be. 

A.s  for  black-birds,  they  may  readily  be 
cleared  out,  if  they  be  considered  a  nui- 
sance, by  draining  swamps  and  extirpating 
willows.  Even  were  they  considered  valu- 
able, we  should  not  retain  the  swamps  and 
willows,  with  all  their  accompanying  evils, 
for  their  sakes.  Besides,  I  suspect  that  they 
eat  but  few  insects  except  those  peculiar 
to  swamps,  whilst  at  certain  seasons  they 
pillage  voraciously  on  all  the  grain  near. 

An  intimation   was  made  that  remedies 
would  be  suggested,   at  least  for  the  palia- 
tion  of  the   foregoing  evils.     Here  the  wri- 
ter feels  himself  much  in   the   condition  of 
a  physician,  who  has  great  confidence  that 
he  could  prescribe   sanative  remedies,  but 
has    little    hope    that    the  patient  will  fol- 
low the  prescription.     In  the   present  case,  i 
there  are  too  many  to  be  consulted — nine-, 
tenths   of   whom  will  probably    pronounce  | 
the  whole  business  a   humbug;  and  of  the 
very  few  who  may  approve,  hardly  one  will 
adopt  and  endeavour  to  carry  out  the  sug- 
gestions.     Such  are   the   difficulties  to  be 
overcome. 

Public  evils  often  call  down  public  calami- 
ties, and  the  links  which  bind  the  various  in- 
terests of  civilized  life,  are  so  entangled  and' 
complicated  that  a  lofty  wis.lom   is  required' 
to  prevent  confusion  and  ruin.     The  feeble; 
old  man,  who  now  addresses  you,   feels  his 
utter  impotence   to  wield   the  subject  when  ' 
applied  to  ourselves  as  a  nation.     He  has' 
no  sanative  remedies  here.     No — he  begs 
leave,  humbly,  to  unite  with  a   mighty  host 
of  patriots  in  imploring  those  who  are  great ' 
and  good  to  face  the  tempest,  and  agonize ' 


to  avert  it.  I  have  already  witnessed  some 
;  stirring — grand  displays  of  patriotic  elfl- 
quence.  But  the  good  and  great  must  not 
only  write  and  speak,  but  buckle  on  their 
armour  and  fight  for  the  cause  of'jtheir 
country.  Perhaps  the  people  will  "  rev- 
erence" them.  Perhaps  they  may  be  ena- 
bled to  save  their  country  I 

'•But  fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to   tread." 

The  peace  of  angels  is  what  we  need ; 
thej^are  said  to  bring  no  railing  accusations. 
Can  party  spirit  heal  us?  No — this  was  the 
demon  which  hatched  the  mischief.  An- 
gelic peace  must  sweeten^profound  wis- 
dom and  virtue  give  power  to  the  medicine 
we  take.  God  grant  that  no  judgments 
from  Heaven  l>e  necessary  for  our  cure  ! 

But  to  return  to  the  birds.  Often  on 
viewing  farms,  in  some  of  our  richer  coun- 
ties, I  have  asked,  what  provision  is  made 
for  the  birds?  Where  so  many  good  things 
abound  any  deficiency  becomes  the  more 
striking.  It  is  worse  in  poorer  lands,  but 
I  choose  the  richer  for  examples,  on  account 
of  the  contrast.  We  see  a  handsome, 
sometimes,  a  splendid  dwelling,  neat  and 
substantial  out-houses,  beautiful  shaders 
in  the  yard,  very  rare  though  in  the 
fields,  and  no  superabundance  of  wood- 
land. How  long  could  a  decimal  of  the 
feathered  races  which  once  inhabited  the 
same  lands,  be  kept  here  now  ?  The  in- 
digenous wild  fruits  are  nearly  all  gone. 
Trees,  shrubs,  and  vines,  for  food  and  for 
shelter,  from  storm  and  sunshine,  are  gone. 
It  is  true,  there  is  an  abundance  of  grain 
about  its  ripening  time,  soon  to  be  shut  up 
from  the  birds;  an  abundance  of  clover 
seed  for  such  as  feed  on  it,  when  it  is 
not  under  snow.  There  are  also  insects 
enough  for  the  pee-wees,  wi^ns  and  spar- 
rows, which  are  not  fastidious  about  se- 
lecting secluded  spots  for  their  nests.  The 
blue-bird  may,  perchance,  find  a  hole  in 
an  apple-tree,  if  the  little  negroes  are  not 
permitted  to  rob  him.  Many  other  birds 
find  it  no  home  for  them,  and  fly  away. 
Others  would  remain,  and  soon  pay  for 
coarse  boxes,  six  inches  square,  to  dwell 
in,  if  supplied  with  them. 

Some  birds  affect  particular  haunts  or 
localities,  as  was  said  of  the  pheasants.  I 
have  seen  the  scarlet  tanagor — I  know  no 
common  name  for  him — only  in  a  rantre 
parallel  to  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  about  thirty 


208 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


miles,  south-east  from  it.  This  is  a  %-ery 
sliowy  bird,  brilliant  scarlet  in  colour,  with 
glossy  black  wings,  bill  and  lower  legs. 
The  rain-crow  used  to  be  very  numerous 
in    tfie  same  range,  both  doubtless  attract- 


whether  its  success  be  desirable,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  decide.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
about  the  success  of  the  latter,  should  its 
prosecution  be  directed  by  cautious  and  en- 
lightened   enterprize.      Grapes    are    rarely 


ed  by  some  food  unknown  to  us,  or  by  the  killed  in  middle  Virginia,  by  frosts,  as  they 
charms  ot  seclusion,  to  these  barren  wilds,  j  do  not  bloom  ui  til  about  the  middle  of 
The  mocking  bird  will  rarely  abide  j  May.  Their  health  and  productiveness  are 
where  there  are  neither  red  hawthorns  nor  greatly  improved  by  using  phosphate  of 
larsce    wild    rose    bushes.     The    Baltimore  lime  as  manure. 


oriole  greatly  prefers   the  Lombardy  pop- 
lar to  build  in. 

If  we  desire  birds,  we  must  remember 
the  condition  of  thing?  when  they  were 
plentiful,  or,  as  the  politicians  say^  "  recur 


By  the  foregoing  appliances  and  other 
expedients  to  be  suggested,  I  doubt  not  at 
all  but  that  the  number  of  our  birds  may 
be  greatly  increased.  The  adoption,  by  a 
large   number,    of    the    plan  of    imprison- 


to  first  principles."  Our  forefathers,  after  ling  and  feeding  partridges  in  very  hard 
they  began  to  clear  away  the  woods,  made  weather,  would  greatly  protect  one  of  the  most 
copses,  or  thickets,  of  shrubbery  and  vines, 'valuable  species  of  birds  which  abide  here 
and  crowded  them  as  densely  as  possible  i  during  winter.  By  a  formation  of  the 
not  far  from  the  dwelling.  True,  they  were  thickets  and  groves  recommended,  and  a 
not  made  for  the  birds,  i)ut  being  composed  judicious  adaptation  of  the  growth  to  the 
of  plum  bushes,  cherry  trees,  winter-fox  and  j  soil,  and  of  its  Iruits  to  the  wants  of  the 
other  grape  vines,  they  formed  a  fine  sub-  birds,  a  mighty  enlargement  might  be  add- 
stitute  for  the  departing  forest  growth,  by  led  to  our  summer  birds 
afibrding  good  shelter  in  cold  and  tempestu-  The  awful  devastating  snows  which  have 
ous  spells,  suitable  privacy  for  their  nests,  [swept  away  our  hares  and  partridges,  have 
and  much  food  for  their  young.  The  pro- '  only  occurred  three  times  in  much  over 
gress  of  refinement  and  luxufy  aided  possi- 1  half  a  century.  One  in  January,  1799, 
bly  by  a  hankering  after  rich  ground  for 'which  did  not  all  melt  away  until  the  last 
tobacco,  swept  all  these  away.  They  might. of  April.  Two  others,  in  1856  and  1857, 
cheaply  be  restored,  and  if  tastily  laid  out,  |  are  remembered  by  young  people.  But 
might  be  quite  ornamental.  Such  spots! the  hawks,  except  the  cute  northern  ones 
would  certainly-  recall  many  of  our  wander- ]  which  go  away  when  the  birds  get  scarce, 
ing  feathered  friends.  Birds  should  be  !  are  always  here.  And  I  wish  to  say  a  little 
treated  like  roaaiiug  husbands — mak^e  home 'more  about  hawks,  as  they  produce  a  sad 
pleasant  to  them.  'draw-back    on    the    number   of    our   other 

Other  areas,  hluflfs,  waste  spots,  and  birds.  Allowing  one  hawk  for  every  square 
yawning  gullies,  too  great  to  be  filled  at  mile,  and  I  am  sure  that  is  much  below  the 
once  at  a  compensative  outlay,  might  be  im-jtrue  mark,  it  is  evident  that  they  must  de- 
proved  in  appearance  and  put  to  some  use :  stroy  a  prodigious  number  of  birds  in  a 
quite  cheaply  by  planting  them  thus  in  year.  I  will  leave  the  Canada  hawks  to 
trees,  etc. ;  aijd  if  well  started,  they  would  i  their  rivals — the  sportsmen.  Each  of  them 
soon  become  rich.  It  may  be  objected  that, should  kill  his  hawk  annually,  as  a  tax  for 
such  places  breed  snakes.  One  or  two,' the  privilege  of  hunting.  They  are  easily 
pointers  or  terriers,  trained  to  hunt  these,  .shot  from  a  blind,  near  which  a  bird  or 
will  soon  clear  them  out.  Family  cemete-  ^  hare  is  hung  up.  Our  native  hawks  may, 
ries,  instead  of  laying  bare  in  the  sun, 'most  of  them,  be  trapped,  the  blue-winged 
might  be  tastefully  surrounded  by  groves, !  in  steel-traps,  baited  with  a  bird,  a  squirrel, 
and  the  music  of  the  birds  would  sweeten,  or  even  a  stuffed  squirrel-skin.  The  large 
while  it  increa.sed  the  sacred  solemnity.  j  red  tailed  hawk   can    be  caught  in  a  very 

Silk  and  wine  culture  would  doubtless ,  strong  tobacco-stick  trap,  baited  with  the 
greatly  favour  the  increase  of  our  birds,  j  lungs  of  a  pig  or  lamb. 
The  first,  however,  has,  most  probably,  re-  I  once  knew  an  old  gentleman,  who  had 
ccived  its  death  blow  twenty  years  ago,  from  ,  a  thorough  passion  both  for  shooting  and 
the  Morus  Multicaulis  mania — whether  un-  j  trapping  all  the  hawks,  owls,  foxes,  otters, 
der  the  guidance  of  cautious  and  watchful  minks,  and  other  destructive  vermin,  he 
experiment     it    might    not    succeed,    and  j  could  find — a  perfect  Daniel  Boone  in  the 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


209 


midst  of  civilization.  He  had  no  particular 
objection  to  trapping  a  fox-hound  occasion- 
ally, as  he  was  convinced  that  hounds  hud 
been  the  chief  instrument  in  destroying  the 
game  of  the  country.  His  labours  con- 
vinced me  that  his  occupation  was  very  use- 
ful, for  it  was  manifest  that  his  neighbour- 
hood abounded  in  birds  far  beyond  any 
region  near  It  is  true  he  may  have  in- 
dulged a  prejudice  somewhat  bitter  against 
the  objects  of  his  pursuit,  especially  the 
hounds,  yet  some  such  feeling  almost 
amounting  to  hatred,  is  perhaps  requisite  in 
destroyers  of  all  kinds.  He  was  a  worthy 
man,  and  is  re*nembered  with  esteem  by  all 
who  knew  him.  .  I  have  known  several 
men  of  less  note  who  liad  the  same  turn  of 
mind.  They  did  a  patriotic  work;  whether 
they  designed  it  or  not,  I  cannot  tell. 

Our  article  is  becoming  entirely  too  long. 
We  will  deal  in  short  order  with  the  re- 
maining bird-killers.  For  their  own  sakes, 
the  unfledged  sportsmen  should  be  stopped 
altogether,  unless  their  parents  are  able  to 
employ  those  capable  of  training  them  to 
handle  arms  safely,  and  restraining  them 
from  murdering  harmless  birds,  through 
sheer  wantonness,  as  unsportsman  like  and 
cruel.  The  smaller  fry,  of  nest-robbers, 
should  be  treated  with  mild  expostulation — 
which,  failing,  the  rod  must  be  tried. 

This  effort,  hurried,  miscellaneous,  and 
unmethodical,  is  offered  as  the  best  testi- 
mony I  can  give  of  my  kind  feeling  and 
gratitude  towards  my  agricultural  editor, 
who  has  afforded  mc  so  much  pleasant  read-| 
ing  so  cheaply,  and  my  best  wishes  for  you,  j 
sir,  personally,  and  oiEcially,  and  for  the 
cause  in  which  vou  labour. 

C. 

Cumlerland.  F.b.  20fh,  18G0. 


Lime  Water  for  Apple  Trees. — A 
French  journal  relates  of  a  landed  propri- 
etor near  Yvetot,  that  he  had  in  his  garden 
some  old  apple  trees  which  produced  no 
fruit.  Two  winters  ago  he  took  up  some 
lime,  which  he  steeped  in  water,  and  with 
a  brush  washed  the  old  trees  all  over.  The 
result  was  the  destruction  of  all  the  in- 
sects; the  old  bark  fell  oft',  and  was  replaced 
by  new.  and  the  trees  bore  an  excellent 
crop.  Most  of  them  have  now  acquired 
such  renewed  vigour,  that  all  appearance 
of  age  has  disappeared. 

Remember    the    golden    rule — do    unto 
otber  as  you  would  have  them  do  unto  you 
14 


For  the  Southern  Planter. 

Advice  to  Young  Farmers. 

Supposing  that  our  young  farmer  friends 
have  gone  along  with- us  in  our  former  ar- 
ticles, and  heeded  us  whilst  we  discoursed 
of  house-building,  the  management  of  self,* 
the  management  of  tobacco  beds,  the  man- 
agement of  the  tobacco  plant  itself  after 
being  matured,  &c.,  &c.,  we  will  now 
speak  of  other  topics  connected  with  the 
profitable  management  of  the  farm. 

And  here,  lest  the  young  Virginia  far- 
mer ■fhould  be  discouraged  by  the  wonder- 
ful accounts  he  hears  of  the  great  product 
per  hand,  made  in  the  cotton  and  sugar 
growing  portions  of  our  country,  over  what 
we  are  able  to  do  in  this  State,  we  deem 
it  pertinent  to  remind  him,  that  in  the  im- 
provement of  his  farm,  the  enlargement  by 
natural  increase  of  his  stock  in  trade,  the 
multiplication  of  his  negroes,  his  cattle,  his 
horses,  &c.,  &e.,  he  is  adding,  though 
slowly,  much  more  certainly  to  his  wealth 
than  those  who  are  engaged  exclusively  in  . 
the  planting  business. 

The  superior  planting  lands  of  the  South, 
which  produce  these  large  yields  to  the 
hand,  and  are  not  subject  to  complete  ex- 
haustion, are  confined  to  a  comparatively 
small  district  of  country.  We  would  re- 
mind him  that  a  very  large  majority  of  those 
cotton  hands  are  deteriorating  constantly, 
and  that  no  successful  plan  has  been  resort- 
ed to  of  restoring  them,  that  they  are  cul- 
tivated at  a  most  enormous  expense,  that 
the  net  per  cent,  upon  the  capital  invested 
is  not  so  much  greater,  after  all,  as  the  in- 
experienced are  led  to  think, — that  we  are 
led  to  doubt  whether  the  sura  of  §5,000 
or  810,00  invested  here,  would  not  show 
as  good  a  profit  at  the  end  of  twenty  years 
as  the  same  sum  invested  there,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  superior  comfort  and  satis- 
faction of  living  in  this  climate.  To  bring 
about  this  profitable  investment  here,  how- 
ever, the  young  farmer  will  have  to  be  on 
the  alert.  As  one  step,  he  must  attend  to 
his 

MANURE    HEAP, 

which  is  the  farmer's  bank;  not  like  other 
banks,  though,  its  contents  must  be  rotten. 
If  the  President  of  this  bank  will  see  to  it, 
that  its  resources  are  always  in  a  good  con- 
dition, he  may  rest  assured  that  it  will  yield 
to  him  a  far   more  certain    and  profitable 


210  THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER.  [April 


percent,  than  any  other  banki  no;  institution, 
from  the  bank  of  discount  and  deposit  to  the 
farro  bank,  inclusive.  The  manure  bank  is 
the  farmer's  treasury.    Thence  he  draws  all 


lings  are  all,  evei'y  one  of  them,  provided 
with  plenty  of  erud<-^  matter,  such  as  weeds, 
leaves,  straw,  as  absorbents  of  that  which 
may  be  thrown  or  dropped  on  them,  during 


his  finances.     Let  all  the  nraterial,  of  little!  the  six  months   from   November  till   April. 


<ff  much  strength,  therefore,  out  of  which 
nutrition  for  plant  can  be  extracted  be 
gathered  toijether  and  converted  into  raa- 
nure 

Our  experience  is,  that  whether  applied 


Let  him  see  to  it,  that  the  contents  of  both 
horse  and  cow  stables  when  cleaned  out  are 
thrown  into  shelters  where  rains  nor 
weather  have  access  to  thcni.  Let  him  see 
to  it,  that  they    are  kept    deeply    littered 


to  corn,  wheat  or  tobacco,  turnips,  carrots  with  straw  or  leaves.  And  when  the  time 
or  potatoes,  it  makes  return  exactly  in  pro-' comes  for  turning  the  stock  on  the  fields, 
portion  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the 'let  him  see  that  a  pen  well  covered  with 
manure  applied.  A  judicious  manager  may!  crude  matter  of  some  kind,  is  made  for 
every  year  make  manure  enough  to  dress! them  on  some  poor  spot  of  tl^  succeeding 
thoroughly  all  the  poorer  portions  of  the 'fallow,  and  removed  every  ten  days  or  so, 
fields  he  cultivates.  Especially  may  he  do' and  he  will  find  that  with  the  diligence  he 
so  with  the  partial  aid  of  the  foreign  ma- ^  should  have  exercised,  he  will  have  accom- 
nures  so  much  in  use  now-a-days. .  Wc'plished  so  much  towards  going  over  all  the 
doubt,  however,  at  the  present  high  price,  |  thinner  pavts  of  the  fields  for  cultivation,  as 
whether  these  can  be  extensively  and  at' to  require  but  little  of  the  more  costly  ma- 
the  same  time  profitably  used  on   our  Yir- ;  nures. 

ginia  lands,  as  far  as  we  are  from  the  good  I  And  here,  being  about  to  dismiss  the 
markets.  Lime  and  plaster,  where  they  act 'subject,  we  would  warn  our  young  friends 
on  our  lands,  may  be  used  at  all  times  against  the  various  preparations  that  are 
most  profitably;  nevertheless,  these  great  now  sold  for  manure,  unless  they  know 
adjuvants  to  the  growth  of  plants  have  the  character  of  those  making  the  prepara- 
been  found  to  produce  no  eff"ect  on  some  of  tions. 

our  Eastern  Virginia  lands,  and  consequent- 1  The  season  having  arrived,  viz:  April 
ly  are  to  be  used  with  caution.  The  Pied-  and  May,  when  the  crop  of  corn  is  to  be 
mont  lands  of  the  State  may  be  increased  put  into  the  ground,  such  manure  as  can 
to  any  amount  of  fertility  by  the  judicious  be  spared  froni'thc  tobacco  crop— for,  from 
use  of  clover  and  plaster  alone — a  proper,  our  experience,  none  of  it  should  have  been 
rotation  of  crops  being  okserved  ;  whilst, ;  used  as  top-dressing  to  wheat  during  the 
according  to  our  experience,  the  soil  be-;  ■n-inter,  inasmuch  as' it  docs  uoii  benefit  to 
tween  these  and  tide-water  arc  not  effected  the  extent  that  others  suppose— should  be 
by  the  application  of  either  lime  or  plaster,  spread  on  the  thinner  parts  of  the  corn 
The  lands  of  our  State  are  so  various  in  fidd,  and  lightly  plowed  in.  Before  this 
their  character,  that  no  one  of  the  foreign  process,  though,  we  suppo.sc  the  corn  land 
manures  can  be  recommended  as  adapted  all  to  have '"been  thoroughly  plowed  and 
to  all.  This  remark,  however,  does  not  broken  with  the  subsoil  plow  to  the  depth 
hold  good  in  regard  to  our  manures  of  do-  of  at  least  twelve  or  fourteen  inches.  The 
mestic  manufacture.  corn    should    then    be    dropped    (I   prefer 

We  will  suppose,  then,  that  our  young  sowing  it,  a  grain  in  a  place  three  to  four 
friend  has,  last  fall,  after  the  housing  of  inches  apart)  and  covered  with  one  deep 
his  crop  turned  all  his  industry  and  atten-  stroke  of  the  couher  on  each  side  of  the 
tion  to  the  accumulation  of  manure,  that  row.  As  soon  as  the  plant  is  up,  or  even 
he. has  not  depended  on  overseer  or  negroes  before  should  be"-in  the 
in  this  most  important  operation,  but  given  i 

•.    V,-  1     **^      f  TV,  I       •  CULTIVATION    OF   THE    CORN. 

it  his  personal  attention.     Ihe  crop  having: 

been  secured,  he  can't  make  it  appear  to;  This  process  is  simply  the  breaking  of 
either  of  these  parties,  that  there  is  any  need  the  middle  of  the  row  with  five  or  six 
of  furth<3r  industry  or  energy.  Therefore  strokes  of  the  coulter,  so  constructed  as  that 
we  press  this  point.  Let  the  master  be  it  will  go  into  the  land  and  do  the  work 
diligent  in  providing  the  material.  Let  thoroughly.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to 
him  see  that  the  stable  yards,  cow  yards,  break  the  roots  of  the  young  plants.  Our 
the  receptacles  for  manure  about  the  dweh  plan,  then,  is,  to  disturb  the  land   no  more 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


211 


until  the  corn  is  large  enoup,h  to  liuve  the 
dirt  thrown  to  it, — which  is  done  with  a 
coninion  wing  plow,  one  furrow  being  run 
on  each  side  of  the  row  covering,  if  plowed 
as  it  should  be,  every  particle  of  land  be- 
tween the  stalks  of  corn.  Having  gone 
over  the  field  with  two  furrows  of  this  kind 
to  the  row,  we  return  and  give  the  row 
two  more  furrows,  which  operation  will  have 
left  two  to  three  furrows  more  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  row  yet  to  be  finished,  which  if 
the  wheat  harvest  has  come  on,  as  it  should 
do,  will  have  to  stand  until  the  wheat  is 
saved,  with  no  detriment,  however,  to  the 
corn,  because  its  young  roots  will  not  have 
progressed  one  inch  beyond  the  two  strokes 
of  the  plow  on  each  side  of  the  row  that 
have  already  been  given  it. 

Immediately  on  the  securing  of  the 
wheat  harvest — that  is,  the  cutting  and  put- 
ting into  nicely  capped  dozens — the  finish- 
ing touch  should  be  given  to  the  corn  by 
filling  out  the  remaining  furrows }  and  du- 
ring this  process  the  wheat,  while  the  dew 
is  on  it  of  a  morning,  may  be  put  into 
larger  or  five  bushel  shocks,  and  thus  more 
securely  kept  in  case  of  long  rainy  seasons. 
By  this  system  of  cultivation,  we  avoid  dis- 
turbing the  youijg  roots  of  the  corn  plant, 
and  prepare  for  them  always  in  anticipation 
a  soft,  fresh,  and  well  pulverized  body  of 
earth,  in  which  they  may  seek   their  food. 

For  this  cheap  and  expeditious  mode  of 
the  cultivation,  we  are  indebted  for  our 
theory  to  the  celebrated  agricultural  chem- 
ist, Liebig,  and  for  the  practice  to  two  or 
three  of  the  most  sensible  old  farmers  oi' 
our  acquaintance,  who  possibly  may  never 
have  heard  of  the  great  chemist. 

We  rarely  use  the  hoe  at  all  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  our  corn,  except  to  uncover  such 
of  it  as  the  plow  may  have  accidentally 
covered,  and  to  chop  the  bushes  whicli  may 
and  do  put  up  in  many  parts  of  the  field. 
And  just  at  this  season  the  young  farmer 
will  remember  that  the  crop  of  oats  is  com- 
ing fast  to  maturity ;  and  he  will  remember, 
also,  that  tobacco,  which  we  told  him  in  a 
former  paper^  he  ought  to  have  run  over 
hastily — by  moonlight  if  he  had  no  day 
time  for  it.  If  he  has  followed  our  advice 
then,  he  will  have  plenty  of  time  now  to 
give  the  tobacco  that  thorough  working 
with  plow  and  hoe  we  there  told  him  about, 
because  it  is  free  from  weeds  and  grass,  and 
the  hoes  will  go  over  it  as  fast  as  the  plows. 
The  tobacco  will  now  be  as  larire  as  a  man's 


hat,  and  in  some  cases  in  top,  and  a  large, 
flat  hill  should  be  put  round  it  in  order  to 
retain  as  much  moisture  as  possible,  but 
deep  and  thorough  cultivation  will  insure 
the  retention  of  this  moisture  more  than 
anything  else.  But  before  we  proceed  fur- 
ther, we  would  give  our  experience  in 

FEEDING  WITH   CORN  AND    OTHER    GRAINS, 

We  give  it  as  our  decided  opinion,  from 
our  own  as  well  as  the  experience  of  others, 
that  the  grinding  ot  all  grain  fed  to  stock 
^\\]]  save  onc-fuurfh,  in  some  cases  more. 
All  grain  fed  to  horses,  cows,  beeves,  and  fat- 
tening hogs,  should  be  ground.  Though 
the  farmer  have  to  travel  ten  miles  to  mill, 
the  thing  can  be  attended  to  with  immense 
saving.  Fattening  hogs  may  be  i'ed  on 
corn  cooked  in  large  boilers ;  but  still  the 
process  of  fattening  is  hastened  by  the 
gi-inding  and  cooking.  The  want  of  atten- 
tion to  things  of  this  sort,  is  where  the  A'^ir- 
ginia  husbandry  fails.  We  make,  but  we 
do  not  economize.  Suppose  the  farmer  re- 
quire 200  bbls.  of  corn  for  his  annual  sup- 
port, and  our  position  is  true — and  we  know 
it  is, — in  the  article  of  corn  alone,  he 
saves  50  bbls.,  which  is  worth  on  an  aver- 
age S175  ;  a  sum  sufiicient  to  pay  a  hand  to 
do  nothing  else  but  prepare  to  feed  and  dis- 
tribute to  the  stock.  But  the  farmer  who 
has  stock  enough  to  employ  a  hand  exclu- 
sively for  the  purpose  of  feeding,  would, 
under  the  ordinary  plan,  use  300  or  850 
bbls.  of  corn ;  this  man's  saving  would  be 
§304.  Doscn't  this  pay  for  grinding?  Let 
our  young  brother  attend  to  these  things, 
and  he  will  at  the  end  of  twenty  years  (in- 
dustry in  other  departments  having  been 
observed)  have  no  reason  to  look  with  a 
longing  eye  towards  South  Alabama  or 
Texas,  or  any  other  great  cotton  region. 

THE  GRASSES, 

Such  as  clover,  orchard,  timothy,  !cc., 
should  have  been  sowed  on  the  oats  at  the 
time  of  seeding  them,  and  all  the  poorer  por- 
tions of  the  field  should  have  been  covered 
with  straw,  so  thinly  distributed  as  that  the 
young  plants  may  be  shaded  but  not  over- 
laid. This  covering,  together  with  a  bushel 
of  plaster  to  the  acre,  will  generally  icsurc 
a  good  stand,  which  should  then  be  sacred 
ground,  so  far  as  any  quadruped  is  concern- 
ed, until  the  grass  has  matured  the  second 
year ;  the  fields  having  been  plastered  the 
intervenin<r  seasons. 


212 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


THE  SEASON  FOR  SOWING  WHEAT. 

The  season  for  sowing  this  crop  hav- 
ing come,  our  young  friends  will,  be- 
fore this,  have  followed  all  the  land  intend- 
ed for  wheat,  and  as  soon  as  the  manure 
receptacles  about  the  dwellings  and  farm- 
houses were  emptied  in  the  spring,  (April 
and  May,)  will  have  seen  that  they  were 
again  filled  well,  with  such  matter  as  could 
be  converted  into  manure,  and  will  insure 
a  sufficient  supply  for  all  the  poor  places  in 
the  fallow-field.  This  manure,  together 
with  the  cow-pons  that  have  been  distribu- 
ted over  the  thinner  portions  of  the  land 
intended  for  wheat,  should  all  be  plowed  in, 
and  then  the  wheat  sowed  at  the  earliest 
possible  time  after  the  25th  September. 
We  would  advise  the  use  of  the  drill  by  all 
means,  wherever  the  land  is  tolerably  level, 
more  especially  on  the  red  lands  where  the 
wheat  is  apt  to  be  thrown  out  by  frost. 
This  operation  will  require  the  greatest 
amount  of  care,  however,  as  with  all  the 
precision  that  may  be  used,  the  drill  is  li- 
able to  get  out  of  order  and  to  skip  the  land 
without  dropping  the  seed. 

STOCK  OF  SHEEP,  HOGS,  &C. 

As  it  regards  sheep,  wc  would  advise  a 
good  stock.  Though  they  may  cost  more 
at  first,  they  are  far  more  prolific  and  a 
dozen  will  soon  stock  an  ordinary  farm. 
They  require  great  care,  especially  about 
yeaning  time.  Indeed,  until  the  farm  is 
fenced  off  and  well  set  in  grass,  this  branch 
of  husbandry  should  not  be  attempted  It 
is  absolutely  needful  that  they  have  green 
food,  to  succeed  well,  and  to  insure  this,  at 
the  time  they  are  raising  their  young,  the 
ram  should  be  kept  from  them  until  the 
latter  part  of  November,  so  that,  going  as 
they  do  four  months  with  young,  they  may 
bring  them  the  last  of  March  or  first  of 
April.  Frequent  change  of  range  is  es- 
eential  to  their  well-being,  consequently 
their  pasture  should  be  changed  monthly 
or  oftener.  The  lambs  should  be  altered  as 
soon  as  they  drop ;  this  being  attended  to, 
they  are  always  healthy  and  strong,  and 
take  on  fat  far  more  readily.  We  prefer  a 
cross  of  the  Bakewell  and  Cotswold,  as  com- 
bining a  fineness  ol  wool,  a  delicateness  of 
flesh,  and  at  the  same  time  a  juiciness 
■which  neither  of  those  stocks  have  of  them- 
selves, and  this,  without  detracting  from  the 
fleece. 

As  it  regards  hogs,  our  experience  will, 


notjutifyus  in  recommending  particularly 
any  of  the  various  recent  importations.  So 
much  depends  upon  the  attention  that  is 
bestowed  on  this  stock,  that  wo  can  say, 
safely,  that  any  of  good  form,  and  size, 
and  age  may  be  bred  from  with  propriety, 
prDvided  that  they  be  not  suffered  to 
"  breed  in  and  in"  for  too  long  a  time.  We 
dare  say  that  the  Surry,  or  the  Berkshire, 
or  a  cross  of  the  two  would  be  our  choice. 
Our  experience  in  thia  department,  as  ia 
that  of  the  .sheep,  and  indeed  other  stock, 
is,  that  without  the  attention  of  the  mas- 
ter— witJioitt  iliediiUy  attentiftii—owr  friends 
will  find  that  they  may  make  yearly  impor- 
tations of  the  best  breeds,  and  they  will 
all  resolve  themselves  into  "  Razor-backs" 
very  speedily.  If  they  want  to  see  their 
sheep  have  lambs,  their  sows  have  pigs, 
their  cows  have  calves,  their  acres  produce 
"  two  blades  of  grass  where  but  one  grew 
before ;"  let  them  not  depend  on  their 
"  good  men  Fridays,"  as  an  old  friend  of 
ours  used  to  call  those  gentlemen  agents  or 
managers. 

In  these  sage  advices  which  we  have 
been  so  long  doling  out  to  our  young 
friends,  let  them  not  suppose  that  we  have 
talked  unadvisedly  about  painting  cow  sta- 
bles, and  horse  stables,  and  negro  quarters, 
&c.,  &c.  If  we  were  going  to  start  in  life 
again,  instead  of  burdening  ourself  with 
a  large  debt  for  land,  the  payment  for 
which  takes  all  one's  surplus  capital,  we 
would  take  half  the  capital  for  investment 
in  land,  if  it  didn't  buy  but  one  hundred 
acres,  and  invest  the  other  half  in  im- 
provements for  that  one  hundred  acres. 

The  Yankee  farmer — but  we  forget,  we 
must  not  mention  that  name  to  Southern 
ears  polite,  "odds  pistols  and  pikes  it  raiseg 
ones  passions!"  but  having  named  the  ac- 
cursed name,  we  had  as  well  say  what  we 
were  going  to  say — viz  :  that  the  Yankee 
farmer  invariably  observes  this  rule  in 
making  an  investment,  and  the  consequence 
is,  that  he  rarely,  after  four  or  five  years, 
realizes  less  than  from  twenty  to  twenty-five 
per  cent,  on  each  investment. 

And  now,  if  our  young  friends  are  not 
glad  that  we  have  finished  what  we  had  to 
say,  we  know  that  we  ourselves  are. 

L.   M. 

February  2\U,  1860. 


Plow  your  ground  deep— pulverize  it  well. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


213 


Powhatan  Hole  and  Corner  Club. 

Most  cheerfully  do  we  publish  the  following 
interesting  report,  in  compliance  with  the  reso- 
lution of  the  above  club.  We  have  often  in- 
vited such  communications  from  the  various  in- 
telligent associations  existing  in  many  of  the 
counties  of  the  State,  but  we  are  sorry  to  add. 
that  our  solicitations  have  been,  for  the  most 
part,  disregarded.  The  Nottoway  club  stands 
out  a  prominent  exception.  Their  annual  con- 
tributions have  enriched  our  pages,  and  made 
the  "Southern  Planter"  the  medium  lor  diffus- 
ing the  light  of  their  eminently  practical  and 
instriTCtive  essays  throughout  the  country.  The 
Powhatan  club,  too,  is  another  exception.  Their 
communication  of  the  invaluable  agricultural 
and  geological  survey  of  their  county  by  Profes- 
sor Gilham,  through  this  paper, — if  they  had 
done  nothing  more, — would  entitle  them  to  a  full 
acquittal  from  the  general  charge,  awl  to  the 
praise  of  having  set  an  example  worthy  of  the 
imitation  of  every  county  in  the  State.  The 
Albeinarle  clubs,  we  know,  are  still  active  and 
efficient,  but  we  have  somewhat  against  them  : 
they  are  appropriating  the  benefits  produced 
by  their  association  and  frequent  intercourse 
too  much  to  themselves.  Why  put  their  light 
under  a  bushel?     Why  not  let  the  practical  ex- 


Rcport  to  the  Hole  and  Corner  Club  of 
Powhatan,  on  the  suhject  of  the  Tartar 
Sheep  and  Sorghum.     By  C.  C.  Lee. 

July  1st,  1859. 

At  a  former  meeting  of  the  club  I  pre- 
sented for  the  inspection  of  its  members 
"  the  American  Farmer's  New  and  Univer- 
sal Hand  Book,"  lately  printed  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  edited  by  J.  W.  O'Neill  Among 
the  many  things  of  great  interest  and  value 
in  this  valuable  publication,  I  called  the  at- 
tention of  the  club  particularly  to  what  was 
said  of  the  Tartar  sheep  and  Chinese  sugar 
cane.  Many  of  the  members  of  the  club 
were  so  impressed  with  what  was  there  said 
of  the  Tartar  sheep,  that  they  requested  me 
to 'obtain,  if  I  could,  further  information 
concerningthem.and  where  and  at  what  price 
%ey  could  be  bought.  In  answer  to  my 
inquiries  on  this  ^ubject,  I  received  a  very 
obliging  letter  from  Mr.  O'Neill,  editor  of 
the  "  Hand  Book,"  from  which  the  follow- 
ing is  an  extract : 

"  Dr.  Emirson  has  had  some  six  years' 
experience  in  raising  the  Tartar  sheep,  and 
not  only  fully  endorses  all  I  have  said  about 
them,  (in  the  Hand  Book,)  but  says  that 
they  endure  the  cold  equally  as  well  as  the 
common  breeds.  As  an  instance  of  their 
perience  of  one  of  the  high-farming  counties  of  prolific  qualities,  he   refers    to   a  ewe  which 


the  State  be  merged  in  the  common  stock  1 
\\'^hat  do  any  of  you  know  that  you  did  not 
learafrom  others?  Much,  no  doubt — but  do  you 
not  owe  it  to  others  from  whom  you  have  de- 
rived instruction,  to  impart  to  them  what  you 
have  learned  from  your  own  experience  and  ob- 
servation? No  man  liveth  unto  himself — ver- 
bum  sat  sapienli.  What  shall  we  say  of  those 
counties  in  which  there  are  no  farmers'  clubs? 
Brethren!  you  are  verily  behind  the  time.  Gird 
up  the  loins  of  your  minds  and  immediately  set 
you  about  to  wipe  out  the  reproach.  What  a 
powerful  auxiliary  such  associations,  in  every 
county,  would  prove  in  effectuating  the  reforms, 
which  it  is  the  purpose  of  all  classes  of  our  citi- 
zens to  introduce — 

That  is,  to  rely  upon  themselves  as  a  commu- 
nity; to  encourage  our  own  manufactures  by 
buying  nothing  from  the  North  which  can  be 
made  at  home  ;  to  ship  our  productions  in  our 
own  bottoms  to  foreign  markets  and  import  our 
own  supplies  ;  and  in  short,  to  leave  nothing  un- 
done which  individual  and  associated  action 
can  accomplish  to  develop  our  resources  of 
trade,  of  wealth  and  of  independence  Think 
of  it.     But  to  the  report  before  us  : 


brought  forth  three  lambs,  (two  ewes  and  a 
buck,)  in  February  of  '54,  all  of  which 
were  raised  to  maturity.  About  the  middle 
of  November,  of  the  same  year,  she  brought 
tfto  more  lambs,  and  at  the  same  time  her 
two  Fehrnary  lambs  each  brought  a  lamb — 
thus  making  the  progeny  in  nine  months  no 
less  than  seven.  He  says  he  has  frequently 
seen  four  lambs  at  a  birth,  and  never,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  young  ewes,  as  above 
mentioned,  has  he  known  of  less  than  two. 
He  has  crossed  with  other  breeds,  at  differ- 
ent times,  but  without  any  satisfactory  re- 
sults, as  I  judge — for  though  the  fleece  was 
improved,  and  the  meat  of  equally  fine  fla- 
vour, yet  the  cross  was  not  equally  prolific 
with  the  original  stock,  and  he  has  returned 
to  the  breeds  of  the  full  bloods. 

"  The  fleece  is  light  and  adapted  only  to 
the  manufacture  of  blankets,  and  other 
coarse  woollen  fabrics.  Dr.  E.  offers  to  sup- 
ply you  with  a  buck  and  two  ewes  of  suffi- 
cient age  to  breed  next  spring,  delivered  in 
Philadelphia,  for  the  sum  of  850,  which  is 
816.66  each — a  very  moderate  price  for 
fancy  sheep.  Some  of  his  bucks  have  netted 
him  §50   each.     It  would  probably  be  as 


214 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


well  f(5r  you  to  coulmunicute  with  him  di- 
rect. His^ddress  is,  'Dr.  Governeur  Em- 
ersen,  926  TVahiut  street,  Philadelphia.' 

"  As  you  have  planted  the  sorgho,  and 
may  probably  vrisb  to  experiment  on  sugar, 
I  will,  in  a  few  days,  if  I  can  obtain  it,  send 
you  a  printed  copy  of  the  details  of  experi- 
ments made  by  Joseph  S.  Lovering,  of  our 
city,  (Philadelphia,)  one  of  the  most  prac- 
tical and  successful  sugar  refiners  in  the 
Union." 

I  have  since  received  from  Mr.  O'Neill 
the  promised  little  pamphlet,  which  I  will 
hand  to  the  club  with  this  report,  deeming 
it  however  proper  to  copy  and  read  here  the 
result  of  the  experiments  it  details,  which 
is  given  (page  21)  under  the  head  of 


"  SYNOPSIS. 

'•'  1st.  That  it  is  obvious  that  there  is  3f 
culminating  point  in  the  development  of 
the  sugar  in   the   cane,  which  is  the   best  Yield  of  molasses 


about  as  easy  to  m  ke  good  sugar  from  the 
Chine.se  cane  as  to  make  a  pot  of  good  mush, 
and  much  easier  than  to  make  a  kettle  of 
apple-butter." 

I  will  only  add  to  this  synopsis  the  com- 
parison given  on  the  page  which  begins  it, 
between  the  yield  of  the  sugar  cane  of  Lou- 
isiana and  that  of  the  sorgho  cultivated  in 
Pennsj'lvania : 

COMPARISON. 

Louisiaiia. 

Yield  of  juice  per  acre, 2,230  frals. 

Yield  of  sugar  per  gallon  of  juice,  76  lbs. 

Yield  of  sugar  per  acre, 1,704  " 

Yield  of  molasses  per  acre, 102  gals. 


Pennsylvania. 


Yield  of  juice  per  acre. 1,847  gals. 

Yield  of  sugar  per  gallon  of  juice,  66  lbs. 

-.T-   ,  ,     r-  ^  Actual,       1.221     •• 

lield  of  sugar  per  acre,    <  r,     i    r,      ,  Vi  ^     ■. 

"       ^  (  Probable,  1,612    •' 

best    v:.i..  ..r„,^i„  =  ..,     A^        5  Actual,  74  gals. 


time  for  sugar-making.  This  point  or  sea- 
son I  consider  to  be,  when  most,  if  not  all 
the  seeds  are  ripe,  and  after  several  frosts 


do. 


84 


Probable, 

As  every  member  of  the  club   is  as  com- 
petent as  I  am  to   draw  conclusions  from 


say  when  the  temperature  falls  to  25  or  30°  ;  experiments,  I  shall  refrain  from  comment- 
Fahrenheit,  ing  upon   them,  and  extract  another  para- 
"  2d.  That  frost,  or  even  hard  freezing,  graph   from  the   letter  of    ray  friend,   Mr. 
does  not  injure  the  juice  nor  the  sugar ;  but  O'Neill.     Immediately  following   those   al- 


warm  Indian-summer  weather,  after  the  frost 
of  hard  freezing,  does  injure  them  very  ma- 
terially, and  reduces  both  quantity  and 
quality. 

••■  3d.  That  if  the  cane  is  cut  and  housed, 


ready  extracted  is  the  following : 

"  Truly  glad  am  I  to  learn  that  Virginia 
contains  such  a  nucleus  of  progressive  spirits 
as  is  comprised  within  your  agricultural  club. 
Association  and  combination  are  the  ereat 


or  shocked  in  the  field  when  in  its  most  fa-  j  levex's  which  move  civilized  society,  and 
vourable  condition,  it  will  probably  keep  un-  through  them  only  can  great  results  be  ob- 
changed  for  a  long  time.  j  tained.     Your  efforts  may  now  seem  to  meet 

"4th.  That  when  the  juice  is  obtained, 'with  but  little  reward,  yet,  by  perseverance 
the  process  should  proceed  continuously,  and  j  3  ear  after  year,  in  spite  of  every  discour- 
without  delay.  jagement,  you  must  and  u-iU  effect  a  radical 

'•  5th.  That  the  clarification  should  be  as ,  change  in  your  own   vicinity,  and   by  indi- 
perfect  as  possible  by  the   time  the  density  irect  means  in  other  quarters." 
reaches  15°  Baume,  the   syrup  having  the       It  is,  Mr.  President,  to  produce  there- 
appearance  of  good  brandy.  suit   predicted,  I   trust   not  erroneously,  in 

"  6th.  That,  though  eggs  were  used  in  '.  the  last  extracted  sentence  from  my  friend's 
these  small  experiments,  on  account  of  their  i  letter,  that  I  have  made  this  report  in  wri- 
convenience,  bullock's  blood,  if  to  be  had,  ting,  instead  of  verbally.  I  have  thought 
is  equally  good ;  and  the  milk  of  lime  alone  that  the  introduction  of  the  Tartar  sheep 
will  answer  the  purpose;  in  the  latter  case,  and  the  sorgho  into  our  husbandry  might 
however,  more  constant  and  prolonged  skim-  be  beneficial  to  our  vicinity  and  Common- 
ming  wiH  be  required  to  produce  a  perfect  wealth,  and  a  large  portion  of  our  country, 
clarification,  which  is  highly  important.  and    that    the    publication    of  these  views, 

"  7th.  That  the  concentration  or  boiling  made  in  our  agricultural  papers,  by  the  re- 
down,  after  clarification,  should  be  as  rapid  commendation  of  this  club,  may  call  public 
as  possible,  without  scorching — shallow  evap-j  attention  to  a  due  consideration  of  them, 
orators  being  the  best.  ;  and  that  it  might  lead   also  to  a  due  appre- 

"  AVith    these    conditions   secured,    it   is ,  ciation   of  the  Farmer's  Hand  Book,  whose 


i860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


215 


suggestions  and  reconjmendations  Lave  led ; 
to  this  report.  I  have  looked  carefully' 
through  it,  and  find  it  to  be  such  a  work  as 
every  farmer  ousht  to  have ;  and  I  have 
called  the  attention,  not  only  members  of 
this  club  to  it.  but  other  fanners,  and  all 
unite  in  confirming  my  opinion.  In  con- 
templating ihe  va.st  importance  and  variety 
of  the  subjects  treated  of  in  this  volume, 
every  one  of  which  should  come  within  the 
puvview,  and  most  of  them  be  embraced  in 


Frcm  the  Xctc  England  Fanner. 

Coal  Ashes  as  a  Fertilizer. 

Friend  Brown  : — Your  paper  is  taken 
at  our  office  by  A.  H.  Grosvenor.  for  the 
general  instruction  in  agriculture  garden- 
ing, &c.,  at  our  section  of  the  Shaker  Vil- 
lage at  Harvard.  Among  the  farmers'  read- 
ing matter  it  contains,  I  have  been  pleased 
to  observe,  an  occasional  article  upon  the 
general  uses  of  coal  ashes  as  a  fertilizer. 

In  Your  last  issue,  the  editor  of  the  Com- 


the  practice  of  the  accomplished  airncultur-  .  ,   ^  77    •    i^  j  ^     i_         i^i- 

•  ,    ^         •  ^    n     -1  /    •  ^    1    _•  1    merciai  BiuMin  has  presented  to  the  public 

1st,    one    IS   most    lorcibly  impressed    with  ,        .  ,  .,  .^     1  •     .    i    ,  •    *^ 

the  surpassing  utility  and 

his    callincr.     The   effects  k,^   v..u«.uv.;,    ,.^^           ,  ^      1      ^-     1        ^v  i-              u 

/?  ^  -,     ,,         ,  •     ..         1-1      -M  J      posed  to  be  skeptical  on  this  subject  would 

natun  of  soils,  the  cultivation  which  wul  de-  ^  .         ,    *^    ,-       -   ^    x  x-        1 

J  »i,  4     V  V     Ml-               »v          ,.1      araue  that   the   editors    test  01    anthracite 

strov  and  that  which  will  improve  them — the      -,  ,               1.  i^     • 

■]     ,      r.  .1  .1    •  •    4?     1  •       X  '  coal  was  not  a  clear  one.  because  he  incorpo- 

products  01  the  earth  in  grasses  tor  his  cat-  ■■  ^ 


■  impressed  with  '""'•"'  -<—'■"- f^.--^^^.- ^^. -<=  i^-^-v 
1  .  ^  1-  •  P  a  jrood  article  on  this  subject,  but  in  peni- 
1   true  dignity  ot    .^    .^  ^  ,    ,^  ^x.  ^  ^  a- 

p     r      *„,     *!,„  sine  it,  i  was  led  to  suppose  that  many  dis- 
of  chmates,    the  __-  ,  '     ,  _    ,._...   J/.,  •    „,  •  ..  l,.-ij 


tie,  in  herbs  for  his  medicines  and  indul- 
gencies,  in  cereals  for  his  necessities,  in 
fruits  and  vegetables  for  his  luxuries,  in 
flowers  for  his  elegancies,  with  the  know- 
ledge of  all  of  which,  and  how  they  shotdd 
be  treated,   should   he   be  familiar.     Then 


i-ated  with  said  ashes  equal  parts  of  hoi-se 
manure  and  loam  in  one  general  heap,  as  an 
auxiliary  to  his  pleasant  half  acre. 

Such  skeptical  friends  would  be  apt  to 
contend  that  the  horse  manure  did  all  the 
work,  while  the  ashes,  like  the  white,  soft- 


come  the  fibrous  plants  for  clothing  and  cord-  handed  gentleman  former  that  simply  rides 
aire,  with  their  seeds  for  oil.  and  others  with  through  his  plantation,  received  the  honor, 
juices  to  tinge  our  irarments  with  the  colors  'in'i  ™'i«ie  all  the  noise.  But  as  we  too 
of  beautv— then  all  the  varieties  of  cattle  think  different,  please  aUow  us  to  state  our 
for  food  or  servitude— then  all  the  feathered  reasons  for  endorsing  his  opinion, 
tribe,  which  increase  our  luxuries,  and  sus-  We  consume  at  our  large  dwelling-house 
tain  our  health,  and  adorn  and  make  merry  a  number  of  tons  of  coal  each  winter,  and 
our  bowers — then  the  insect.-,  which  help  or  having  added  portions  of  it  to  our  com- 
which  harm  us — the  name  of  the  f^^rmer  posts,  with  little  calcution  or  observation,  we 
being  the  bee  and  the  silk-worm,  and  that  determined  to  test  it  singly  this  past  season, 
of  the  latter  legion  ; — then  the  mechanical  and  closely  observe  its  effects.  On  an  old 
knowledge  requisite  for  the  buildings  and  mowing  field  too  much  run  down,  we  toj>- 
improvements  of  husbandry,  and  then  the  dressed  a  square  piece  of  ground  fairly  with 
utilitarian  discernment,  the  adorning  fancy,  clear  coal  ashes  early  in  spring.  While  the 
the  judgment,  the  humanity  and  ta.>te  ;  with  crop  was  growing,  at  all  stages  the  differ- 
which.  all  these  means  of  the  farmer's  live-  ence  was  perceptible.  When  ready  for  the 
lihood,  sourceo  of  his  wealth  and  materials  scythe,  it  was  more  in  quantity;  and  as  to 
of  his  happiness,  should  be  maintained  and ] i^-ality,  it  produced  about  equal  parts  of 
increased  and  managed  in  the  best  manner, '  herds  grass  and  red  clover.  If  the  clover 
require  an  exercise  of  intelligence  and  in-  was  nc^  introduced  by  the  agency  of  the 
dustry  and  benevolence  and  taste  demanded  ashes,  we  know  not  how  it  was  introduced, 
by  no  other  profession.  It  is  to  impress  for  four  years  none  was  seen  there  before,  or 
upon  the  farmer,  by  the  sight  presented  in  in  any  other  part  of  the  field,  and  this  was 
one  volume,  of  the  large  round  of  his  duties,  the  only  clover  seen  in  said  field  the  past 
the  importance  and  elevation  of  his  calling, '  season.  Both  gniss  and  clover  were  more 
as  well  as  to  give  him  a  complete  and  lucid  vigorous,  green  and  lively  within  the  top- 
manual  of  instruction  in  all  of  them  that  I  dressed  square,  and  just  as  visible  all  around 
hope  it  will  please  the  club  to  commend  to ;  was  the  exhausted  crop,  which  said  as  audi- 
the  public  as  heartily  as  I  am  «ure  they  ap-  \  bly  as  grass  could  say,  in  its  declining  state, 
prove  it — the  Farmer's  Hand  Book.  that   it    had    received    no   such    assistance 

from  this  individual  fertilizer. 


There  is  no  condition  so  secure,  as  not  to 
admit  of  change. 


On  a  hill-side  not  at  all  renowned  for  its 
wealthy  properties  in  soil;  we  planted  the 


216 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[April 


Davis  Seedlings  and  Jenny  Lind  potatoes  in 
clear  coal  ashes,  half  a  shovel  full  in  a  hill. 
Below,  on  equally  as  good  ground,  VFe  plant- 
ed the  same  kinds  of  potatoes  in  compost 
manure,  and  the  coal  ashes  single  tanded, 
turned  out  the  largest,  best,  fairest  and  most 
numerous  quantity  of  potatoes.  In  reality, 
they  were  the  best  we  raised  on  the  farm. 
Almost  side  by  side,  in  compost  manure, 
our  potatoes  were  somewhat  infected  with 
rol ;  in  the  ashes  they  were  all  healthy  and 
sound  almost  to  a  potato. 

In  kindling  fires,  it  is  true,  we  use  shav- 
ings and  a  little  light  wood,  but  the  quan- 
tity I  consider  almost  too  insignificant  to 
take  into  the  account. 

These  experiments  convince  us  that  as  a 
fertilizer,  anthracite  coal  ashes  possess  the 
life  and  energy  to  produce  the  above  effects 
on  common  crops.  Hence,  whatever  theo- 
retical lecturers  or  writers  may  present  to 
undervalue  the  better  qualities  of  the  arti- 
cle, while  it  continues  to  improve  quantities 
and  qualities  of  grass,  and  give  us  sounder 
and  larger  crops  of  potatoes,  we  conclude  to 
give  it  an  honorable  standing  among  the 
general  agents  which  have  long  held  undis- 
puted station  in  the  farmers'  compost. 

W.M.  Leonard. 

South  Groton,  Oct.,  1859. 


Chemical  Properties  of  Tobacco. 

During  the  process  of  curing,  tobacco 
undergoes  important  chemical  changes. 
Its  peculiar  properties  are  owing  to  the 
presence  of  several  remarkable  compounds, 
of  which  one  called  "nicotine,"  and  another 
called  "nicotianine,"  are  most  important. — 
Nicotine  is  an  alkaline  substance,  and  has  the 
form  of  an  oily  liquid  when  separated  from 
other  compounds.  In  its  concentrated  form, 
it  is  a  most  deadly  poison  ;  but  when  taken 
in  the  dilute  condition  in  which  i(p reaches 
the  stomach  in  chewing,  or  lungs  in  smoking 
"the  weed,"  its  effects  are  greatly  modified. 
The  quantity  of  nicotine  varies  in  the  dif- 
ferent qualities  of  tobacco  cultivated  in  the 
same  region,  and  still  more  does  it  vary  in 
that  cultivated  in  different  countries.  The 
Havana  has  about  2  per  cent  of  nicotine — 
hence  its  mildness.  Virginia  (best  manu- 
factured) tobacco  has  5  or  6  pnr  cent,  while 
the  stronger  varieties  have  about  7  per  cent. 
The  French  tobacco  has  from  3  to  8  per 
cent  of  nicotine,  according  to  the  region  in 
which  it  grows.     JVicotiam'ne  is  a  more  vola- 


tile substance  than  nicotine,  and  is  more 
odoriferous.  The  pleasant  odor  of  good 
tobacco  is  due  to  this  compound  chiefly. 

The  nicotine  and  nicotianine  do  not  exist  in 
the  green  leaf,  but  are  formed  during  the 
curing  of  the  tobacco,  from  substances 
already  in  the  plant  in  variable  quantities. 
If  the  leaves  are  dried  very  rapidly,  these 
compounds  are  not  fully  formed;  and  if  the 
heat  is  raised  too  high  in  firing,  they  may 
both  disappear  to  some  extent,  by  being 
cither  volatilized  or  decompo-sed.  They 
both  contain  nitrogen,  and,  like  all  other 
compounds  containing  that  element,  are 
readily  decomposed.  Hence  the  firing 
should  be  commenced  at  a  low  temperature 
which  shou^  be  gradually  increased,  and 
may  be  advantageously'  suspended  at  nijiht. 
The  temperature  should  never  rise  above 
120°. 

Tobacco-barns  should  be  closely  planked, 
or  in  some  way  made  close,  having  windows 
for  ventilation,  which  ma}'  be  opened  or 
clo.sed  at  plea.sure.  Smaller,  and  hence 
safer  fires,  will  be  sufficient  in  such  houses. 
Curing  J  ellow  tobacco  with  charcoal  at  a 
high  temperature,  kept  up  day  and  night, 
is  recommended. 

"It  is  best  to  fire  all  grades  of  shipping 
tobacco,  and  cure  it  a  uark  nutmeg  color. 
*  *  *  From  24  to  36  hours  after  cut- 
ting, if  the  tobacco  is  ripe — if  not,  from  36 
to  48  hours,  accoi'ding  to  the  weather — 
seems  to  be  about  the  right  time  to  com- 
mence firing.  Begin  with  small  fires,  and 
bring  the  tobacco  to  a  proper  state,  and  then 
increase  the  fires." 


Rope  Making, 

The  name  "rope"  is  generally  applied  to 
the  larger  descriptions  of  corda;.e,  such  as 
exceed  an  inch  in  circumference,  though 
the  principles  of  formation  are  much  the 
same  for  cordage  of  every  size,  and  the 
smaller  sizes  are  known  by  various  names. 
Those  large  ropes  which  are  said  to  be 
cable-laid  are  formed  by  the  combination  of 
smaller  ropes  twisted  round  their  common 
axis,  just  as  the  shroud-laid  ropes  are  com- 
posed of  strands  twisted  round  their  com- 
mon axis.  As  cable-laid  ropes  are  harder 
and  more  compact  than  others,  this  mode  of 
formation  has  been  adopted  for  ropes  to  be 
exposed  to  the  action  of  water,  even  though 
their  thickness  may  not  be  very  great. 
Ropes  formed  by  plaiting  instead  of  twist- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


217 


ing  are  made  use  of  for  some  purposes  in 
which  pliability  is  especially  needed,  they 
being  more  supple  and  less  liable  to  entan- 


Effects  of  Heat  upon  Meat. 

Prof.  Johnston,  in  his  Chemistry  of  Com- 
;  mon  Life,  savs  that  a  well  cooked  piece  of 
glement  than  those  of  the  ordinary  make;|^g^j  gl^o^lj  be  full  of  its  own  juice,  or  nat- 
such  ropes  are  generally  preferred  where  |  ^^^j  „^^^^  j„  roasting,  therefore  it  should 
the  rope  has  to  pass  over  pulleys  of  small  j  ^^  exposed  to  a  quick  fire,  that  the  external 
diameter.  Flat  ropes,  which  are  valuable  surface  may  be  made  to  contract  at  once 
for  special  purposes,  are  either  formed  of  j  ^^^  ^he  albumen  to  coagulate,  before  the 
two  or  more  small  ropes  placed  side  by  side,  jjui^e  has  had  time  to  escape  from  within, 
and  united  by  sewing,  lapping,  or  interlacing:  The  same  observations  apply  to  boiling; 
with  thread  or  smaller  ropes,  or  of  a  iium-:^hen  a  piece  of  beef  or  mutton  is  plunged 
ber  of  strands  of  shroud-laid  rope  similarly :  j^t^  boiling  water,  the  outer  part  contracts, 
united.  In  either,  case  it  is  necessary  that  .^he  albumen  which  is  near  the  surface  coag- 
the  component  ropes  or  strands  be  alternate- 1  ujates,  and  the  internal  iuice  is  prevented 
lyof  a  right  hand  and  lefl  hand  twist  that  jgither  from  being  diluted  or  weakened  by 
the  rope  may  remain  in  a  quiescent  state,  j  ^he  admission  of  water  among  it.  When 
Many  experiments  have  been  made  tolc^.  up.  therefore,  the  meat  vields  much 
test  the  loss  of  strength  by  the  ordinary !  „,.avy,  and  is  rich  in  flavor.  Hence  a  beef- 
twist  given  to  ropes.  Dumahel  prepared '  gteak  or  mutton  chop  is  done  quicklv,  and 
the  following  statement  to  show  the  compar- 1  o^^r  a  quick  fire,  that  the  naturarjuit-ed 
ative  strength  of  ropes  formed  of  the  same ;  „,.^^.  he  retained.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
hemp,  and  the  same  weight  per  fathom,  but  the  meat  be  done  over  a  slow  fire,  its  pores 
twisted  respectively  to  two-thirds,  three- ^j-gQ^ain  open,  the  juice  continues  to  flow 
fouths,  and  four-fifths  of  the  length  of  their  !froni  within  as  it  has  dried  from  the  surface, 
component  yarns.  In  rope  of  two  thirds  ^nd  the  flesh  pines  and  becomes  dry,  hard 
twist,  the  weight  borne  in  two  experiments  [  ^nd  uusavorv.  Or  if  it  be  put  in  cold  and 
was  4,(J^lS  and  4,2.5l)  pounds:  three-fourths;  ^pid  water. 'which  is  afterwards  brought  to 
twist,  4.SdO  and  6,7o3  pounds ;  four-fifths  ^  boil,  much  of  the  albumen  is  extnicted 
twist  6,20oand  7.397  pounds.  The  result ;  before  it  coagulates,  the  natural  juices,  for 
of  these  experiments  led  Dumahel  to  try  the  most  part  flow  out,  and  the  meat  served 
the  practicability  of  making  ropes  without  jg  jie^rlv  tasteless.  Hence  to  prepare  good 
any  twist,  the  yarns  being  wrapped  round  boiled  meat  it  should  at  once  be  put  into  wa- 
to  keep  them  together;  these  had  great  ^er  already  brought  to  boil.  But  to  make 
strength,  but  very  little  durability.  In  beef  tea.  mutton  broth,  and  other  beef 
shroud  or  hawser-laid  ropes  the  usual  reduc- 1  goup,^  the  flesh  should  be  put  in  cold  water, 
tion  of  length  by  twisting  is  one-third;  but  ^  a^d  this  afterward  very  slowly  warmed,  and 
cable-laid  ropes  further  shortened,  so  that. fi„al]y  boiled.  The  advantage  derived  from 
20u  fathoms  of  yarn  are  required  to  make  :  sim^jering— a  term  not  unfVequent  in  cook- 
120  of  cable.  A  hawser-laid  rope  6  inchest  e,.y  books— depends  verv  much  upon  the 
in  Circumference  by  120  fathoms  long,  I  ^fltets  of  slow  boiling,  as  above  explained." 
weighs  about  10  cwts. ;  a  cable-laid  rope  12  i 

inches  in   circumference  and   120  fiithoms  '  '  "  ' 

long,  weighs  36  cwts.;  a  hawser-laid  rope  6  Self-Government. — Parents!  to  which 
inches  in  circumference  will  bear  a  weight ;  danger  had  you  rather  expose  your  son — to 
of  140   cwts.     The  tan-ing  of  ropes  some- j  the  danger  of  an  ungoverned  horse  or  his 


what  impairs  their  strength,  but  renders  j  ungoverned  stlf?  Depend  upon  it  that 
theui  more  durable.  "self"  needs  government,  before  your  son  is 

«^,-,-.-, ■  safe  to  enter  upon  the  career  of  life  more 

_  ^  ^  -r.  -1    1  ithan  his  horse   needs  "breaking"  before  he 

Sweet  Potato  Pie.-BoiI  the  potatoes '^^^  ^^^^^^^^  to  trust  him  for  a  safe  journev. 
very  soft,  then   peel  and   mash  them.     To|  ^^  j^^^  ^^^^„.  boy  then,  see  to  it  that  he 

every  quarter  of  a  pound  put  one  quart  of:  -^^  „„^erned  and  well  governed  when  voung; 
milk,  three  tablespoonsfull  of  butter  four  I  ^^-^  ^i,l  ^e  go  far  and  high  in  the  career  of 
beaten  eggs,  together  with  sugar  and  nut- !  yg^f.^,^^^^  ^^^  happines.-T  of  life.  Teach 
meg  to  the  taste.  It  is  improved  by  a  glass  Ibj^,  to  govern  himself  first,  and  then  he 
01  wine. 


Good  stables  save  good  hay  and  grain. 


will  be  able  to  govern  every  thing  that  need 
be  brought  to  his  service. 


218 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[x\PRIL 


From  the  Southern  Farmer  and  Planter. 

A  Practical  Paper  upon  Gardening-,  Ditch- 
ing and  Improving-  Land. 

To  which  ivas  aicarded  the  premivm  of 
Twenti/  Dollars,  hij  the  State  Ar/ricultu- 
ral  Society  of  Soidh  Carolina,  at  its  An- 
nual McetiiKj,  in  November,  1859. 


By  D.  WYATT   AIKEN. 


INTRODUCTION. 

In  agriculture,  theory  and  practice  are  by 
no  means  correlative  terms.  Theory  depicts 
the  planter's  life  one  of  ease,  and  portrays 
his  arduous  labors  a  task  of  leisure,  while 
it  flatters  the  sluggard,  equipped  with  a  lit- 
tle scientific  knowledge,  that  planting,  of  all 
other  pursuits,  should  be  his.  In  theory 
"Paul  may  plant  and  Apollos  may  water," 
and  the  increase  follows  ex  necessitate. 

Theoretically,  stimulating  manures  have 
only  to  be  heaped  upon  all  lands  indiscrimi- 
nately, and  fat  harvests  will  be  reaped;  or 
gullies  are  prevented  by  tapping  the  sub- 
soil; or  the  level  has  only  to  be  applied,  and 
hill-side  ditches  are  located.  Theoretically, 
grain  must  be  sown  in  level  furrows,  or  seed 
must  be  planted  upon  horizontal  beds,  to 
prevent  the  escape  of  the  virgin  soil.  In 
fact,  theory  in  agriculture  attaches  plausi- 
bility to  the  most  visionary  schemes. 

How  different  is  the  result  of  actual 
practice !  Practically,  agriculture  climbs 
high  in  the  scale  of  sciences;  it  developes 
thought,  matures  judgment,  and  requires, 
for  execution,  untiring  energy,  perseverance 
and  industry.  The  skillful  planter  stops  not 
to  theorize  about  the  result  effected  by  cer- 
tain means  applied;  plow  in  hand,  he  grap- 
ples with  the  soil,  sows  his  seed,  vigilantly 
watches  the  progess  of  his  growing  crop, 
and  after  assiduous  cultivation,  at  harvest 
time  anticipates  a  yield  commensurate  with 
his  unabated  zeal.  It  is  he  who  understands 
best  the  caption  of  this  essay,  and  knows 
that  the  improvement  of  land  consists  in 
increasing  its  productive  capacity.  Nor 
does  any  one  know  better  than  himself  that 
this  end  is  attained  in  three  ways : 

1st,  by  ditching,  i.  e.  hill-side  ditching, 
draining  and  bottom  ditching. 

2nd,  by  cultivation,  i.  e.  horizontal  and 
grade  culture. 

ord,  by  rotation  of  crops  and  manuring. 

The  first  step,  then,  towards  improving 
any  plot  of  exhausted  undulating  land,  is 


the  location  of  a  series  of  ditches,  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  empty,  with  least  detriment  to 
the  land,  all  the  surplus  rain-water  into  the 
creek  or  branch  bottoms  below,  or  into  the 
adjacent  forests,  or  in  some  direction  out  of 
the  field.  To  do  this  effectually  the  land 
mu.st  be  studied.  Its  elej^ations  and  de- 
pressions must  be  studied ;  they  must  first 
be  seen  by  the  eye,  and  then  made  more 
perceptible  by  applying  the  level.  The  most 
practised  eye  should  never  venture  to  locate 
a  ditch  without  the  assistance  of  the  level, 
in  hilly  lands,  alntl  the  more  moderately  un- 
dulating the  land,  the  more  difficult  the 
task,  and  the  more  judgment  required  to  ac- 
complish it  successfully.  •  It  often  happens 
that  the  particular  inclinations  of  a  large 
field  are  westward,  while  the  general  decli- 
nation of  the  land  is  eastward,  and  vice 
versa,  so  that  the  level,  Vvhen  giving  suf- 
ficient fall  to  the  ditch,  seems  to  the  eye  to 
be  laying  off  a  perfectly  level  line. 

The  nature  of  the  land  being  understood, 
the  next  question  is,  where  shall  be  the 
mouth  or  the  source  of  the  ditch.  If  the 
mouth  be  determined  upon,  commence  there, 
and  with  the  level  run  backwards  or  up  the 
ditch,  always  following,  and  never  straining 
or  foicing  the  level  irom  its  indicated  di- 
rection. If  the  source  can  be  more  easily 
fixed,  apply  the  level  there  and  run  towards 
the  mouth,  always  observing  one  absolute 
requisite  in  hill-side  ditching,  viz:  never  let 
any  part  of  the  ditch  near  the  source  have 
a  greater  fall  than  any  portion  between  this 
point  and  the  mouth;  for  if  such  should  be 
the  case,  the  water  in  this  steeper  portion, 
having  an  accelerated  motion,  becomes  re- 
tarded as  it  reaches  the  leveler  section,  de- 
posits its  rolling  sand,  and  heaps  up  upon 
the  water  in  advance,  and  most  probably 
causes  a  break  in  the  ditch-bank  just  there. 
Where  sudden  curves  occur  in  circling  ab- 
rubt  knolls,  the  ditch  should  be  made  wider 
and  not  steeper  than  the  succeeding  portions. 

The  general  direction  of  all  ditches,  if 
practicable,  should  be  down  the  branch;  for 
the  water  must,  sooner  or  later,  reach  the 
bottom,  and  the  lower  down  the  bottom  it  is 
emptied  from  the  ditches,  the  le«s  injury 
sustained  by  the  bottom  lands  above. 

The  distances  between  ditches  should  be 
best  known  by  the  planters  upon  their  re- 
spective farms,  depending  upon  the  declivi- 
ties of  the  land  and  the  nature  of  the  soil. 
On  steep  hill-sides,  ditches  should,  be  dis- 
tant from  each  other  from  twenty  to  thirty 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


219 


yards;  upon  gently  inclined  planes,  from 
sixty  to  two  hundred  yards;  upon  stiff  clay 
lands,-  close  together;  upon  loamy  soils  or 
sandy  lands,  further  apart.  In  a  similar 
way  should  the  fall  of  each  ditch  be  de- 
termined, varying  from  two  to  four  inches 
in  every  twelve  feet,  always  observing  to 
have  the  first  or  upper  half  of  the  ditch 
slightly  more  horizontal  than  the  last  or 
lower  end. 

Where  the  land   is  to  be  horizontalized, 
the  ditches  should  have  somewhat  more  fall  i 
than  where   the   grade  system   is  adopted,; 
simply  because  where  the  horizontalization  ; 
is  complete,  not  enough  water  flows  in  the  j 
ditch  to  wash  it  into  a  gully;  and  when  a| 
freshet  occurs,  any  water-furrow  filling  up ' 
and  breaking  over,  produces  a  ''wash"  from 
this  point  in  a  straight  line  to  the  ditch  be- 
low, and   empties   into    the   ditch  at  right : 
angles,  to  its  bank,  a  column  of  water  which 
will   certainly  wash  away  the   bank,  unless  ^ 
sufiicient  fall  is  given  to  the  ditch  to  change 
the  direction  of  the  water  before  this  result  | 
is  produced.     In  the   grade  systeuj,  where  ^ 
the  ditch  receives  constantly  the  rain-water^ 
as  soon  as  it  begins  to  flow  in  the  water-fur-  j 
row,  the  injury  to  the  ditch  bank  is  not  so  j 
great,    because    the    ditch    carries   off'  the  j 
•water  gradually  from  its  commencement  to  | 
flow.  j 

To  make  a  hill-side  ditch,  run  the  first  | 
furrow  with  the  level;  on  the  upper-side  and 
close  to  this  furrow  run  three  other  furrows  ' 
with    a    common    shovel-plow.       Draw    the 
earth  from  these  four  furrows,  with  hoes  or ; 
scoops,  to  the  lower  side  of  the  first  furrow. ' 
Then   require   all   hands   there   at   work  to ' 
walk  several  times  the   entire  length  of  the 
ditch  upon  this  earth,  thereby  compacting  it 
for  a  bank,  while   the  plowman   is  running 
three  more  furrows  just  where  the  last  three 
were  run.     Treat  this  earth  the  same  as  be-  j 
fore,  and  run  two  more   furrows  on  the  up-  j 
per  side   of  the   ditch,  draw  out  the   dirt,  i 
walk  the  bank  thoroughl}',  and  the  ditch  is  i 
complete,  with  an  almost  level  bottom,  there  : 
being  a  slight  depression  on  the  side  next 
the  hill. 

If  a  ditch  should  withstand  the  ordinary 
rains  of  a  season,  and  break  over  during  an 
extraordinary  freshet,  it  should  not  be  aban- 
doned, but  should  be  deepened  for  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  on  either  side  of  the  "  break," 
sufficiently  to  furnish  earth  for  a  new  bank 
and  to  fill  up  partially  the  "  wash"  recently 
made,  as  far  as  the  earth  can  be  thrown 


with  the  shovel.  These  sinks  in  the  ditch 
act  as  deposits  for  the  soil  otherwise  washed 
away,  and  can  be  emptied  at  leisure  by  scat- 
tering the  sand  in  the  wash  below,  which, 
when  mixed  with  the  clay  previoiisly  thrown 
there,  produces  an  improved  soil. 

DITCHING   WET   LANDS. 

Wet  lands  cannot  be  drained  by  hill-side 
ditches,  but  must  have  drains  dug  for  the 
purpose,  either  blind  or  open  drains.  From 
the  lowest  spot  of  the  wet  plot  (found  by 
the  level)  run  a  straight  line  to  the  nearest 
point,  where  an  exit  from  the  field  or  into 
the  creek  can  be  obtained;  along  this  line 
dig  the  ditch  circling,  if  necessary,  any 
intervening  or  in) moveable  obstruction,  and 
when  complete,  observe  if  the  water  follows 
the  course  of  the  ditch.  From  the  point 
where  this  drain  began,  continue  the  ditch 
through  the  wet  spot  until  its  source  reaches 
the  opposite  side,  or  perhaps  the  highest 
point  of  the  wet  land.  To  be  most  effectual, 
the  ditch  should  be  left  open.  If  necessary 
to  be  closed,  lay  tiling  in  the  bottom,  and 
throw  the  dirt  back  upon  this  tiling.  If 
tiling  is  not  at  hand,  many  substitutes  can 
be  had  by  the  planter.  Three  pine  poles 
pealed,  (the  larger  the  better,)  and  two  of 
them  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  and 
one  just  over  these  two,  make  a  capital 
underground  trough.  An  occasional  rock 
thrown  into  the  ditch  covered  with  slabs, 
the  sawed  face  downwards,  answers  a  good 
purpose.  The  ditch  half-filled  with  small 
stones,  these  covered  with  brush,  and  the 
ditch  filled  with  dirt,  is  the  best  method  of 
underdraining. 

I  once  owned  a  sour  spot  ot'"  land  contigu- 
ous to  a  road,  in  which  there  was  always  a 
mud-hole.  Along  the  edge,  and  through 
the  whole  length  of  this  sour  pot,  parallel  to 
the  road,  I  dug  a  ditch  three  feet  deep  and 
eighteen  inches  wide.  From  the  middle  of 
this  ditch,  and  at  right  angles  to  it,  a  similar 
ditch  was  dug  across  the  road,  opening  into 
the  hill-side  below.  These  ditches  were 
filled  eighteen  inches  deep  with  small  stones, 
and  the  earth  previously  taken  from  these 
ditches  returned  upon  the  stones.  To  this 
day  the  road  is  dry  in  moderately  wet 
weather,  and  that  sour  spot  of  land  mellow, 
fertile  and  productive. 

In  draining  wet  spots  on  bottom  lands, 
the  draining  ditch  should  always  be  run  in 
a  straight  line  to  the  creek  or  branch,  enter- 
ing the  same  at  an  acute  angle,  and  the  dirt 


220 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


from    this  ditch    invaribly  thrown    on    the 
lower  side  of  the  ditch. 

DITCHING    BOTTOM    LANDS. 

The  protection  of  bottom  land,  by  a  suc- 
cessful system  of  ditchinpr,  involves  an  out- 
lay too  heavy  to  be  borne  by  the  majority  of 
planters,  particularly  in  the  middle  ana 
upper  Districts  of  our  State,  and  hence  the 
unsightly  banks  of  sand,  the  decayed  and 
dying  timber,  the  crooked  streanis,  and  the 
prevalence  of  sickness  on  almost  every  plan- 
tation containing  more  or  less  of  these 
valuable  bottoms.  Many  planters,  too,  are 
prone  to  charge  their  willful  neglect  in  this 
matter  upon  their  next  neighbor  below. 
They  say,  "he  will  not  ditch  below,  and 
hence,  ditching  mine  is  only  digging  a  ditch 
to  be  filled  up  with  sand."  Such  a  plea  is 
unwarranted,  because  any  bottom  worth  the 
labor  to  be  bestowed  can  be  successfully 
ditched,  and  protected  in  cultivation,  regard- 
less of  the  bottoms  above  or  below. 

Before   the    main    ditch    is    dug,    drains 
should  be  cut  on   each  side  of  the  bottom, 
through   its  entire  length,  and  just  where 
the  adjoining  hill-side  and  bottom  come  to- 
gether.    The    size    of   these    drains    is,    of 
course,    dependent    upon    the    quantity    of 
water   flowing   from  the    hill-sides    after  a 
heavy  fall  of  rain,  or  upon  the  uses  to  which 
they  may  be  put.     If  the  bottom  is  to  be  j 
enclosed  with  a  fence,  these  drains  may  be ' 
three  and  a  half  feet  wide   at  top,  one  foot 
at  bottom,  three  foet  deep  and   all  the  dirt 
thrown  on  the  lower  (or  branch)  side.  Upon  ; 
this  bank  an  economical  fence  may  be  built, ! 
while  the  drain  answers  the  purpose  of  car-; 
tying  off  the   rain-water   coming  from   the' 
hill-sides.     If  care   is  taken   to  give   these ! 
draitjs  a  fall  of  one  inch  in  twenty  feet,  and' 
their  exits  made  at  the  lowest  ends  of  the  i 
bottom,  the  water  they  contain  is  kept  en- 
tirely from  the  volume,  which  usually  flows  j 
in  the  branch.     These  drains  finished,  the 
main  ditch  must  be  dug,  which  should  only 
follow  the  channel  of  the  branch  when  it  is 
in  the  lowest  part  of  the   bottom,  (which  is 
not  always  the  ease,)  or  when   it  is  nearly- 
straight.       The    ditch     should    always    be 
straight,  in  the   lowest  bed  of  the  bottom, 
and  large  enough  to  draw  the  water  of  all 
ordinary  rains.     Unless,  from    necessity,  it 
should  never  run  through  the  middle  of  the 
bottom,  but  have  at  least  two-thirds  of  the 
bottom  behind  the   bank,  there  being  but 
one  bank  to  the  ditch;    then  if  the  ditch 


has  to  encounter  a  freshet,  only  one-third  of 
the  bottom  crop  is  liable  to  be  overflown,  as 
the  water  in  this  third  must  be  as  deep  as 
the  ditch  bank  before  the  two-thirds  behind 
the  bank  can  be  injured.  If  the  ditch  be 
in  the  middle  of  the  bottom,  only  one-half 
the  crop  is  protected;  and  if  the  dirt  be 
thrown  on  each  side  of  the  ditch,  making 
two  banks,  either  or  both  are  liable  to  be 
destroyed,  and  the  entire  crop  lost.  These 
ditch  banks  should  be  made  solely  of  earth, 
unless  a  foundation  cannot  be  obtained  with- 
out the  use  of  logs.  Logs  and  brush  put 
into  a  bank,  made  to  confine  running  water, 
are  oftener  than  otherwise  an  injury  to  the 
bank.  At  such  places  leakage  is  almost  cer- 
tain, and  where  either  the  logs  or  the  brush 
project  from  the  face  of  the  bank,  the  con- 
stant laving  of  the  water  will,  sooner  or 
later,  undermine  the  bank  or  percolate 
through  behind  the  logs,  and  ultimately 
create  a  "■  crevace."  If  properly  ditched, 
no  lands  remunerate  the  planter  more  hand- 
somely than  his  bottoms.  If  improperly 
ditched,  no  lands  subject  him  to  a  greater 
and  more  useless  expense. 

SYSTEMS    OF   CULTURE. 

Some  agricultural  writers  are  accustomed 
to  speak  of  the  difi"erent  systems  of  culture. 
I  incline  to  the  opinion  there  should  be  but 
two  systems  of  culture,  viz:  The  horizontal 
and  the  grade  systems.  To  speak  of  the  up 
and  down  hill  method  of  destroying  land,  as 
a  system,  is  akin  to  calling  ours  a  system  of 
stock-raising,  when  our  cattle  and  stock 
generally  are  turned  out  to  seek  a  suste- 
nance upon  the  unenclosed  pasture  lands  of 
our  neighbors.  The  one  is  as  systematic  as 
the  other,  and  both  ec^ually  condemned  by 
charity  and  science. 

Perfect  horizontalization  is  certainly  prac- 
ticable, but  that  is  sure  protectection  to  both 
land  and  crop  against  freshets,  however 
great,  I  hold  to  be  an  error.  Innumerable 
causes,  which  the  vigilant  eye  of  the  most 
skillful  and  energetic  planter  cannot  pre- 
vent, will,  at  one  time  or  another,  produce 
"breaks"  upon  the  hill-side,  and  often  upon 
a  comparatively  level  plot  of  land.  A  tree, 
a  stump,  a  rojk,  an  unfinished  furrow,  ir- 
regular plowing,  and,  most  of  all,  shallow 
plowing,  are  all  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
horizontalizer.  That  these  should  discour- 
age him,  is  no  argument,  however,  against 
the  horizontal  system  of  cultivating  our 
crops. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


221 


The  priiue  necessity  in  preparing  a  field 
for  horizontalization  is,  to  protect  it  perfectly 
from  all  water  except  what  falls  upon  it  from 
the  heavens  ahove.  The  adjoining  forests, 
or  roads,  should  be  so  ditched  as  to  prevent 
any  water  flowing  into  the  enclosure,  for  it 
is  most  often  the  running  water,  and  not  the 
falling  rain,  which  destroys  the  labor  of  the 
•  horizontalizer. 

This  prevention  being*  effected,  the  plan- 
'  ter  is  ready  for  his  work,  and  begins  hori- 
zontalizing  by  finding  with   his  level,  the 
highest  point  of  the  field,  and   the  longest 
row  or  bed  which  passes  through  this  point.  I 
The  first  corn  or  cotton  bed  may  not  be  over  I 
ten   feet  long,  and   must  be  straight.     On  \ 
each  side  of  this  straight  bed   two  or  three  | 
more  must  be  "laid   off,"   each  bending  i,n-| 
wards  at  the  ends,  until  it  meets  a   fellow  I 
at  the  opposite  side  of  the  straight  row.   The  i 
plow  team  must  never  stop  until  the  ends  do! 
meet,    for   stopping    the    team    before    the 
shove)  reaches  the  end  of  the  bed,  leaves  a 
mound   in  the   water-furrow,  which   dimin- 
ishes its  capacity  to  hold  water,  and  often 
causes  a  "break."     This  irregular  plowing 
will  certainly  be  done,  unless  each  plowman 
is  instructed  as  to  his   certain   duty ;  i.  e., 
never  to    stop   his   mule    until   his    shovel 
reaches  the  extreme  end  of  the  bed. 

These  few  being  finished,  at  a  distance 
from  the  last  bed  equal  to  the  space  occu- 
pied by  a  couple  of  beds,  apply  the  level. 
It  will,  directly,  as  you  follow  it,  diverge 
from  the  last  bed,  and  assume  a  direction  j 
possibly  the  reverse  of  that  indicated  by  thei 
eye.  But  the  horizontalizer  should  always ' 
bear  in  mind,  he  is  to  follow  the  level,  and  i 
not  the  level  follow  him.  This  guide-row 
now  laid  off  by  the  level,  may  reach  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  field  six  or  eight  beds 
distant  from  the  row  from  which  it  was  lut 
six  feet  at  the  commencement.  This  di- 
vergence, which  is  strictly  a  spirical  angle, 
must  be  filled  up  by  short  rows,  the  first 
being  "  laid  off"  paiallcl  to  the  long  guide- 
row,  and  the  return  furrow  parallel  to  the 
short  completed  bed,  observing  as  above  to 
make  their  angle  of  union  complete,  and 
not  allow  the  plow  to  stop  as  soon  as  the 
team  reaches  the  end  of  the  row. 

This  much  done,  the  planter  begins  again 
with  his  level  three,  four,  five  or  six  (never 
more)  rows  below  the  lower  end  of  the  last 
guide-row,  and  follows  his  level  in  the  op- 
posite direction  from  the  row  last  run.  This 
row  may  diverge  and  its  end  be  five  and 


twenty  beds  distant  from  the  beginning  of 
the  row  above.  If  so  the  level  is  again  ap- 
plied in  the  angle,  and  seycral  short  rows 
run,  when  the  divergencies  are  filled  in  as 
directed  above.  If  this  method  is  followed, 
the  lowest  point  of  the  field  will  ultimately 
be  reached,  and  none  of  the  work  of  to-day 
injured  by  the  rains  of  to-night.  The  same 
direction  should  be  followed  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  crop — always  begin  on  the  high- 
est point.  If  the  planter  begins  to  hori- 
zontalize  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  climbs 
the  hill,  all  the  labors  of  to  day  may  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  rains  of  to-morrow.  If 
galled  places  are  to  be  encountered,  the 
horizontalizer  should  not  be  deterred,  but 
follow  his  level  across  them;  it  knoAS  how 
to  manage  broken  as  well  as  smooth  surfaces, 
and  will  turn  the  planter  up  as  he  ap- 
proaches, and  down  as  he  recedes  from  these 
spots,  without  the  assistance  of  a  thought. 
If  gullies  are  met  with,  they  should  be  filled 
up  by  dbms^of  stone,  brush,  pine-tops,  with 
the  straw  pointing  up  the  gully,  or  by  driv- 
ing stakes,  a  few  inches  apart,  across  the 
gully,  and  interlining  willow  or  green  limbs. 
The  last  span  or  two  of  the  level  being  in- 
clined slightly  towards  the  gully,  will,  after 
a  few  heavy  rains,  furnish  earth  enough  to 
partially  fill  an  ordinary  gully. 

A  field  in  small  grain  stubble,  or  one 
previously  cultivated  in  corn  or  cotton,  is 
more  easily  horizontulized  than  one  fre!^llly 
broken  up,  because  the  smooth,  worn  stub- 
ble land,  or  the  regular  and  equal  undula- 
tions of  the  cotton  or  corn  beds,  do  not 
present  so  many  irregular  depressions  as  the 
newly  plowed  field.  The  surface,  more- 
over, is  firmer,  and  does  yield  to  the  weight 
of  the  level.  As  the  field  is  laid  off  hori- 
zontally, it  should  be  beddecf  "  out  and 
out"  immediately,  or  the  irregular  ridges 
between  the  horizontal  furrows,  not  being 
themselves  horizontal,  will  occup}-  the  space 
which  should  be  occupied  by  water  after 
a  rain,  and  a  break  is  often  the  conse- 
quence. 

When  one  bed  yields  to  the  water,  this 
running  water  does  not  stop  until  it  reaches 
the  hill-side  ditch  below.  Its  passage 
across  the  beds  may  be  a  straight  line,  or  it 
may  be  a  zig-zag  rill,  washing  through  one 
bed  here  and  another  there.  To  prevent 
these  overflows  entirely  is  practically,  impos- 
sible, for  sometimes,  falls  of  three,  four  or 
five  inches  of  rain  occur  in  a  single  after- 
noon; and  this  quantity  of  water  will  fill 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


up  the  crater  furrows  aud  overflow  the  beds 
before  the  most  thoroughly  pulverized  soil 
can  absorb  the  half  of  it.  On  the  1 5th. 
16th,  and  17th  of  last  May,  1113^  plantation 
was  flooded  b}'  successive  unusually  heavy 
rains.  My  cotton,  in  stift"  clay  land,  had 
been  planted  in  a  scooter  furrow  on  the 
bed,  covered  by  a  double-footed  scooter 
plow,  ai^.d  harrowed  oflF  as  it  was  nearly  all 
coming  up.  This  harrowing  had  made  the 
land  Comparatively  level,  and  these  heavy 
rains  overflowed  the  entire  crop  in  a  sheet 
of  water,  without  a  perceptible  injury  to 
the  land.  Some  of  my  corn  was  in  sandy, 
loose  land,  planted  on  the  top  of  very  high 
beds,  but  had  not  been  worked.  The  high 
horizontal  beds  became  so  saturated  with 
water,  and  the  subsoil  failing  to  absorb  it 
rapidly  enough,  they  actually  slipped,  in 
regular  land-slide  fashion,  down  against  the 
bed  next  below,  without  even  diverting  the 
young  corn  from  its  erect,  growing  position. 
No  system  of  horizontal  cultu»e  can  sur- 
vive such  freshets.  Rut  they  do  not  often 
occur,  and  their  evil  efi'ects  must  be  remi- 
died  afterwards,  which  I  propose  doing 
thus :  Just  where  the  break  first  occurs 
across  any  bed,  a  rectangular  hole  is  dug, 
say  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  three,  four, 
six,  or  ten  feet  long,  (as  the  damage  done 
may  require,  parallel  to  the  bed,  and  deep 
enough  to  furnish  earth  to  replace  the 
broken  places  in  the  next  few  beds  below. 
The  distance  between  this  hole  and  the 
next  hill-side  ditch  below  is  divided  into  so 
many  equal  parts,  and  at  each  point  of  di- 
vision a  similar  rectangular  hole  is  dug, 
furnishing  earth  for  the  breaks  below,  and 
so  on  to  the  ditch.  Should  the  ditch  break 
over,  the  same  kind  of  hole  is  dug  in  the 
ditch  to  procure  earth  for  a  new  bank. 
These  holes  will,  in  time,  be  filled  up  by 
the  constant  plowing  beside  and  near  them, 
and  by  the  rain-water  draining  into  them 
from  the  adjacent  water-furrows,  bringing 
along  with  it  more  or  less  soil  or  sand. 
The  hole  in  the  ditch  will,  after  the  first 
rain,  be  filled  with  excellent' soil,  to  be 
scattered  upon  the  washed  spots  below.  If 
such  rectangular  holes  be  dug  across  gullies 
at  small  intervals  from  each  other,  and  the 
dirt  thrown  on  the  lower  side,  they  will 
rapidly  fill  up  a  gully,  as  the  rain  will 
soon  tilt  the  holes  to  their  original  level, 
with  sand. 

GRADE    CULTURE. 

The  Grade  culture  is  best  adapted  to  bill- 


sides  and  wet  spots.  If  the  wet  places  are 
higher  than  the  branch,  they  may  some- 
times be  dried  sufficiently  for  cultivation 
by  deep  plowing  and  a  gradual  fall  given 
to  each  row  towards  the  branch.  Such 
places  are  generally  dried  by  blind  ditches. 
Rut  on  hill  sides  this  system  is  more  feasi- 
ble than  the  horizontal  system,  becau.se  it  is 
impoi^sible  for  a  l\prizontal  corn  or  cotton 
bed,  on  a  steep  hill-side,  to  contain  all  the 
water  that  falls  into  it.  In  practicing  this 
system  of  culture,  a  furrow  should  be  run 
by  the  level,  with  one  inch  fall  to  every 
span  of  the  level,  beginning  at  the  highest 
point  of  the  hill,  on  the  side  where  the 
ditches  empty,  and  running  in  a  direction, 
crossing  ditches,  and  not  stopping  until  the 
hill  is  circled  or  the  bottom  reached.  Fill 
in  the  angle  as  directed  for  horizontalizing, 
and,  if  short  rows  occur,  they  must  have  a 
slight  inclination  in  the  same  direction. 
The  reason  for  beginning  these  furrows  at 
the  mouths,  and  not  at  the  source  of  the 
ditches  is  obvious.  If  a  row  with  one  inch 
fall  begun  at  the  source  of  a  ditch  having 
three  inches  fall,  they  must  diverge  from 
each  other,  ahd  a  furrow  so  run  from  the 
source  of  the  second  ditch,  for  instance, 
uyon  a  hill-side,  would  very  soon  strike 
the  first  ditch  above  on  the  lower  side  or 
behind  the  bank,  and  having  a  descending 
grade,  would  empty  its  water  against  the 
bank  and  form  a  gully. 

There  are  circumstances  under  which  the 
horizontal  is  the  most  destr\ic;ive  system  of 
culture : 

In  the  first  place,  if  the  planter  is  not 
indefatigable  and  unceasingly  watchful,  all 
the  little  breaks  over  his  horizontal  beds 
will  soon  become  gullies,  never  to  be  ob- 
literated. 

Second]}-- — If  the  seasons  are  too  wet, 
his  corn  fires,  and  his  cotton  grows  too 
much  to  weed.  And  if  too  dry,  the  roots 
of  both  corn  and  cotton  are  scorched.  Du- 
ring •  the  pa.«t  season  horizontalizing  has 
been  injurious  to  my  own  crop.  An  ex- 
cessive drought  of  eleven  weeks  and  three 
days  baked  the  land  until  any  little  shower 
would  deposit  puddles  of  water  in  my  hor- 
izontal water-furrows,  which,  when  heated 
by  the  scorching  sun,  burnt  the  surface 
roots  of  both  corn  and  cotton. 

And  thirdly — Horizontalizing  requires 
the  planter  to  be  content  with  moderate 
crops  and  an  improving  plantation,  in  lieu 
of  large  crops  aud  speedy  emigration. 


ISGO.]  THE    SOUTHERX    TLAXTEE. 


THE  LEVEL.  j  lots   near   the    house,)   and  allow  the    last 

riM     1       1  v  •  •     »  4.     i.^.    '  fourth  to  rest.     Prepare  this  resting  fourth 

i he  level  bonis  amoiis:  instruments  the;  ,  ,,         ^i  i     •      i      r.  ,,'^,■ 

,     .      .      ,•         "-     ,       "^  .-       •  1.1     properly  ■and  thorouichly  in  the  lall,  lor  cot- 

pianters   reliance,  a  description   is  probably  if    ^  ^,  •'  ,  •'^    "^    t^i     ^ 

^       •  -^       x>  iU  T  A   i.^  ^i-f^t-'ton    the    next    sprinu'.      Plant   corn    next 

requisite   oi  the  one  I   use,    and    so  otten  i       .         ,  .  .i  •  i 

',         c  ■     ^\  ■  c  11-1     .*''^pri"K  where  cotton  was  this  year,  and  sow 

spoken  of  in  this  es.-av.     beveral  kinds  ot     '     ,,«^       -     .i  •    r.  n  ,  -^  i      i    ^ 

1       ,  J -^1  .^^  t^,i;^,.     sniail  cram  this  rail  upon  the  corn   land  of 

levels  are  recommended — some  too  tedious     ,  .       ^        „•.  1 1  i     i      i     /•     i  ■ 

.11)  J     .1,        X  r     »  J   +^     1  this  year.     Ihe  stubble  land   or    this   year 

to  handle,  and   others   too  coniphcatcd  tor        ^  •'       ^  ^ 

1     ^  .•  T  -1  r.       rests  next  year, 

plantation  purposes.     1  use  simply  a  ralteri       .     •    -i  ,  ,-  i  i       r.  ,i 

I      \    .'  ^     1       n    .  J     Ik  „         A  similar  rotation   may  be  made   oi  the 

level  ol  twelve  teet  span,  made  by  mv  own !     ,       ,  ,  ,      ,  -^  ^^ 

IK       .1  4.   'Pet  patches  near  the  house,     rut  one  in 

nesro    carpenter,    and    altogether   accurate;^      *^  •     ,     i  ■,  ■     .       • 

"     u  i"     <.!       14.  \  "  I      .  ^*.  •„  «>    potatoes,  one  in  barley  and   one  in  turnips; 

enough  tor  the  planter.     A  plummet  is  or-  {  ,     ,      '„       ,  •' „  .  *    ' 

J-       -1       _>.    1,    1   t     ii  •     1       1    u  i      1,        let  the   louith   rest,     bow   turnips    on   the 
dmarilv  attached   to  this   level,   but  where        ,    i    ,      ,      /.  ,,         ,       .  •  i     i     i 

,.    '  •  •    J      ■      ■  -i   1       1  rested    land;    iollows  turnips    with    barley, 

periect  accuracy  is  required,  a  spirit  level!      i  i     i         -  ,  A  / 

•     I  -       7  xi  I,  '      £•  \.\.     1       1  'and  barlev  with  potatoes,     bow  peas  on  the 

IS  hniqea  upon  the  cros.s-bar  oi  the  level,  i        .        i '    i  i       i  •        '^i  i 

"  1  1    •  1       .   .•  1         1-  restins;  land,   and    when    ripe    plow   under 

one  end  being  made  stationary  by  a  hin<;c,  •^.  in  i'      i 

1.1       »i   ^  X-       *  A  A        ^  '  ■  peas,  vines  and  all. 

and  the  other  tree  to  move  up  and  down.      .^       ' 

In  using-  the  level,  I  take   with   me  into ;  maxurixg. 

the  field  a  small  boy,  with  a  hoe.     Placing  |      To    improve    land    by    manuring,    every 

the  level  where  I  wish  to  begin,  he  is  made  yestiae  of  vegetable  matter  left  on  "the  land 

to  dig   a   hole    in    front    of    each    foot  of  after"  harvesting   should  be   plowed  under, 

the    level.      Starting    in    the    direction    I  i  and  nothing  should  be  burned. 

wish  to    go,    the    rear    foot  of    the    level  j      |f  foreign   manures   are  to  be  used,  as 

is  placed  where   the  front  foot  stood,   and '  ^uano  or  phosphates,  they  should  be  rolled 

as   soon    as    the   proper    pitch    or  level  is  Tn  moistened   cotton    seed.      The   lint  will 


found,  "chop,"  is  cried  by  myself,  and  the  absorb  the  manure,  and  aiford  the  easiest 
boy  digs  another  hole  in  front  of  the  fore- method  of  scattering  it.  This  compost, 
most  foot  of  the  level.  This  proceeding  is  ^vhen  used  on  small  grain,  should  be  sown 
continued  to  the  end  of  the  row  or  ditch,  broadcast  in  such  quantities  as  the  planter 
The  fresh  dirt  from  these  holes  can  be  seen  thinks  he  can  best  afford  it.  For  cotton 
for  many  yards,  and  are  plowed  through  by '  or  corn  it  should  be  drilled.  I  have  al- 
myself,  leading  my  gentle  mule,  and  a  ^ays  found  the  heavier  the  manure,  ca- 
trusty  plowman  holding  the  handles.  I  frns  paribu.^,  the  more  abundant  the 
lead,  following  the  course  of  the  holes,  and  yield. 

he  holds  the  plow  ere:t ;  no  line  is  used  at:  Prom  thirty  to  fifty  bushels  of  raw  cot- 
all.  I  greatly  prefer  this  extra  labour  to  ton  seed  per  "acre,  broadcasted,  is  fine  ma- 
*he  ''  gee"'  and  '•  haw"  movements  of  the  nuring  for  small  grain ;  and  from  twenty 
very  best  plowman.  Some  planters  use  to  thirty  in  the  drill,  is  equally  good  for 
little  sticks  instead  of  digging  holes  with  cotton  or  corn.  My  experience  "is,  that 
the  hoe.  The  hoe  is  easier  carried  than -an  cotton  seed,  composted  with  any  kind  of 
armful  of  sticks.  If  the  level  is  followed,  manure,  is  more  profitable  than'the  same 
and  never  driven,  it  will  never  lead  the  quantity  of  either  applied  alone, 
planter  astray.  ;      All  home-made    manures  should  be  ap- 

The  third,  and  probably  most  important  plied  broadcast.  A  largo  bulk  in  this  way 
point,  in  improving  lands,  is  the  rotation  covers  but  a  small  area  of  ground,  but  that 
of  crops,  and  the  accumulation  and  appli-  area  is  proouotive  for  several  years,  it  mat- 
cation  of  manures.  .A.  few  words  will  suf-  ters  little  what  is  planted  upon  it.  In  the 
fice  for  my  views  (which  is  my  practice)  on  drill  or  in  the  hill,  such  manures  benefit 
these  subjects.  jthe  immediate   crop,  but   they  must  be  ap- 

ROTATiox  j  plied  often  to  produce  lasting  effects. 

I      A  minute  description  of  the  modua  ojye- 

Divide  the  plantation,  as  far  as  practica-  randi  necessar}-  to  enlarge  the  manure 
ble,  into  four  equal  parts— as  many  fields  heaps,  does  not  properly  belong  to  this  es- 
as  you  please.  Upon  one  of  these  fourths  say,  but  the  general  methods  of  making 
plant  cotton,  upon  another  corn,  upon  a  manure  may  not  here  be  inappropriately  re- 
third  small  grain,  (wheat,  rye,  and  oats —  lated. 
let  rile  barley  and  turnip  patches  be  petj     In  the  first  place,  stated  times  and  regu- 


224 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


lar  hands  should  be  employed  to  collect 
trash,  leaves,  and  litter  for  every  spot  where 
every  kind  of  stock  is  required  to  stand 
or  rest,  night  or  day.  The  stables,  the  cow- 
house, the  hog-pen,  the  sheep-house,  and 
the  lots  surrounding  these  houses  should  be 
regularly  littered.  When  this  litter  was 
well  trampled  in  the  lots,  it  should  be 
raked  up  into  large  heaps  imdrr  shelhr, 
during  dry  weather ;  it  should  never  be 
touched  in  wet  weather.  These  heaps  com- 
posted with  cotton  seed  early  in  the  spring, 
make  the  best  possible  niauure  for  cotton. 
Stable,  cow-house,  or  sheep-house  manure,  or 
all  manures  made  under  shelter,  should  be 
moved  but  once,  directly  from  the  shelter 
to  the  stubble  land  upon  which  cotton  is 
to  grow  the  following  season.  This  stub- 
ble resting  the  entire  year,  n)a3'  be  manur- 
ed or  "  broken  up"  whenever  time  and  the 
season  will  admit.  Manure  hauled  out  in 
dry  weather  (for  in  wet  weather  neither 
wagon  or  hoof  should  enter  a  field)  during 
the  spring,  or  summer,  or  fall,  and  throw 
in  heaps  of  ten  bushels  each,  will  remain 
upon  this  stubble  until  time  can  be  had  to 
scatter  and  plow  it  in  without  a  material 
loss  of  any  of  its  virtues.  It  is,  however, 
easier  and  more  economical  to  scatter  ma- 
nure from  the  wagon,  and  plow  in  as  scat- 
tered. 

In  the  second  place,  no  rainy  days  should 
be  lost  on  a  plantation,  unless  the  rain  falls 
very  heavily  and  constantly.  The  simplic- 
ity of  machinery  has  superseded  the  cotton- 
card  and  spinning-wheel,  so  that  it  is 
cheaper  to  buy  than  make  thread.  The 
time  heretofore  devoted  to  such  in-door 
work  should  be  spent  making  manures — 
either  turning  over  that  already  made,  or 
raking  trash  for  new  heaps.  To  expose 
negroes  in  this  way,  however,  is  only  econ- 
omy when  they  are  glad  for  the  occasion. 
An  oil  suit  can  be  made  or  purchased 
cheaply  for  each  hand,  which  will,  in  one 
winter,  save  time  enough  to  pay  for  itself, 
and  it  will  last  five  or  six  years. 

In  the  third  place,  a  sink  should  be  dug 
in  soMie  convenient  place  and  sheltered, 
into  which  is  thrown  the  chips  and  trash 
from  the  wood-yard,  sweepings  from  the 
house-yard, slops  from  the  chambers,  kitchen 
and  wash  tubs,  bones,  occasionally  a  little 
lime,  salt  and  sand,  and  every  dead  chicken, 
pig,  turkey,  and,  in  fact,  everything  useless 
about  the  premises  that  can  be  made  to  rot. 
This  sink  will  furnish  the  planter  annually 


with  an  amount  of   excellent  manure,  in- 
credible to  those  who  have  never  tried  it. 

In  the  fourth  place,  no  planter  should 
keep  more  stock  than  he  can  conveniently 
pen  every  night  in  summer,  or  house  every 
night  in  winter.  Too  much  stock  will  irre- 
coverably imp.overish  any  plantation,  and 
be  themselves  always  poor.  Just  enough 
stock  will  furnish  droppings  and  compost 
manures  worth  infinitely  more  than  the 
gleanings  of  which  they  have  robbed  the 
plantation.  Every  horse  should  be  made 
to  pay  in  manure  for  the  fodder  and  hay 
he  eats  during  the  year;  sheep  and  cattle 
for  the  shucks  they  eat  during  the  winter, 
and  each  hog  for  one-third  the  corn  he 
eats,  after  penned  for  fattening. 

And,  in  the  fifth  place,  if  the  planter's 
object  be  the  reclamation  of  land,  nothing 
should  be  lost — neither  time  nor  labour ; 
nor  must  he  lack  judgment  or  energy.  In- 
deed, he  must  possess  all  the  cardinal  vir- 
tues. Patience  must  be  added  to  his  per- 
severance, idleness  subtracted  from  his  in- 
dustry, carefulness  multiplied  by  his  vigi- 
lance, and  his  expenditures  divided  by 
economy. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

D.  WYATT  AIKEN. 


The  Edible  Bird's  Nests. 

The  birds'  nests  which  are  esteemed  so 
great  a  luxury  in  China  have  become  an 
article  of  consumption  in  Paris.  Although 
by  far  the  greater  portion  of  what  is  con- 
sumed under  that  name  is  nothing  more 
than  fish-glue,  still  the  genuine  nests  can 
be  purchased  at  about  §70  per  hundred 
weight  in  its  crude  state.  The  chemist, 
M.  Paven,  received  some  years  ago  sam- 
ples of  an  East  Indian  plant,  known  un- 
der the  name  of  China  moss.  He  recog- 
nized it  as  one  of  the  alga  of  Java,  the 
gelidium  corneum.  On  submitting  it  to 
chemical  analysis,  he  obtained  clear  gela- 
tine, far  preferable  in  that  obtained  from 
fish.  Comparing  it  with  the  Chinese  birds' 
nests  he  found  that  the  swallows  which 
n)ake  these  nests  must  make  use  of  the 
alga,  working  over  its  gelatinous  matter  as 
our  swallows  do  in  plastering  up  their  nests. 
This  solves  a  problem  of  long  standing 
among  naturalists,  whether  the  edible  birds' 
nests  are  of  animal  or  vegetable  origin; 
they  are  both. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


225 


FroJii  the  British  Farmer's  Magazine. 

The  Early  English  Agricultural  Authors. 

BY  CUTHBERT  W.  JOHNSON,  ESQ.,  F.R.S. 

In  a  recent  number  of  this  valuable  mag- 
azine I  endeavoured  to  trace  some  of  the 
earliest-written  laws  relating  to  the  agricul- 
ture of  our  country  from  old  British  days  to 
the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  II  was  in  that 
reign  that  the  first  two  works  on  English 
fanning  were  printed.  These  were  the  trea- 
tises of  Bishop  Grotehead  (or  Greathead) 
and  of  Sir  Anthony  Fitzherbert.  To  these 
very  ci||^us  little  works  I  propose  in  this 
paper  tWIirect  my  readers'  attention. 

It  will  be  well,  however,  if  we  first  briefly 
pause  to  remember  what  kind  of  tenantry — 
what  sized  farms  were  held  by  the  husband- 
men to  whom  those  two  learned  authors  ad- 
dressed themselves.  As  I  have  on  a  pre- 
vious occasion  remarked,  when  alluding  to 
the  early  notices  of  English  farming,  the 
native  Britons,  it  is  very  certain,  appropria- 
ted but  small  portions  of  the  land  for  rais- 
ing corn,  or  other  cultivated  vegetables,  and 
the  rest  of  the  country  was  left  entirely 
open,  affording  a  common  pasturage  for  their 
cattle,  andi  2:>annagpAov  their  swine.  Under 
the  Roman  government  the  extent  of  culti- 
vated ground  must  have  considerably  in- 
creased ;  yet  the  oldest  writers  agree  that  by 
far  the  greatest  proportion  of  the  country 
was  occupied  by  heaths,  woods,  and  other 
unreclaimed  wastes. 

When  the  Saxons  established  themselves 
in  the  island,  an  almost  total  revolution  in 
the  proprietorship  of  the  lands  must  have 
occurred.  The  conquest  was  only  accom- 
plished after  a  bloody  struggle ;  and  what 
was  won  by  the  sword  was  considered  to  pos- 
sess an  equitable  title  that  the  sword  alone 
could  disturb.  In  those  days  it  was  sup- 
posed that  the  land!  of  a  country  all  be- 
longed to  the  king;  and  on  this  principle 
the  Saxon  monarchs  gave  to  their  followers 
whatever  districts  they  pleased,  as  rewards 
for  the  assistance  afforded  in  the  conquest, 
reserving  to  themselves  large  portions,  and 
imposing  certain  burdens  upon  each  estate, 
granted  (Coke's  Littleton,  1,  58,  2;  BUuk- 
stoncs  Comm.,  45,  rfcc.)  This  was  only  a 
continuance  of  that  feudal  system  that  pre- 
vailed upon  the  continent;  and  we  may  take 
the  county  of  Sussex  as  an  example  how  the 
land  was  carved  out  among  the  aristocracy 
in  the  days  of  our  Norman  kings,  reckoning 
a  hide  at  100  or  150  acres: 
15 


Hides. 

TheKincrhad 59^ 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury 214 

Bishop   of   Chiclie.'^ter.  ..    ., 184 

Abbot  of  Westniinster 7 

Abbot  of  Fecamp 1.35 

Bishop   Osborn 149 

Abbot  of  St.  Peter's,  Winchester, 33 

Church   of  Battle 60J 

Comes  of  Ore 196J 

Comes  Rofjer      818 

William  of  Braiose 452^ 

Abbot  of  St.  Edward 21 

Comes  Moriton 520 

William  of  Warrene 620^ 

Odo  and   Eldre<l 10 

The  great  proprietors  granted  the  chief 
part  of  their  estates  to  the  actual  cultivators 
of  the  soil,  receiving  in  general  from  the 
under-tenants  certain  proportions  of  what- 
ever might  be  the  productions  of  the  farms. 
Thus  we  find  one  tenant  stating,  "  I  give 
food  to  seventy  swine  in  that  woody  allot- 
ment called  Wulfeudinleh,  and  five  waggons- 
full  of  good  twigs ;  and  every  year  an  oak 
for  building,  and  others  for  necessary  fires, 
and  sufficient  wood  for  burning."  (Bede, 
Hist.  Append.,  970.)  The  rent  of  ten  hides 
of  land  were  even  regulated  by  two  of  the 
laws  of  King  Ina.  They  enacted  that  the 
tenant  of  such  extent  of  land  should  render 
to  the  lord  ten  vessels  of  honey,  three  hun- 
dred loaves,  twelve  casks  of  Welsh  '  ale, 
thirty  of  clear  ale,  two  old  rams,  ten  weth- 
ers, ten  geese,  twenty  hens,  ten  cheeses,  one 
cask  of  butter,  five  salmon,  twenty  pounds' 
weight  of  fodder,  and  one  hundred  eels;  or 
else  ten  mittas  of  malt,  five  of  grits,  ten  of 
wheat  flour,  eight  gammons,  sixteen  cheeses, 
two  fat  cows,  and  in  Lent  eight  salmon. 
(  Wd/cins,  Leges  Saxon,  25,  3  ;  Gale.'i  Hist. 
R.,  410.)  Such  grants  were  usually  to  the 
tenant  and  his  heirs  forever,  so  long  as  they 
afibrded  the  accustomed  rent;  and  I  am  not 
aware  of  any  grant  or  lease  extending  for  a 
j  shorter  period  than  the  life  of  the  tenant. 
jAn  example  of  thc.«e  occurs  in  the  year 
I  852,  when  the  abbot  and  monks  of  Mede- 
hamsted  let  some  land  at  Sempingham  to 
a  tenant  named  Wulfred,  for  his  life,  on 
condition  that  he  annually  paid  them  sixty 
fother  of  wood,  twelve  Ibther  of  grspfini 
(coals,)  six  fother  of  turf,  two  tons  of  clear 
ale,  two  killed  oxen,  six  hundred  loaves,  ten 
casks  of  Welsh  ale,  one  horse,  thirty  shil- 
lings, and  a  night's  lodging.  {Saxon  Chron 
ide,  75.) 

As  this  feudal  system  declined,  and  was 
finally  extinguished  in   the   twelfth  year  of 


iA«^«MliiikaHI 


226 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[AlRIL 


Charles  II.,  so  proportionallj  did  the  landed '  Hedges,  and  plant  at  the  least  ane  Aicker 
interest  increase  in  prosperity.  Freed  from  '  of  Wood,  quhair  there  is  na  gi-eate  Wooddes 
the  burden  of  furnishing  a  soldier  and  his  nor  Forrestes." 

armour  for  every  certain  number  of  acres,!  Other  acts  of  a  similar  kind,  for  the  pro- 
and  all  restrictions  as  to  land  changing  motion  of  the  growth  of  timber,  had  been 
hands  being  removed,  and  the  numerous  im- '  previously  mndc  ;  and  again  in  1.535. 
positions  being  got  rid  of,  with  which  the  ^  The  clergy  ;ind  the  rural  life  of  those  days 
lords  oppressed  their  sub-infeudatories,  it  seem  to  have  had  little  reverence  for  God'a 
soon  became  a  marketable  species  of  proper- 1  house  or  God's  acre;  for  in  the  same  year  it 
ty;  and,  as  money  and  merchandise  increas-  was  ordered  by  the  Parliament  that  "nor 
ed,  and  the  proprietor  lived  less  upon  his  Faircs  be  halden  upon  Ilalie  days,  nor  zit 
estaie,  it  soon  became  the  most  eligible  plan  within  Kirkes  nor  Kirkezairdes  upon  Halic 
for  both  landlord  and  tenant,  that  the  whole !  dales  nor  uther  daies." 
rent  should  be  paid  in  money.  Such  were  the  primitive  habits  |m|  modes 

Of  the  size  of  these  early  farms  we  have  of  cultivation,  down  to  the  time  oRhe  two 
no  precise  information;  but  from  the  laws  old  agricultural  authors,  whose  works  I  now 
of  Ina  we  may  pi^rhaps  conclude  that  a  hide  '  propose  to  describe. 

of  land,  equal  to  about  100  or  120  acres,]  Sir  Anthony  Fitzherbert,  as  I  have  in 
was  the  customary  size;  for,  in  speaking  of;  another  place  remarked,  (Quar.  Jour.  Ag., 
the  produce  to  be  given  to  the  lord  for  ten  vol.  ii.,  p.  491,)  was  the  youngest  son  of 
hides,  the  law  speaks  of  ihc  smallest  divi-  Ralph  Fitzherbert,  of  Norbury,  in  Derby- 
sion  of  each  county  of  which  it  was  particu-.  shire.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford;  and 
larly  cognizant;  namely,  of  ten  families,  or  when  called  to  the  bar  by  the  Honourable 
a  tithing,  as  they  were  collectively  called. ;  Society  of  Gray's  Inn,  "his  great  parts, 
Again,  Bede  expressly  calls  a  hide  of  land  |  penetrating  judgment,  and  incomparable 
familia,  and  says  it  was  sifficient  to  support  ^  diligence,"  says  his  biographer,  "soon  dis- 
a  family.  It  was  otherwise  called  mansum,  tinguished  him  in  his  profession."  He  was 
or  manerium,  and  was  considered  to  be  so  made  a  serjeant-at-law  in  1511,  and  was 
much  as  one  could  cultivate  in  a  year.  ]  knighted  five  years  afterwards.  In  1523  he 
{Hfury  of  Hunfiiiijdon,  vi.  2,036.)  ;  became  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Court  of 

That  in  the  time  of  Henry  YIII.  rents 'Common  Pleas,  in  which  year  he  published, 
were  payable  in  money,  we  have  the  evi-  it  is  supposed,  his  "  Boke  of  Husbandrie ;" 
dence  amongst  others  of  Bishop  Latimer. '  for  a  copy  \viis  possessed  by  the  late  Mr. 
He  flourished  in  the  early  part  of  the  six-l  Heber,  bearing  that  datC;  "  imprynted  by 
teenth  century,  and  his  father  was  amongst  Rychard  Pynson." 

the  most  respectable  yeomen  of  his  time,  yet  Fitzherbert's  biographer  adds,  truly 
his  farm  probably  did  not  much  exceed  one  enough,  that  "he  has  held  the  oracle  of 
hundred  acres.  He  observes  in  one  of  his  law  in  his  time."  He  evidently  possessed 
sermons,  "  My  father  was  a  yeoman,  and  the  most  undoubted  courage  and  the  most 
had  no  lands  of  his  own ;  he  had  only  a  |  uncompromising  integrity.  He  was  one  of 
farm  of  £3  or  £4  ayear  at  the  utmo.st,  and  !  the  very  few  who  dared  to  oppose  Cardinal 
hereupon  he  tilled  a^  much  as  kept  half  a  Wolsey  in  the  height  of  his  power.  On  his 
dozen  men.  He  had  a  walk  for  one  hun-  death-bed,  at  a  period •nhen  alnost  all  were 
dred  sheep,  and  my  mother  milked  thirty  I  eagerly  scrambling  for  the  spoils  of  the 
kine." — (Sermons,  p.  Zi).)  Church  of  Rome,  he  solemnly  warned   his 

It  is  evident,  from  the  constant  reference ; 


to  woods  in  the.-e  husbandry  notices,  how 
valuable  they  must  have  been  in  those  days 
for  fuel,  since  pit-cual  was  not  then  exten- 
sively available.  Their  value  of  course  in- 
creased towards  the  northern  portion  of  our 
island,  so  that  we  find  the  Scottish  Parlia- 
ment dircciing  the  planting  of  timber  trees. 
In  1503  (the  6th  of  James  IV.  of  Scot- 
land; it  was  ordered  "that  everith  Lord  or 


children  on  no  account  to  accept  of  any  of 
the  sequestered  property  of  the  abbeys. 

To  this  injunction  his  descendants  inflex- 
ibly adhered.  They  have  often  been  hon- 
ourably distinguished  in  the  ranks  of  litera- 
ture and  in  the  public  service  of  their  coun- 
try. 1  he  family  was  ennobled  in  1801, 
when  Alleyne  Fitzherbert  was  created  Lord 
St.  Helens. 

Sir  Anthony  Fitzherbert  died  on  the  28th 


Laird  make  them  to  have  Parkes  with  Deare,  of  May,  1838,  and   lies   buried  in  his  own 
Stanks,    Cuningares,  Dowcattes,    Orchards,  |  parish   church   of  Norbury,  where,  on   his 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


fn"avestone  of  blue  marble,  ^vas  long  to  be  be  well  tempered,  it  may  the  better  be  suf- 

eeen  the  follovriug  short  and  modest  inscrip-i  fered." 

tion  :  j      3ir  Anthony,  like  Bishop  Greathead,  was 

"  Of  your  eharitie,  pray  for  the  Soule  of  a  decided  advocate  for  the  use  on  heavy 
Sir  Anthony  Fitzherbert,  Knyght,  one  of  soils  of  oxen  in  husbandry.  He  had  evi- 
the  King's  Justices  of  his  Common  Bench,  dently  thought  much  on  the  subject.  It  is 
and  sometime  Lo.and  patron  of  this  Towne, ;  curious  to  see  how  closely  the  arguments  on 
and  Dorothy  his  Wife,  daughter  of  Sir  Hen-;  the  subject  by  a  farmer  340  years  since, 
ry  Willoughby.  Knyght,  \-c.,  which  Sir  An- 'resembled  those  of  modern  agriculturists, 
thony  deceased  27  31ay,  153S."  j  At  the  conclusion   of  a  section  devoted  to 

Of  his  great  law  works,  by  which  he  is  j  the  subject,  he  remarked:  -If  any  soranco 
so  well  and  so  honourably  known  to  the  law- ,  betyde  a  horse,  as  old  age,  bruysvintrs, 
student,  this  is  hardly  the  place  to  describe,  jblyndness  or  lameness,  then  is  he  worth 
His  "Natura  Brevium,"  and  his  grand;  nodiynge  except  for  a  ken nell  of  novse-be- 
'•  Abridgment  of  the  Laws,"  the  great  Sir  j  jvettyug  bounds,  (we  might  suspect  from 
Edward    Coke    has    well    described,    when  ihis  remark,  that  the  learned  judge  was  no 


he  is  speaking,  in  his  preface  to  his  Eighth 
Report,  of  the  first-named,  and  of  the  last 
says,  '•  it  is  an  exact  work,  and  exquisitely 
penned."     (Preface  to  Tenth  Report.) 

In  the  Library  of  the  British  Museum 
will  be  found  a  small  duodecimo  volume, 
entitled  "The  Boke  of  Husbandly,"  by  Sir 
Anthony  Fitzherbert,  published  in  153-t; 
and  this  is  certainly  the  earliest  extant  work 
on  husbandry,  that  professes  to  be  icritten 
by  an  Englishman. 

It  commences  by  saying,  "  Here  begyu- 
eth  the  Boke  of  Husbandry,  and  fyrste 
whereby  husbandemen  do  lyve." 

An  early  section  is  of  "dyvers  maner  of 
plowes."' 


friend  to  the  delights  of  the  chase.)  But  if 
myschief  befall  an  ox,  for  ten  shyllyngs  at 
any  tyme  he  may  be  fed,  and  then  he  is 
man's  meate,  and  in  that  degree  better  than 
ever  he  was.  These  reasons  and  circum- 
stances considered,  I  am  of  the  poet's  opyn- 
yon.  that  the  plowe  of  oxen  is  much  more 
profytable  than  the  plowe  of  horses,  to 
whych  the  Holy  Scryptures  condescend ; 
for  wheresoever  it  speaketh  of  husbandrye, 
it  only  sayth  the  oxe  to  hys  yoke  for  la- 
bour." 

After  telling  the  farmers  of  his  time  hoir 
they  should  plough  different  kinds  of  land 
"all  times  of  the  yeeare,"  he  then  proceeds 
in  a  natural  order  of  arrancring  his  work,  to 


It  IS  evident  from  this  that,  even  in  those        j         •  tr  -.i  j 

J  .  viT        ^11      J?    I       1.    i. seed  sowing.     He   commences  with  a  seed, 

days,  there  were  ditierent  kinds  oi  ploughsi     u ■  u    i     'u    i  ■     \  ^    •     e    ^       .-u     n 

■'j    .  .  .^  1'     .      1     ^    '^     !  which  should   be   mingled,  m  tact,  with  all 

used  in   various  parts  ot  Ensiand ;  for,  as     ,.       ,  -   j  ,      i  -"u   i     »i,      j         u 

,  ^  a         }        )      i  other  kinds,   and  which   he  thus  describes : 

our  author  remarks,  .  t^i  •  j       n  j   j  *  -i^ 

,  ,^        ,  .,,'     ^  •      11     1  i"lhere  is  a    seed   called  dvscretvon,   it  a 

'•(Jne  plowe  will  not  serve  in  all  places;  i      ^      i  v  o  ^^  'j        j  i 

,       ,,    ^  .^    .  ^1         S  husbandman  have  ot  that  seed,  and  mvngle 

whereiore   it   is    necessary  to  have  dyvei-s  ..  ,  •       .,  .i  ,,•    "- 

TO  iT^       .1-  J- it  amonge  his   other  corne,  they  wvll  gro\T 

sortes.     In  Somersetshire,  Dorsetc^hire,  and :  j     i  ^i  '^  u  *u    v  ...     r>      *  '  3  v      "jj 

,^,  ^      ,.         ,        ,     '     ,  1        •     doubtless  much  the  better.       And  he  adds: 

(.TJoucestershne,    the   share    beam,   that   in 


many  places  is  called  the  plow  head,  is  four 


Thys  seede  of  dfscretyon  has  a  wondrous 


..         ..         ,  ,  1        1       J  vyrtue,  for  the  more  it  is  evther  taken  of  or 

or  lyve  loote   longe,  maae   very  broad  and  i     x   <.i  >  •- " 

,1  •  1      1      .    •      1  .111"  ICDt.    l06   nJOrG  It  Is. 

thiune  ;  and  that  is  because  the  land  is  very, 

toughe,  and  would  suck  the  plowe  into  thej  To  Sowe  Barley  is  the  title  of  a  section 
earth,  if  the  share  beams  were  not  very  »*  Pa.?^  1'-'.  It  seems  that  in  those  daya 
longe,  broade,  and  thinne.  In  Kent  they  ^'^^^'-e  were  '•  thre  manner  ot  barleys,  that  is 
alter  muche  in  fashyon;  for  there  theye  goe  *«  ^^J  '  ^P^^  barleye  ;  longe  eare  ;  and  here 
upon  wheeles,  as  they  do  in  some  part^^  of  Parley,  that  some  menne  call  biggc." 
Hartfordshire,  Susscxe,  and  Cornewalle.  "To  Sowe  Otcs"  is  the  next  title  of  a 
But,"  adds  Fitzherbert,  very  wisely,  "'ney-  section.  Our  author  says  of  this  crop,  "It 
thcrwyll  Istand  toostryctly  on  theyr  I'ashyon,  is  to  be  knowen  that  there  be  III.  manner 
sythe  theyr  is  no  countye  but  custome  or  of  oats,  that  is  to  saye  :  redde  otes,  black 
exp>>rience  hath  instructed  them  to 'make  otes,  and  roughe  otes.  Rodde  otcs  are  the 
choyce  of  what  is  avaylable ;  and  he  that  best  otes,  and  vcrye  good  to  make  otemele 
wyll  lyve  in  any  countrye  may  by  free  char-  of.''  Black  otes  he  deemed  inferior  to  the 
tcr  learue  of  hys  neighbours,  and  how.-o-  red,  and  he  adds,  "the  roughe  otes  be  the 
ever  any  plowe  be  made  or  fashyoned,  so  it  ■  worst :  they  be  very  lighte,  and  have  long 


.^.tkAima^ 


MHlMl 


228 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


tables,  whereby  they  wyll  hange  eche  one 
to  other." 

He  goes  on  to  say,  "  all  these  manner  of 
otes  weare  the  grounde  very  sore,  and 
maketh  it  to  bear  quyche." 

He  leaves  the  quantity  of  seed  oats  to 
the  farmer  ;  "  hys  wysedome  and  discretion 
nauste  discerne  it." 

He  proceeds  to  treat  of  "  how  to  harowe 
all  manner  of  corne."  1  he  ploughing  of 
those  days  was  evidently  ill  done,  and  the 
harrows  heavy  and  rudely  con.structed. 
Fitzherbert  remarks,  "  it  is  a  great  labour 
and  payne  to "  the  oxen  to  goo  to  harrowe, 
for  they  were  better  to  goo  to  the  plowe  two 
dayes  than  to  harrowe  one  daye.  It  is  an 
old  sayinge — 

The  ox  is  never  woo 

Tyll  he  to  the  harrowe  goo. 

It  is  because  it  goeth  by  twytches  and  not 
alway  after  one  draughts." 

It  seems  from  wliat  he  says  in  his  chap-  i 
ter  ''  howe  forkes  and  rakes  should  be  made, ; 
(p.  19,  j  that  the  husbandmen  of  that  time  ^ 
made  their  own." 

"When  he  speaks  of  haymaking,  p.  20, 
he  truly  enough  remarks,  "  good  teddynge  i 
is  the  chief  poynte  to  make  good  hey."  | 

Of  artificial  manures,  they  were  evident- 
ly  in  those  times  not  altogether  unacquaint-  i 
ed,  for  Fitzherbert  in  his  chapter  of  "  how 
to    make  barrayne    grounde    brynge    forth 
good  corne,"   recommends  the  mingling  of, 
saltpetre,  dregs  of  oil,  and   pigeons'  dung! 
with  the  seed. 

Then  he  has  a  chapter  on  "  howe  to  car- 
T^e  out  manure  or  dunge,  and  how  to  spreade  , 
die  same."     He  advised  his  brother-farmers ! 
that  it  should  be  '•'  layed  up  in  small  heaps 
neere  together  ;"  "  to  spfeede  it  evenlye  ;"  | 
to  leave   none   where    "  the    gieate    heepe 
gtoode,"  and  not  to  let  the  heaps  stand  too 
long,  lest  if  they  took  a  shower  of  rain  the  \ 
goodness   of    the    manure    should    "  runne 
into  the  grounde  where   the  heap^  standes, 
and  the  rest  when   it   is  spreade  wyll  lyttle 
profyt."     He  ai.~o  recommends  the  use  of 
"  marie."  I 

Another  of  the  books  into  which  the 
work  was  divided,  is  devoted  to  the 
"  brcedyng,  oderjng,  aod  usage  of  cattell 
by  the  whatsoever  els  appertaynes  to  theme, , 
and  fyrst  of  sheepe."  In  this,  when  speak- 
ing of  "  what  thynges  rottethe  sheepe,"  he 
giv?s  a  list  of  things,  such  as  "  the  grasse 
called   gpear-woorte,"    and    aaother  called ' 


•'  pcnny-grasse,"  and  also  "  all  manner  of 
grasse  that  the  lande  floode  runneth  over;" 
all  "  marrishe  grounde  and  marshe  groundes, 
salt-mashes  only  excepted."  And  then  he 
adds,  "  hunger  rotte  is  the  worst  rotte  that 
can  be." 

It  is  ever  noticeable  that  in  all  barbarous 
countries,  and  even  in  those  approaching 
towards  civilization,  to  the  women  is  as- 
signed labours  for  which  men  are  better 
adapted.  It  is  more  especially  so  in  the 
warmer  climates  of  our  globe ;  but  even  in 
northern  England,  in  Fitzherbert's  book, 
we  find  the  following  grave  assignment  of 
hard  duties  to  a  farmer's  wife  of  the  time  of 
Henry  VIII.— 

"  It  is  the  wyfe's  occupatyon  to  wynnow 
all  manner  of  corne,  to  make  malt,  to  wash 
and  wringe,  to  make  haye,  to  sheere  corne, 
and,  in  tyme  of  needs,  to  help  her  hus- 
baude  to  fyll  the  muckwayne  or  dunge-cart; 
to  dryve  the  plowe,  to  loade  corue,  ttc. ;  to 
go  or  ryde  to  the  market,  to  sell  butter, 
luylk,  cheese,  pygges,  and  all  manner  of 
corn,'"  &c. 

After  describing  the  sundry  duties  of  the 
wife  in  attending  the  market,  our  author 
goes  on  to  remark— 

"  And  also  to  bye  all  manner  of  necessa- 
rye  thyngs  belongynge  to  householde,  and 
to  make  a  trewe  reken3'nge  and  a  compte  to 
her  husbande  what  she  hath  receyed  and 
what  !^hc  hath  payed  ;  and  if  the  husbande 
go  to  the  market  to  bye  or  sell,  as  they  ofte 
do,  he  then  to  shewe  his  wyfe-in  lyke  man- 
ner. For  if  one  of  them  shoulde  use  to 
deceyve  the  other  he  deceyveth  hymself, 
and  he  is  not  lyke  to  thryve,  and  therefore 
they  must  be  trewe  eyther  to  other.  I 
could,  peradventure,  shewe  the  husbandes 
dyvers  poynts  that  the  wyves  deceyve  them 
in,  and  in  lyke  manner  howe  husbandes 
deceyve  theyr  wyves;  but  if  I  shulde  do 
so,  I  .«hu]de  shewe  more  subtyll  poyntes  of 
deceyt  than  either  of  them  :nev.e  of  be- 
fore, and  therefore  me  semeth  beste  to  holde 
my  peace." 

The  "  Thyrde  Boke"  of  husbandry  is 
upon  planting  timber  trees,  of  which  he 
was  evidently  enlightened  enough  to  per- 
ceive the  private  and  national  advantages. 
Then  there  is  added  to  the  work  sundry 
domestic  matters,  which  Fitzherbert  most 
probably  never  intended  to  appear  in  a  book 
of  husbandry— such  as  the  sections  en  the 
use  of    the    cinnamon,  cloves,  pepper  and 


1860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


229 


other  spices — receipts  for  "  a  balms,"  and 
•'  an  approved  rece}  te  for  the  gowte." 

His  ••  Fourthe  Booke"  is  still  more  of  a 
domestic  nature,  '-contaynynLr  the  orderying 
of  an  householde."  In  this  he  is  particular 
in  his  directions  how  the  men-servants  should 
be  kept  in  order  and  honest,  for  he  had  evi- 
dently a  strong  suspicion  that  in  those  days 
they  were  roguishly  inclined.  Then  he  pro- 
ceeds to  give  direction3  for  breeding  all 
kindsof  poultry — how«iany  eggs  should  '•'  be 
settc  under  your  henne,"  and  says  the  num- 
ber should  "  be  odde,"  either  a  "fyfteene  or 
nynetee,"  according  to  the  season ;  and  then 
he  has  several  other  little  sections  on  similar 
subjects,  and  so  rarely  makes  a  mistake  in 
his  common-sense  observations,  that  we  are 
the  more  amused  when  he  tells  us  very 
gravely,  when  speaking  of  swans,  that 
"when  they  wase  olde  they  do  declare  the 
tyme  of  theyr  owne  death  to  be  neere  ap- 
proachyng  by  a  sweete  and  lamentable  note 
whych  they  then  syng." 

Towards  the  close  of  this  book,  Fitzher- 
bert  has  sundry  chapters  full  of  quotations 
from  the  holy  fathers  regarding  pleasing 
God,  almsgiving,  prayer,  6cc.  Living  how- 
ever, as  he  did,  in  very  ticklish  Protestant 
and  Popish  days,  when  heresy  was  treated 
in  a  very  summary  and  fierry  manner,  he 
thought  it  well  to  add — 

"  I  make  protestation  before  God  and  man 
that  I  intende  not  to  wryte  anythiuge  that 
is  or  may  be  contrary  to  the  fayth  of  Cryste 
and  of  Holy  Church  ;  but  I  am  redye  to  re- 
voke my  sayinge  if  anythinge  have  passed 
my  m  out  he  for  want  of  lernynge,  and  tosub- 
mj'tte  myself  to  correction,  and  my  boke  to 
reformatyon." 

"  Go  lythell  quere,  and  recommende  me 

To  all  that  this  treatyse  shall  se,  here  or  rede  ; 

Prayenge  them  therewith  content  to  be, 

And  to  amende  it  in  places  where,  as  in  nede. 

Of  eloquence  they  may    perceyve    I   want  the 

sede. 
And  rethoryke  in  me  doth  not  abonnde. 
Wherefore  I  have  sowe  such  seeds  as  I   fond." 
At  page  91,  Fitzherbert  thus  concluded 
his  book — 

"  Thus  endeth  this  rygnt  profytable  boke 
of  husbandry,  compyled  somctyme  by  Mays- 
ter  Fitzherbarde  of  charytic  and  good  zele 
that  he  bare  to  the  weale  of  this  mooste 
noble  realme,  whyche  he  dydde  not  in  his 
youthe,  but  after  he  had  cxercysed  husband- 
ry with  great  experyence  xl.  years. 

"  Imprynted  at  London,  in  Flete-street,  in 


the  house  of  Thomas  Berthelet,  nere  to  the 
condite,at  the  synge  of  Lucrece.  Cum  pri- 
vielgio." 

In  the  same  volume  of  the  British  Mu- 
seum Library  is  also  bound  up  another  work 
of  Fitzherbert's  entitled,  "  Surveyinge,  A.  D. 
1539." 

The  work  of  Bishop  Grotehede,  or  Great- 
head,  disputes  with  the  Boke  of  Fitzherbert 
the  merit  of  being  the  first  English  treatise 
on  agriculture.  The  claims  of  both  these 
interesting  works  have  been,  on  a  recent  oc- 
casion, too  fairly  and  clearly  stated  by  the 
editors  of  the  "Cottage  Gardener"  to  need 
any  other  description  (''  Cottage  Gardener," 
vol.  xxxii.,  p.  52) 

After  alluding  to  the  edition  of  Fitzlier- 
bert  printed  in  1523  by  Richard  Pynson, 
they  add — 

There  is  as  early,  if  not  an  earlier,  work, 
however,  even  than  that  of  Fitzherbert's. — 
It  is  entitled  as  follows  : — 

''  Here  begynneth  a  tratyse  of  Husband- 
ry which  Mayster  Groshede,  sometymc  by- 
shop  of  Lyucoln,  made  and  translated  it  out 
of  Frenshe  into  Englyshe,  which  techeth 
all  manner  of  men  to  govern  theyr  londes, 
tenements,  and  domense,  ordinatly  as  in  the 
chapytres  evidently  is  shewed." 

Now,  whether  or  not  this  "tratyse"  was 
written  by  "  Master  Groshede,"  it  is'^quite 
certain  that  it  was  printed  by  Wynkn  de 
Worde,  who  was  Pynson's  contemporary, 
their  earliest  books  being  printed  in  the 
same  year,  1498,  and  they  continued  rival* 
and  publishing  the  same  books  until  the 
date  of  Wynkyn  de  Worde's  death  in  1534. 
A  few  instances  may  be  quoted.  De  Worde 
published  Moits.  Ftr/cctwnis  in  1497,  and 
Pynson  did  so  the  same  year;  Pynson  pub- 
lished Blues  and  Pauper,  in  1493,  and  De 
Worde  issued  it  in  1496 ;  De  Worde  brought 
out  The  Siege  of  Tro)/  in  1503,  as  did  Pyn- 
son in  1513.  That  Wynkyn  de  Worde  did 
print  the  "  tratyse"  is  proved  by  the  copy, 
the  only  one  known  to  exist,  in  the  Univer- 
sity Library  at  Cambridge.  It  has  his  mo- 
nogram, and  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  from  the 
same  sharp,  broad-i'aced  old  English  type, 
and  of  the  same  black,  unbroken  ink  as  gave 
birth  to  other  acknowledged  works  from  his 
press.  It  is  without  a  date ;  but  either  it 
was  published  as  a  rival  to  Fitzherbert's 
"  Boke,"  or  this  ''  Boke"  was  published  to 
oppose  Grosseteste's  "  Tratyse." 

It  is  a  small  quarto  of  twelve  leaves.  On 
the   first  page  is  a  woodcut  representing  » 


230 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


a  steward  or  other  party  of  authority,  who, 
with  hands  outstretched  in  astonishment,  is 
reprehending  a  woodman,  who  certainly 
needed  the  reproof,  for  he  is  cutting  off  the 
top  of  a  tree  by  the  blows  of  an  axe,  which 
have  made  a  ruinous  gap  half-way  up  the 
trunk. 

As  it  certain  that  it  was  printed  by  Wynkyn 
de  Worde,  so  is  it  equally  beyond  a  doubt 
that  it  treats  of  English  husbandry.  Gros- 
hede  may  have  first  "  made"  it  in  French, 
and  then  "  translated  it  out  of  Frenshe  into 
Englyshe,"  but  still  the  truth  is  apparent 
that  it  is  written  concerning  English  hus- 
bandry, all  the  measures  are  English,  and  so 
are  all  the  attendant  particulars.  The  best 
evidences  of  this  that  can  be  placed  before 
our  readers  are  the  following  extracts  : — 

The  first  is  what  we  should  now  call  a 
"Table  of  Contents"— 

"  The  i  chapytre  tclleth  ho  w  ye  shall  spec  de 
your  good  and  extende  j'our  londes. 

"  The  ii  chapytre  telleth  how  youre  londe 
shall  be  mesured,   and   how   many  perches 
maketh  an  acre,  and  how  many  acres  mak^th 
a   yerde   of  londe,   and   how   many  yerdesj 
maketh  an   hyde   of  londe,  and  how  many  i 
hydes  maketh  a  knys'htes  fee.  ! 

■"  The  iii  chapytre  telleth  how  many  acres 
of  londe  yt  a  plough  may  tele  in  a  yere.  j 

"The   iiii  chapytre   telleth  a   plough  of' 
oxen  or  a  plough  of  hors  may  tele  more  londe 
in  a  yerc  and  which  is  more  costly.  , 

*'  The  V  chapytre  telleth  in  what  season  ! 
ye  shall  begynne  to  falowe  all  maner  of, 
londes. 

"  The  vi  chapytre  telleth  how  ye  shall  lay  ; 
youre  londe  at  sede  tyrae.  I 

"The  vii  chapytre  telleth  how  your  londe  . 
shall  be  sowne  in  all  seasons. 

'•  The  viii  chapytre  telleth  how  ye  shall  i 
chauntreyour  sede  and  nourysshe  your  stub- , 
ble.     ^  I 

"  The  is  chapytre   telleth  how  ye  shall . 
nourysshe  your  dounge  and  wedeyour  corne,  i 
and  how  it  shall  be  mesured  out  of  the  barue, 
and   how  moche   an  acre  shall  yelde  agayn 
more  than  your  sede  yt  ye  sholde  have  wyn- , 
nynge  therby. 

"  The  X  chapytre  telleth  how  ye  shall : 
thauuge  all  maner  of  catell  in  season.  | 

"  The  xi  chapytre  telleth  how  ye  shall  j 
change  youre  werke  bestes  and  wene  youre  ' 
calves,  and  what  prouffyte  ye  shall  have  of 
your  kyne,  and  vayll  to  butter  and  chese.      I 

"  The  xii  chapytre  telleth  how  ye  sholde  ' 
nourysshe  youre  swyne  and  your  pygges.       j 


"  The  xiii  chapytre  telleth  howe  ye  shall 
nourysshe  your  shepe  and  dyvers  medycynes 
for  theyni 

"  The  xiiii  chapytre  telleth  what  profytes 
ye  shal  have  of  youre  ghees  and  hennes. 

"  The  XV.  chapytre  telleth  how  yc  shall 
by  and  selle  and  preve  youre  weyghtes. 

"  The  xvi  chapytre  telleth  how  ye  shall 
take  a  compte  of  youre  balyf  ones  a  yere." 

Of  these  "  Chapytres"  I  will  republish 
four  : —  • 

"  The  ii  chapytre. 

"It  is  to  wete  that  thre  barly  corn es take 
oute  of  ye  myddes  of  the  eer  maketh  an 
ynche,  and  xiiynches  maketh  a  fote.  And 
xvi  fote  and  an  halfe  maketh  a  perche,  and 
xi  perches  in  length  and  iiii  in  brede  maketh 
an  acre  of  londe,  and  iiii  (acres)  maketh  a 
yerde  of  londe,  and  v  yerds  maketh  an  h3de 
of  londe,  and  vii  hydes  ruaketh  a  knyghtes 
fee. 

"  The  iii  chapytre. 

"  Some  men  say  yt  a  plough  may  not  tele 
viii  score  or  ix  score  acres  of  londe  a  yere. 
But  I  shall  prove  it  by  good  reason  yt  a 
plough  may  do  it.  For  ye  shall  understonde 
than  an  acre  of  londe  is  in  mcsure  xl  perches 
in  lengthe  and  iiii  in  brede,  and  the  mesure 
of  a  perche  is  xvi  fote  and  an  halfe.  And 
so  ye  brede  of  an  acre  of  londe  is  xlvi  fote, 
and  so  ye  go  with  youre  plough  xxxiii  tymes 
up  and  doune  the  londe  and  see  the  fyrst 
forowe  be  a  fote  and  eehe  of  the  other  be  in 
lyke  qantyte  and  then  is  an  acre  ered.  And 
wl  an  the  forowe  is  as  strayte  as  it  may  be 
than  is  it  xxxvi  tymes  up  and  doune  the 
londe  though  it  be  a  large  acre.  And  the 
plough  be  never  so  feble  attemost  ye  have 
gone  but  Ixxii  tymes  up  and  doune  ye  londe, 
which  is  but  v  myle  way.  Now  truly  the 
hors  or  oxe  is  feble  that  from  the  morowe 
maye  not  go  softely  iii  myle  from  home  and 
come  agayn  by  none.  And  by  this  other  rea- 
son ye  undstonde  that  there  be  Iii  wekes  in 
the  jere,  take  viii  weeks  for  holy  days  and 
other  lettynges  and  there  remaneth  behynde 
xliiii  to  werke  in  the  se  xliiii  wekes  ben  cclx 
days  besyde  Sondayes.  Also  a  plough  shall 
ere  thryes  in  the  yere  |  yt  is  to  say  in  the 
wynter,  in  lenten,  and  in  leke  sede  time. — 
In  wynter  a  plough  shall  ere  iii  rodes  and  a 
halfe  a  daye.  And  on  eche  other  season  an 
acre  on  the  day  at  the  lest.  Now  knowe  ye 
whether  it  maye  be  done  or  not,  but  by  cause 
ploughmen  carters  and  other  fayne  and  werke 
not  truly.     It  is  behovefuU  yt  men  fynde  a 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN   PLANTER. 


231 


remedy  againjit  their  scrvauntes.  And  there- 
fore it  is  necessary  that  the  balyf  or  some 
of  the  lordcs  offyeers  be  with  them  the  fyrste 
daye  of  doynge  folowynge  and  sowj-nge  to 
se  yf  they  do  theyr  werkes  truly,  &  let  theym 
answer  you  as  moch  werke  as  they  dyde  the 
fyrste  day.  Also  it  is  neces.?arye  that  youre 
balyf  overse  youre  werkemen  ones  in  a  daye 
to  wete  yf  they  do  theyr  werke  truly  as  they 
ought  to  do,  and  yf  ye  fyiide  theym  con- 
trary he  shall  chastyse  theym  reasonable 
therefore,  and  by  dyscreyon,  &c. 

"  The  iiii  chapytre. 

"  The  plough  of  oxen  is  better  than  the 
plough  of  hors,  but  yf  it  be  upon  stony 
grounde  yt  whiche  greveth  sore  the  oxen  in 
theyr  fete.  And  yt  plough  of  hors  is  niore 
cosily  than  ye  plough  of  oxen  &  yet  shal 
youp  plough  of  oxen  doo  as  much  werke  in 
a  yere  as  youre  plough  of  horse,  though  ye 
dryve  your  hors  faster  than  ye  do  your  oxen, 
yet  in  what  gronde  so  ever  it  be  yyure  plough 
of  oxen,  yf  ye  tele  your  londe  wel  and 
evenly,  they  shal  do  as  moche  werke  one 
daye  with  a  nother  as  your  plough  of  hors, 
yf  the  gronde  be  tough  your  oxen  shall  werke 
where  youre  hors  shall  stande  styll.  And  yf 
ye  will  knowe  how  moche  the  one  is  costlyer 
than  ye  other  I  shall  teche  you.  It  is  a  cos- 
tume yt  bestes  yt  go  to  the  plough  shall 
werke  from  ye  feste  of  Saynt  Luke  unto  the 
feste  of  Saynt  Elen  in  Maye,  that  is  to  saye 
XXV  weekes,  and  yf  youre  hors  sholde  be 
kepte  in  a  good  plyght  to  werke  he  must 
haue  dayly  the  syxt  parte  of  a  bushel  of 
otes  pryce  ob.  [tiholuii,  a  forth ing]  and  in 
gresse  in  somer  season  xii  d.  And  every 
weke  that  he  standeth  at  drye  mete  one  with 
another  ob.  in  strawe  for  lytter.  And  in  sho 
yge  as  often  as  he  is  shodde  on  all  foure  fete 
iiii  d.  at  the  iest.  The  somme  of  his  ex- 
pense in  the  yere  is  ix  s.  vi  d.  ob.,  besyde 
hay  and  chafe  and  other  thynges.  And  as 
for  the  oxe  ye  may  kepe  him  in  good  plyght 
dayly  to  doo  his  jour .^ey  gyuyngehym  euery 
weke  thre  oten  sheves  pryce  i  d.  by  ause  x 
oten  sheves  jelde  a  bushell  of  otes  yf  they 
be  made  by  the  extent  and  in  somer  season 
xii  d.  in  gre.sse.  The  somme  of  his  ex- 
penses by  the  yere  is  iii  s.  i  d.  be  syde  strawe 
and  chafe.  And  yf  a  hors  be  overset  and 
brought  downe  with  labour  it  is  adventure  &:j 
ever  he  recover  it.  And  yf  your  ox  be  over- ! 
setteand  brought  doune  with  labour  ye  shall, 
for  xii  d.  in  somer  season  have  hym  so  pas-; 
tured  that  he  shal  be  strong  ynough  to  do 


your  werke  or  elles  he  shall  be  so  fatte  that 
he  may  selle  him  for  as  moche  moneye  as 
he  coste  you. 

"  The  xiiii  chapytre. 

"  Ghees  and  hcnnes  shall  be  at  the  dely- 
ueraunce  of  youre  baylyf  or  lete  so  ferme  a 
goos  for  xii  d.  in  a  yere  Fyue  hennes  and 
a  cocke  for  iii  s.  in  a  yere  and  there  be  some 
baylyfs  and  deyes  that  say  nay  to  this  prouif- 
ytes.  But  I  shall  preuve  it  by  reason,  for  in 
halfe  a  yere  be  xxvi  wekes,  and  in  these 
xxvi  wekes  ix  score  dayes,  and  in  eche  of 
these  dayes  ye  shall  have  an  e2.^Q  of  eche 
henne.  &  yt  is  ix  score  egges  of  eche  henne 
in  that  half  yere,  it  is  a  feble  sale  of  egges 
&  XXX  egges  be  not  worth  a  penyand  yf  ony 
of  theym  syt  in  that  halfe  a  yere  or  some 
daye  in  defaute  of  lyenge,  ye  shall  be  re- 
compensed there  fore,  and  of  vi  more  to  here 
out  the  ferme  ye  cocke,  and  wt  the  sale  of 
the  chekens  yt  youre  syttytige  hennes  brj  nge 
forthe  in  that  other  halfe  yere.  Xowe  shall 
ye  se  whether  I  say  sothe  or  nay  the  pecocke 
shall  answerQ  as  moche  theforfeders  (feath- 
ers) as  the  shepe  for  his  wolle.  Every  cowe 
shall  answere  you  a  calfe.  And  every  moder 
shepe  shall  answere  you  a  lambe.  Ever;yi 
female  swyne  shall  answere  you  xiii  pygges 
at  thrye  farowyges  at  two  tymes  at  eche 
tyme  iii  and  the  thjTde  tyuje  fyve  the 
x  for  tythe.  Every  henne  shall  answere 
you  of  ix  soore  egges  or  of  chekens  to  ye 
value.  Every  goos  shall  answere  you  of  vi 
ghoslyngs  And  yf  ony  of  this  catell  be 
baryene  ye  baylyf  shall  answere  you  of  the 
yssue  that  is  lost  thrugh  his  euyll  kepynge, 
by  cause  that  he  dyde  not  selle  theym  and 
put  the  sylver  to  other  prouflFytcs  to  the 
value.'' 

The  last  three  or  four  pages  are  devoted 
to  Gardening,  and  this  portion  has  this  com- 
mencement : — 

"  Here  begyneth  the  plantyng©  of  trees 
and  of  vynes." 

It  is  quite  unworthy  of  the  previous  part, 
being  a  mere  collection  of  the  mis-statements 
of  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers  relative  to 
altering  the  colour  of  fruits  and  similar  in- 
dulgencies  of  the  imagination. 

It  has  been  doubted  whether  Bishop  Gros- 
seteste  wrote  all  the  works  of  which  a  list  is 
given  in  his  life  by  Pegge,  as  well  as  in  Taur 
ner's  Bihliotheca  Moitastica.  It  has  been 
truly  said  that  they  are  equal  in  number  to 
those  produced  by  any  of  the  great  Arabian 
Philosophers.     Indeed;  in  one  department  of 


232 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


literature — Poetry,  he  surpassed  tlietu,  for 
we  have  his  "  Chastel  d'Auiour"  among  the 
Harleiau  MSS.  But,  the  works  enumerated, 
and  mostly  remaining  in  MS.,  are  generally 
very  brief,  and  do  not  exceed,  even  if  they 
equal,  in  number  of  pages,  the  varied  works 
published  by  Fitzherbert,  who,  also,  found 
time,  notwithstanding  his  profession,  to  write 
his  ''  Boke  of  Husbandry." 

Let  us  remark,  also,  that  this  is  not  the 
only  work  of  Grossesteste  that  was  thought 
worthy  of  being  printed  so  many  years  after 
his  decease,  for  his  Treatise  deArtibus  Lihe- 
ralibus  and  his  Commentary  on  Aristotle 
were  published  at  Venice  in  1514. 

Bishop  Robert  Greathead,  for  he  was  an 
Englishman,  and  his  real  name  was  only 
foreigned  by  such  translations  as  ''  Gro.st- 
Lead"  and  "  Grosseteste,"  was  a  man  of  high 
attainments,  and  of  a  mind  enlarged  far 
above  the  generality  of  his  contemporaries. 
He  was  a  friend  of  Roger  Bacon,  and  studied 
as  he  did  the  Natural  Sciences.  He  was, 
says  Sharon  Turner,  •'  intrepid  and  patriotic, 
foremost  in  every  useful  pursuit  of  his  day, 
the  friend  and  cultivator  of  pioetry,  scholast- 
i;  philosophy,  Arabian  science,  natural  phi- 
l  sophy,  mathematics,  divinity,  and  canon 
and  civil  law.  He  was  also  the  fearless  and 
successful  assertor  of  the  liberties  of  the 
English  Church,  and  a  protector  of  the  Eiig- 
glish  clergy  against  the  taxation  and  tyranny 
of  the  Vo^q:'— Turner's  Hist,  of  Middle 
Ages.) 

His  letter  to  Pope  Innocent  in  1253  may 
be  read  in  the  Chronicle  of  Matthew  Paris, 
and  was  so  displeasing  to  the  Pontiff,  that  he 
threatened  to  hurl  upon  him  confusion  and ' 
destruction.      Greathead  went  fearlessly  on  , 
t:)  declare  the  Pope  both  a  heretic  and  anti- 
O'lrist;  and  after  death  the  Bishop  was  be-: 
lieved  to  have  visited  the  Pope,  and  to  have 
threatened  and  terrified   him  from  his  pur-  ■ 
pose  of  having  the  Bishop's  bones  dug  up  j 
and  thrown  out  of  the  church.     The  diffu- ' 
sion  of  such   an  idle  tale  implies  the  popu- ' 
larity  of  Bishop  Greathead,  and  the  preced- ; 
ing  facts  readily  explain  why  the  applications  i 
to  Rome  for  canonizing  him  were  but  coldly 
received.— -(  Wilkins'  Concilia,  ii.,  287.)        I 

There  is  no  sound  reason,  then,  for  doubt- 
ing that  Bishop  Greathead  wrote  the  "  Tra- 
t/se  if  Husbandry/'  and  if  he  did,  it  is 
Certainly  the  earliest  relation  we  have  of 
English  Agriculture  in  the  15th  century,  for 
he  died  in  1553,  at  Buckden,  the  episcopal! 
residence  of  his  see,  and  the  aariculture  he 


describes  was  that  of  the  reigns  of  Henry 
II.,  Richard  I.,  John  and  Henry  III. 

It  is  j'efreshing  to  review  works  like  these. 
They  came  forth  as  soon  as  printing  was  in- 
troduced into  our  island  ;  plainly  written  lit- 
tle books  for  the  small  farmers  of  their  time. 
Printing,  indeed,  when  it  first  showered  its 
blessing-s  over  other  classes,  did  not  neglect 
the  agriculturists.  It  has  since  been  the 
handmaid  of  all  the  sciences,  all  the  know- 
ledge which  have  gradually  raised  the  Brit- 
ish farmer  to  his  present  proud  position. — 
Printing— and  printing  only— enabled  Fitz- 
hcrberd  and  Grotthead  to  so  well  address 
their  brother-cultivators  of  1532.  They 
were  well  followed  by  Tusser  in  the  same 
century.  Old  Worlidge  and  others  in  the 
seventeenth;  and  Jetliro  TuU  (the  greatest 
benefactor  to  his  country  of  them  all)  in 
1732,  exactly  two  centuries  after  the  publi- 
cation of  the  first  English  "  Boke  of  Hus- 
bandrie." 


From  the  Bri  ish  Farmer's  Magazine. 

On  the  Production  of  the  Sexes  Among 
Sheep. 

[translated  from  the    FRENCH    OF   THB 
"JOURNAL  D'aGRICULTURE  PRATIQUE." 

The  interesting  researches  of  Giron  de 
Bazareingues  into  generation,  and  particularly 
on  the  production  of  the  sexes  amongst  do- 
mestic animals,  are  now  known  but  by  very 
few  persons,  having  the  misfortune  to  be  of 
too  remote  a  date.  On  the  other  hand, 
meeting  with  a  very  varied  reception  on 
their  appearance,  they  have  had  the  fate  of 
all  contested  things — they  have  left  in  the 
mind  nothing  but  ideas  undecided  as  to  their 
value.  Zootcchny,  in  fict,  was  too  little  ad- 
vanced at  that  period,  for  the  art  of  animal- 
production  to  think  of  extracting  from  such 
a  study  facts  for  its  use. 

Daily  observations,  conducted  and  ar- 
ranged with  the  calculation  in  hand,  in  a 
sheepfold  of  great  importance — that  of  the 
Dishley-Mauchamp  merinos  of  M.  J.  M. 
Viallet,  at  Blanc,  in  the  commune  of  Gail- 
hac-Toulza  (Haute-Garonne) — have  enabled 
me  to  comprehend  the  laws  which,  accord- 
ing to  M.  Giron  de  Bazareingues,  preside 
over  the  production  of  the  sexes.  If  I  am 
not  deceived,  I  have  gained  some  ncw^  hints; 
but,  however  this  may  be,  the  reader  will 
see  in  the  following  notes  only  an  exposition 
of  facts,  designed  simply  to  draw  attention 
once  more   to  this  curious  question.     And, 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER, 


233 


as  the  establishment  of  any  natural  law 
whatever  has  at  all  times  its  utility  even  in 
practice,  it  is  perhaps  desirable  still  to  find 
it  of  importance  in  the  economic  manage- 
ment of  animals  in  certain  positions. 

The  frencral  law   which  Giron   de  Baza 


having  passed,  and  the  number  of  ewes  in 
heat  being  diminished,  the  ram  also  found 
less  weakened,  the  procreation  of  males  in 
majority  again  commenced. 

In  order  to  show   that  the  cause  of  sucli 
a  result  is  isolated  from  all  other  influences, 


rino 
in 


reingues  has  recognized  on  the  subject  of  of  a  nature  to  be  confounded  with  it,  I 
the  procreation  of  the  sexes  is  as  follows  :■  shall  take  the  year  1S55-6,  in  which,  by 
The  sex  of  the  product  would  depend  onj  the  effect  of  a  degree  of  equilibrium  of  age 
the  o-veater  or  less  relative  vigour  of  the  in-  and  vigour  between  the  rams  and  ewes,  the 
dividuals  coupled.  In  many  experiments  male  and  female  births  were  found,  rela- 
purposely  made,  he  has  obtained  from  the  tively  with  each  other,  nearly  upon  a  par  in 
ewes  more  males  than  females,  by  coupling  numbers,  being  25  males  to  23  females, 
very  strong  rams  with  ewes  either  too  young  The  following  table,  drawn  up  with  the 
or  too  aged,  or  badly  fed;  and  more  females  dates  of  birth,  exhibits  the  facts  in  detail, 
than  males,  by  an  inverse  action  in  the  The  letter  M.  indicates  the  male,  and  F.  the 
choice  of  the  ewes  and  rams  he  put  to- :  female  births, 
gether.  |      It  will  be   seen  that,   the   list  of  births 

This  law  has  developed  itself  regularly  having  been  divided  into  three  successive 
enough  at  the  sheepfold  of  Blanc,  in  all  series,  and  in  mean  proportions  almost  eqyal, 
cases  in  which  circumstance  of  different  ^  we  have  for  the  first,  of  eleven  days,  from 
vigour  between  the  rams  and  ewes  have  been  ,  the  27th  December  to  the  8th  January,  13 
observed  in  coupling  them.  Witness  two  males  against -i  females ;  for  the  second,  of 
striking  examples  of  it :  •  nine  days,  from  the  9th  to  the  ISth  January, 

In  1853,  births,  the  issue  of  young  ewes  3  males  only  against  15  females;  and  for 
by  a  Dishley-Mauehamp  merino  ram,  ex-  the  third,  of  eleven  days,  from  19th  to  29th 
tremely  vigorous  and  high  y  fed,  produced  January  inclusive,  9  males  against  4  females. 
25  males,  and  9  females  only,  or  71.73  per :  ^^^^^  .  ^j^^  Duhh-y-MaucTxamp  Mcr> 
cent,  of  males,  and  28.2  <  per  cent,  ot  Lamhhg,  at  the  Sheepf old  of  Blanc, 
females.  .    ,     ,  .,,  .  December  and  Jatuian/,  ISbb-oQ. 

At  a  later  period,  the  same  ram,  still  in 
full  vigour,  having  been  put  to  some  ewes 
that  had  done  nur.sing  their  lambs — a  period  Dec.  27 
at  which  the  ewe  is  found  very  weak — there  1  ^'^ 

resulted,  in  1853,8  male   births  against  -llj^^   ^^ 
females;   and   in   1854,   under  similar  cir-j   '    "    3 
cumstances,  17  male  against  9  female  births. 
The  two  occasions  united   yielded  65.78  per 
cent,    of    males,   and    34.22    per   cent,    of 
females. 

But  the  following  f;ict  has  nothing  in 
common  with  those  related  by  Giron  de 
Bazareingues,  and  which  has  been  repeated, 
with  small  variation,  every  year,  from  1853 
— the  period  at  whi<jh  the  observations- 1 
have  noted  down  began. 

This  fact  consists : 

1st.  In  that,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
rutting  season,  when  the  ram  is  in  his  full 
vigour,  he  procreated  more  males  than 
females. 

2nd.  When,  some  days  after,  the  ewes 
coming  in  heat  and  in  great  numbers  at 
once,  the  ram  was  weakened  by  a  more  fre- 
quent renewal  of  the  exertion,  the  procre- 
ation of  females  took  the  lead. 

3rd.    The  period   of  excessive   exertion 


FIRST   SERIES. 
Jan.    4  .  .      M. 

4 

4 

5 

5 

6 


M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 


Males,  76. S  per  cent.;   fefiiales,  23.9  per  cent. 
SECOND    SERIES. 


Jan. 


Jan.  16 
16 
16 
17 
IS 
18 


F".  Jan.  13  .  . 

=•.  15.. 

,t.  15  .  . 

F.  1.5  .  . 

r.  16.. 

?.  16  .  . 

Males,  16.66  per  cent.;   females,  83.34  per  cent 

THIRD   SERIES. 

Jan.  J9  . .  M.  Jan. 20  .  M 

19  .  .  M.  20  .  .  F 

19  .  .  F.  22  .  .  F 

19  .  .  F.  22  . .  M. 

20  .  .  M.  23  .  .  M. 

Males,  69.23  per  cent. ;  females,  30.77  per  cent. 

At  the  end  of  each  month,  all  the  ani- 
mals of  the  Blanc  sheepfold  are  weighed 
separately;  and,  thanks  to  these  nioiithly 
weighings,  we  have  drawn  up  several  tables, 
from  which  are  seen  the   diminution   or  in- 


Jan.24 
24 
29 


234 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


crea.se  in   weight  of  the  different  animals,  | 
classed  in  various  points  of  vii-w,  whether 
according  to  age.  sex,  or  the  object  for  which 
they  were  intended. 

Two  of  these  tables  have  been  appropri- 
ated to  bearing  ewes — one  to  those  which 
have  borne  and  nursed  males,  and  the  other 
to  those  that  have  borne  and  brought  up 
females.  The  abstract  results  of  these  two 
tables  have  furnished  two  remarkable  facts. 

1st.    The   ewes  that  have  produced   the 


Tobacco. 

There  are  two  plants,  the  produce  chiefly 
of  the  Southern  States,  the  value  of  which, 
as  commodities  of  export,  equal  all  the 
other  exports  of  the  country  put  together, 
— viz.,  cotton  and  tobacco. 

Tobacco  is    indigenous    to    the    soil   of 

America,  and  has  always  shown   a  prefer- 

rence  for  the  States  of  Virginia  and   Mary- 

,  laud.     The    tobacco   plant  is  one   of  those 

!  sources   of  national   wealth   which   Nature 


female  lambs  are,  on  an  average,  of  a  weight  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,.         j     .  .• 

^      .       'x^,         J   "   ■  ..1  1       '  has  assured  to  us   by  a  pecuiiar  adaptation 

superior  to   those  that  produce  the  males;!    n      ■,       j    ■,■      .     i      -^  j     ^-  j 

^^1.  -J     .1    1  •         •  1 X  .1,       of  soil  and  climate  lor  its  production,  and 


and  they  evidently  lose  more  in  weight  than 


which  no  other  country,  excepting  perhaps 


these  la.st,  during  the  suckhns  period.  i  .i     t  i     j     i-  n  t  •  i 

ojrri,  .li.        j^-i  -1.   the  Island  or  Cuba,   possesses  in  an  equal 

Jnd.   J  he  ewes  that  produce  males  wei":h    ,  m_     .  i,  i     .  .•  '  i 

^  ^     decree,      ihe  tobacco  plantations  may   be 


less,  and  do  not  lose,  in  nursin 
the  others. 

If  the  indications  griven  by 


so  much  as:      -    .  ,        i     i  .  j  •  ij-       > 

certainly  calculated  upon   as  yielding  irom 

,,  «    .     thirty-five  to  forty  millions  of  dollars  annu- 

these  tacts    n    •'  -n.     ,,     i    ,  r.    ^  i  i 


,     ,  £        J   V  •        X        p   ally.     For  the  last  forty  years,  the  crop  has 

come  to  be  confirmed   by  experiments  sui-    ,  -'  ,      ,     .  •/  •      i 

£  .      .  ^  J     .  1  -11    u    i  shown   a  steady  increase  : — it  is,   however, 

ticiently   repeated,   two    new    laws   will    ^"^  •'  ' 


1       J  I.    J.X.      -J       c  ^\^  ..      -L-  1.   n-         1     chiefly  durins;  late  years  that  the   produc- 
placed  bv  the  side  or  that  which  Cnron  de  ^.      /  f  ,        r        i.     j  j      t     -lon-i 

f>  ■  ^         ijx       -jvvu       .jtion  has  most  iarsely  extended.     In   Ibil, 

rJazarcinsues  has  determined  by  his  obser-L,         ,        r-xv^  .j  o-/^io 

^.  ^j  •         ,  "^  the  value  01  tobacco  exported  was  So,d48,- 

vations  and  experiments.  Icc.t        j  p     £i>^  ..u  ^  1  i 

r\    ^-u  I.     J  i  i-u     i  •     xi     1952,  and  tor  fiiteen  years  the  amount  taken 

Un  the  one  hand,  as,  at  liberty  or  in  the   r,     u     ■  ■  .■        •,    . 

Bavage  state,  it  is  a   general  rule 

predominance  in  acts  of  generation 

to  the  stron^rest  males,  to  the   exclusion  of  t'_^  _^,.-,     r,            ,  .  ,         •  ^    -^  n     j.     2.  :% 

,,            ,       ^j              r              J      •             •     o/o,(0d,    from  which    point    it  fluctuated 

the  weak,  and   as  such  a   predominance  is    ,             '  ,      ,    p             \       ,    ,r.  .,,.          „ 

n           1,1     X     xT-                  S        V  J.I.          ^     down  to  about  tour  and  a  halt  millions  01 

lavourable  to  the  procreation  or  the  male    .  ,,               ^.,     .       10  .r-     ^r  i.- 

M    n  u        n    ^   ^-L             V         p  dollars,     until     in     Ibio     the  shipments 
sex,  It  would  follow   that  the    number   ot              1  j  ^    eo  <-o  o-n 
1            1 1  X     J  i.                  •              xi    xu  X  amounted  to  5o,4/ 8,2(0. 
males  would  tend  to  surpass  incessantly  that  |                            '       ' 

of  the  females,  amongst  whom  no  want  of'      The  following  table  will  show  the  annual 

energy    or   power    would    turn    aside    from !  ^^port  from  that  period   up  to  the  present 

generation;  and  the  species  would  find  in  itj"^^^-  • 

a  fatal  obstacle  to  its  reproduction.      But,  on   Annual  Exports   of  Tobacco  from  the   United 

the    other    hand,   if    it    was    true    that    the  States,  from  the  year  1847  to  1859. 

strongest    females,    and     the    best    nurses  y      

amonsr-st  them,  produce  females  rather  than   ,,,- 

1     "-  X'  111  (  1 S4  / . . 

males.  Nature  would  thus  oppose  a  contrary   i^4s 

law,  which  would  establish  the  equilibrium,   1849. . 

and,  by  an  admirable  harmony,  would  secure  '  ibSO. . 

the  perfection  and  preservation  of  the  species, '  l&^i-  • 


by  confiding  the  reproduction  of  either  sex 
to  the  most  perfect  type  of  each  respectively. 
Martegoute, 
Former  Professor  of  Rural  Economy. 


18.5-2. 

IS.5.3. 

1854. 

1855. 

1856 

1857. 

1858. 


Value. 
$7,242,086 
7,551.122 
5,804,207 
9.951,023 
9.219,251 
10,0.31.283 
11,319.319 
10.016.046 
14.712,468 
12,821.843 
20.662,772 
17,009,767 
21,074,038 


To  Dye  an  Orange  Color. — Boil  the 
gkins  of  ripe  onions  half  an  hour;  take  out  ^^-^^ 

the  skins,  and  add  one  ounce  of  alum  to  one       jj^^  ^^  f^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  t^g 

quart  of  dye;  put  in  the  silks    stir  often  i^rcrest  of  any  period  in  the  history  of  the 
for  half  an  hour;  dry,  wash  and  iron  quite  x^^j^      The  amount  shipped  in   1857  was 

™P'  !  nearly  equal,  being  less  by  only  8412,266  ; 

The  most  delicate,  the  most  sensible  of  but  from  reference  to  the  table  it  will  be 
all  pleasures,  corsist  in  promoting  the  seen  that  that  was  quite  an  extraordinary 
pleasures  of  all  others.  (year.     The  average  export  for  the  twelve 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


235 


years  ending  with  1858  is  about  eleven 
and  a  quarter  millions  of  dollars,  which  it 
■will  be  observed  is  nearly  doubled  by  the 
amount  of  last  year.  .Nearly  three-fourths 
of  last  year's  export  was  taken  by  England, 
France,  Bremen,  and  Holland. 

The  amounts  taken  respectively  by  those 
countries  is  as  follows  : 

Exported  to  England $5,202,810 

France 4.302,1 7(,' 

•'  Bremen ...     3,985,178 

Holland ],9J2,527 

The  remaining  one-fourth  has  been  ex- 
ported to  the  several  ports  of  the  world  in 
amounts  varying  from  §30  to  the  Central 
Republic,  to  $940,448  to  Belgium. 

It  is  remarkable  how  universal  is  the  de- 
mand for  this  product.  The  official  re- 
turns show  a  list  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  different  articles  of  export;  and 
out  of  that  number,  with  the  exception  of 
grain,  there  is  not  one  that  is  shipped  to  so 
many  different  countries  as  tobacco.  The 
Government  report  enumerates  seventy-one 
different  foreign  markets  to  which  our  pro- 
ducts are  exported  ;  and  out  of  that  num- 
ber there  are  only  six  that  do  not  buy  our 
tobacco,  viz  :  Madeira,  the  air  of  which  is 
possibly  too  pure  to  be  polluted  by  the 
fumes  of  the  weed,  Egypt,  San  Domingo, ; 
Greece,  Bolivia  and  Equador ; — most  of 
which  places  produce  their  own. 

The  value  of  the  tobacco  exported  from 
the  United  States  last  year  w'as  nearly  five 
times  that  of  our  sea  products,  fifty  per 
cent,  more  than  the  products  of  the  forest, 
not  quite  three  millions  of  dollars  less  than 
the  whole  export  of  vegetable  food,  and 
rather  over  an  eighth  of  the  value  of  the 
cotton  crop. 

It  is  clear  that  the  general  taste  for  to- 
bacco smoking  is  steadily  increasing,  whether 
to  the  public  injury  or  otherwise  we  leave 
for  those  better  skilled  in  the  doctrines  of 
narcotics  than  ourselves  to  decide.  The 
fact  is,  that  despite  of  King  James'  coun- 
terblast, and  Urban's  excommunication,  and 
the  ever-issuing  anti-narcotic  fulmiiiations 
of  our  modern  physicians,  — the  people  are 
most  resolvedly  intent  upon  having  the 
weed  ;  and  this  being  the  case,  our  tobacco 
planters  will  continue  to  grow  it  and  pros- 
per.—  U.  S.  Econoviint. 


Affluence  might  give  us  respect  in  the 
eyes  of  the  vulgar,  but  will  not  recommend 
us  to  the  wise  and  srood. 


Dark  Stables. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  light  exercises 
a  very  important  influence  upon  animal  as 
well  as  upon  vegetable  economy.  Every 
one's  feelings  bear  witness  to  the  stimulus 
afforded  by  its  agency ;  a  dark  day  or  a 
dark  room  induces  lassitude  and  repose, 
which  is  quickly  di-ssipated  by  the  bright 
sunshine.  Many  diseases  are  much  more 
virulent  in  shaded  situations ;  and  the  eye 
especially  cannot  long  retain  its  full  power 
if  deprived  of  light.  From  mistaken  notions 
on  this  subject,  or  from  false  economy,  it  is 
a  general  practice  to  exclude  light  from  the 
stables  of  horses  and  other  animals..  It  is 
supposed  by  many  that  they  thrive  best  in 
the  dark.  Where  the  animal  is  stabled  for 
a  brief  period  of  rest,  darkness  will  un- 
doubtedly favor  his  repose.  In  the  season 
when  flics  are  troublesome  it  also  may  be 
well  to  darken  the  stable  to  exclude  them, 
but  when  animals  arc  stabled  permanently 
in  darkness,  they  cannot  but  suffer  in  va- 
rious ways.  The  horse,  especiall}-,  is  very 
much  subject  to  diseases  of  the  eye,  and 
there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  this  ten- 
dency is  increased  by  confining  him  perma- 
nently where  the  eye,  in  waking  hours,  is 
strained  to  an  unnatural  position  to  perceive 
objects  around  him.  Horse  jocJcn/s  find  an 
advantage  in  the  use  of  such  stables.  The 
animal  being  brought  into  the  glare  of  day 
is  confused  and  startled,  and  by  his  high 
stepping  and  h  If  uncertain  manner,  im- 
presses a  novice  with  an  idea  of  his  spirit 
and  action.  Even  if  the  quiet  induced  by 
darkness  may  ftivor  increase  of  fat,  it  is  not 
conducive  to  muscular  strength.  Muscles 
deprived  of  the  stimulus  of  light  become 
flaccid,  and  the  apparently  high  condition 
induced  by  this  means  is  soon  lost  by  active 
exertion.  Men,  whose  employments  confine 
them  to  poorly  lighted  apartments  soon  lose 
tlie  color  and  the  energy  of  full  health,  and 
the  same  results  follow  similar  treatment  of 
animals. 

Besides  this,  a  dark  stable  will  seldom  be 
kept  in  that  cleanly  condition  which  favors 
full  health.  The  "  corners"  will  be  neglected, 
especially  if  the  care  of  animals  be  entrusted 
to  the  "help"  who  are  usually  content  if 
the  stable  looks  nice.  When  building  sta- 
bles, ample  provision  for  light  will  cost  but 
little  more  than  imperfect  fixtures,  and  in 
the  end  will  be  found  more  profitable. 

Maine  Far. 


236 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


Breadstuffs.  .of  the  United  States,  to  Great  Britain  and 

the  continent,  from  Sept.  1st  up  to  the  pres- 
The  table  follo-winfr  shows  the  quantity  of  I  ent  date  for  the  year  1859-60,  and   three 
breadstuffs  exported  from  the  variour  ports  preceding  years  : 

Exports  of  Breadstuffs  from  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  the  Continent,  from. 
Sept.  1  to  date,  for  the  years  following  : 

Flour, 
Year —  bbls. 

1S56-7 963.460 

1&.57-8 846.951 

185S-9 124/J74 

18.09-60 236.-228 


Meal, 

Wheat, 

Corn, 

Rye. 

bbls. 

bush. 

bush. 

bush. 

184 

9.164.663 

3,243,738 

157,25 

123 

3..505.328 

1.344. S67 

20 

49S.498 

331,039 

517.360 

29,546 

From  this  statement,  it  is  apparent  that 
the  aggregate  export  of  breadstuffs  for  the 
current  jear  is  somewhat  below  that  of  last. 
Under  the  head  of  flour,  there  is  an  in- 
crease of  111,254  barrels,  and  the  export 
of  wheat  shows  an  excess  of  18,862 
bushels;  but  the  decrease  on  corn  is  301,- 
493  bushels.  As  compared  with  the  years 
1856-7,  and  1857-8,  the  falling  off  is  im- 
mense. In  1856-7,  the  quantity  of  flour 
shipped  was  more  than  that  of  the  present 
year  by  727,232  barrels;  of  wheat  8,647,- 
303  bushels;  and  of  corn,  3,214,192 
bushels.  The  decrease  of  this  year,  as 
compared  with  1857-8,  is  on  flour,  610,723 
barrels;  on  wheat,  2,988,968  bushels;  and 
on  corn,  1,315,321  bushels. 

The  cause  for  this  remarkable  decline  in 
grain  and  flour  exports  is  attributable  to 
the  absence  of  an  active  demand  from 
abroad.  The  British  ma.ket  has  been  sup- 
plied with  a  fair  home  crop,  and  its  defi- 
ciencies have  been  made  up  to  a  large  ex- 
tent by  imports  from  European  countries, 
thus  leaving  our  own  produce  to  the 
chances  of  speculative  shipment,  which, 
depressed  as  our  great  grain-growing  sec- 
tion has  been,  have  not  been  sufficient  to  in- 
duce any  extensive  consignments.  The 
yield  of  the  last  crop  was  but  little  under 
an  average,  and  there  must,  therefore,  be  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  season's  pro- 
duce still  in  the  hands  of  the  formers  and 
the  grain  merchants,  waiting  for  more  fa- 
vourable chances  of  export  have  been  dis- 
appointed, and  those  who  based  thereon  an 
expectation  of  a  revival  of  the  "Western 
trade  this  Spring  have  found  their  calcula- 
tions mi,«taken.  Whilst  the  action  of  the 
grain-holders  in  keeping  their  produce  out 
of  the  market  has  tended  to  check  the  im- 
mediate recovery  of  the  "West,  it  yet  shows 
favourably,  that  they  should  be  able  to  hold 


their  stock,  instead  of  forcing  it  upon  the 
market  at  depreciating  prices.  It  is  to  be 
remembered,  however,  in  comparing  the 
movements  of  the  present  year  with  those  of 
1856-7  and  1857-8,  that  those  years  were 
quite  exceptional  in  the  history  of  the 
trade,  the  exports  being  for  the  former 
855,624,832,  and  for  the  latter  833,698,- 
490.  The  lower  aggregate  value  of  1857-8 
was  caused  not  so  much  by  the  export  of 
a  less  quantity  of  produce;  as  by  the  lower 
prices  ruling  during  that  period;  the  average 
price  of  wheat  flour  during  1856-7  was 
86  23,  whilst  during  1857-8  it  was  only 
84  73 — a  decrease  on  the  former  year  of 
about  33  per  cent.  Making,  however,  all 
allowance  for  this  circumstance,  there  is 
every  prospect  that  the  export  of  bread- 
stuffs  for  the  current  year  will  fall  below  an 
average,  and  that  at  the  close  of  the 
grain  year  there  will  be  a  large  amount 
of  produce  in  the  hands  of  "Western 
dealers. 

U.   S.  Economist. 


Iron  Manufacture  of  the  United  States, 

i      From  a  statistical  summary  given  by  Mr. 

I  J.  P.  Lesley,  in  his  "  Iron  Manulacturer's 
Guide  to  the  Furnace,  Forges  and  Kolling- 
Mills  of  the  United  States,"  we  derive  the 
following  information  respecting  the  iron 
manufacture  in  the  United  States  : 

"  The  entire  production  of  raw  material 

in  the  United  States  in   1856,  was  a  little 

;  over    eight    hundred    thousand  tons  (812,- 

i  917,)  being  an  increase  of  twelve  per  cent 

'  from  1854.     For  the  year  1856  the  whole 

iron  production  advanced  only  six  per  cent 

;  over  the  previous  year,   but  the   anthracite 

branch  of  the  manufacture  reached  the  ag- 

I  gregate  of  394,509  tons,  being  very  nearly 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


237 


one-half  the  whole  iron  product  of  the 
country,  and  showing  an  increase  of  thir- 
teen per  cent,  over  the  previous  year,  a 
fact  to  be  explained  by  the  conversion  of 
charcoal  furnaces  into  anthracite  furnaces. 
The  industry  naturally  tends  to  concentrate 


From  the  .American  Slock  Jouninl. 

Why  it  is  Important  to  Feed  Fattening 
Animals  Regularly. 

In  all  cases  of  fattening  animals  it  should 
be  the  aim  of  the  feeder  to  have  his  animals 
itself  about  the  geological  centre  of,  kept,  and  fed,  in  such  a  manner  as  is  most 
fuel  in  Pcnn.«ylvania,  a  fact  shoivn  by  the  conducive  to  the  object  to  be  obtained ;  and 
decline  of  this  branch  of  the  iron  industry ;  it  would  be  most  desirable  to  know  what 
outside  of  Pennsylvania  by  an  annual  rate  kind  of  food,  and  feeding,  will  promote  the 
of  over  .six  per  cent.,  which  raises  the !  formation  of 'fat  and  muscle.  M.  Florins 
Pennsylvania  anthracite  increase  to  over  has  given  more  light  than  any  other  man 
twenty-two  per  cent.  on  the  subject  of  the  physiological  construe- 

"The  grand  total  of  iron  of  all  kinds,  do-  *'«"  «^  ^^^  -'^^.^^^'^  animals;  and  has,  by 
mestic  ana  foreign,  used  in  the  United  ^'^  "^"^  expermicnts,  shown  the  chemical 
States  in   1S5G,  is  set  down   at  1,330,548  ^'^''^"-^^  ^^'^'^^  ^^^  ^^"^^^  undergoes  atter  it 


tons,  which  is  distributed  thus 
Domestic.       Forei 


Rolled  and 
hammered. 
Pig  lion, 


is  deposited  in  the  stomach.  Among  the 
many  experiments  tried,  he  has  given  the 

Total,  result  of  his  researches.  He  says  "  stall- 
fed  animals  must  be  rcqularh/  fed  in  order 

„„,,■;..     that  they  may  eat  and  repose  for  digestion. 

Mf  you  feed   irregular,  it  has  a  great  eflPect 

1. -209,913  upon   the   iucnasc  of  the    animal.     If   we 

'^  Which  results  give  seventy  per  cent,  do-' ^V'•''i^^'"^i"^  animals,  it  creates  a  waste 

.„4.;„  +.,  on „„„i    p.. _„:,..,    ; rru»  'whien  has  to  be  made  up  by  the  lood. 

We  ail  know  that  if  we  go  without  our 
regular  meals,  there  is  an  exhaustion  of  the 
vital  powers.  All  food,  after  being  taken 
into  the  stomach,  is  assimilated   by  the  ani- 


519.081 
337,154 

856,235 


298,275 
55,403 

353,G7S 


mestic  to  30  per  cent,  foreign  iron.  The 
great  facts  demonstrated  by  the  statistics 
collected  by  the  American  Iron  Association 
are,  that  we  have  nearly  12U0  efficient  iron 
works  in  the  United   States,  producing  an- 


ii„  „k.^  ..  ci^^A  nnn  *  v-         *i     "    i  mal  frame,  and  it  is  necessary  to  repose  m 

Dually  about  boO, 000  tons  or  iron,  the  value       11.7  j       .•       "^       i    ^    , 

^r.  „  r;-  1     •  1-  n,,        .,  order  that  a  chemical  action  may  be  set  up 

01  which,  in  an  ordinary   year  is  nity  mil-  .     ,,       ,  1        tj:  •      1    •    i>  1  ^ 

r,^„^  ^f  A^u        „f  ^t     1     .1      1  f  m  the  stomach.     It  an   animal  is  led  re";u- 

iions  ot  dollars,  01  whicii    the   iarge  sum  or  ,    ,     ,,      ,.        .         .„   ,  ,  ,  '", 

eQ;^nnA(iiiA   ■„  ^         j    i    r     1  u  1  larly,  the  digestion  will   be  regular,  and  the 

Ci3o,00U,UuU  is  expended   ior  labour  alone.       ••'    1  r.      '^     ■,»  ^        t-'~i  •.    .1         -n 

^  animal  irame  will  .soon  lorm  habits  that  will 

"  Mr.  Whiting,  in  his  Mctalic  WcaJth  of  require  food  at  the  stated  times ;  the  crav- 
the  United  States,  estimates  the  iron  pro-'ings  of  an  empty  stomach  will  require  it;  a 
duct  of  the  world  at  5,817,000  tons,  of  great  uneasiness  is  felt  until  the  food  is  pro- 
which  1,000,000  are  set  down  for  the  vided,  and,  during  this  irregularity  there  is 
United  States,  Great  Britain  producing  that  constayif  waste  of  what  has  accumulated, 
year  3,000,000  When  we  remember  that,  after  supplying  the  natuial  waste  of  the 
so  late  as  18-15,  the  total  product  of  the  body,  as  all  excess  of  blood  produced  is  con- 
United  States  in  iron  had  not  reached  half  verted  into  cellular  and  muscular  tissues, 
a  million  tons  (486.000,)  and  that  in  1850  which  causes  the  animal  to  lay  on  fat  and 
it  was  only  600,000  tons,  it  will  be  .seen  fle.'^h.  All  the  food  we  feed  our  stock  with, 
that  the  progress  in  this  important  industry,'  contains  a  greater  or  less  pruportion  of  chem- 
in  the  first  six  years  of  this  decade,  has  ical  substances,  and  the  oil  is  the  predomi- 
been  at  the  rate  of  over  twenty  per  centum  nating  one  that  forms  the  fat  of  all  animals, 
per  annum.  The  operation  of  this  law  of  Graziers  well  know  the  great  waste  in  get- 
increase  will  soon,  it  would  seem,  put  an 'ing  their  fat  animals  to  market,  with  all  the 
end  to  all  importation  of  iron,  and  points  care  used,  and  that  the  loss  is  from  15  to  20 
even  to  an  export  of  this  great  staple  at  no  per  cent.  This  is  ascertained  by  weighing 
distant  day.  The  stock  and  varieties  of ,  at  home,  and  after  they  arrive  at  market, 
iron-ores  and  coal  in  the  United  States  isi  Why  this  great  loss  ?  It  is  the  want  of 
such  as  seems  adequate  to  meet  the  dc-  the  lei/idar  fad,  and  the  constaiiif^  disfurh- 
mands  of  the  world,  as  fast  as  the  laws  of  in<j  0/  the  animal,  uhich  causes  a  icasfe  of 
commerce  will  permit  their  development.  \tlie  fat  and  mnsch.  I  will  here  state  what 
Year  Book  of  Science  and  Art  for  1860. '  Prof.  Yoemans  says  :  "  Every  animal  is  bmsy 


238 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


in  drawing  in  and  throwing  out  air — an  un- 
ceasing tidal  ebb  and  flow.  The  oxygen  of 
the  air  passes  through  the  membrane  of  the 
lungs,  is  taken  up  by  the  blood,  and  is  car- 
ried to  all  parts  of  the  body.  It  does  here 
what  it  docs  everywhere — ^it  burns.  Slow 
combustion  goes  on  in  the  body,  and  car- 
bonic acid  and  water  are  produced.  This 
combustion  is  necessary  to  keep  up  heat,  and 
the  oxygen  of  the  air  must  have  carbon  and 
hydrogen  in  the  ibrm  ol'  fuoJ-anJ  driiih  to 
feed  upon.  Cut  oif  the  animal  from  all 
food  and  drink,  and  the  oxygen  at  every 
breath  will  cut  away  a  portion  of  his  frame. 
The  most  combustible  parts  are  first  con- 
sumed ;  he  grows  more  emaciated  every 
hour.  First,  the  fat  disappears,  then  the 
muscles  are  assailed  ;  and  lastly  the  devour- 
ing giant,  oxijfjen,  attacks  the  brain  and 
nerves,  and  death  closes  the  scene.  Men 
say  he  has  stiirved  to  death,  but  the  scien- 
tific truth  is,  he  has  been  burnt  to  cinders." 

0. 


Efficacy  of  Salt  applied  to  the  Tobacco 
Crop. 

As  many  inquiries  have  been  made  re- 
specting the  efficacy  of  salt  as  a  preventive 
of  the  formidable  disease,  called  "  Black 
Fire  or  Rot  in  Tobacco,"  and  as  we  have 
been  particularly  requested  to  do  so,  we  re- 
produce the  following  article,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  May  number,  for  1858,  of  the 
Southern  Planter,  on  that  interesting  sub- 
ject. The  article  was  communicated  by  Dr. 
Spraggins,  of  Charlotte — though  bearing 
the  modest  signature,  "A." — and,  as  will 
be  seen,  contained  reference  to  the  expe- 
rience of  several  of  his  neighbours,  con-' 
firmatory  of  the  truth  of  his  theory.  Be-i 
sides  these  it  has  been  further  corroborated 
by  the  successful  use  of  the  remedy  by 
Wm.  M.  Watkins,  Esq.,  of  Charlotte,  (from  ' 
whom  we  hope  to  hear  further  on  the  sub-| 
ject  in  reply  to  inquiries  addressed  to  him 
through  this  paper,)  by  Dr.  R.  H.  Nelson, 
of  Hanover,  and  others,  among  whom  we 
may  mention  R.  W.  N.  Noland,  P]sq.,  of 
Albemarle,  who  has  been  reported  to  us  as 
having  attained  most  satisfactory  results 
from  Ills  experiments  in  the  use  of  salt  on 
hi^  Tobacco  crop.  We  hope  he  will  flivour 
us  with  a  communication  detailing  his  prac- 
tice and  experience,  and  the  result  of  his 
experiments. — [Editor. 


Salt    as    a    Preventive   of   Black 
Fire,  or  Rot,  in  Tobacco. 

31r.  Editor — Doubtless  most,  if  not  all, 
who  have  cultivated  tobacco,  have  observed, 
formed  on  the  stems  of  the  leaf,  a  salt, 
closely  resembling  saltpetre,  and  generally 
so  called.  From  frequent  observation  the 
writer  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  ripest 
and  richest  leaves  were  most  disposed  to 
throw  out  this  salt — conceiving  this  idea, 
he  sought  to  ascertjiin  its  truth 'as  far  as 
practicable,  by  inquiring  of  experienced 
planters.  The  result  has  been  a  full  con- 
viction of  its  truth.  This,  again,  suggested 
the  idea  that  the  elimination  of  the  salt 
might  be  immediately  connected  with  the 
maturation  of  the  plant,  and  that,  as  a  con- 
sequence, whatever  would  furnish  material 
for  the  formation  of  this  salt,  would  encour- 
age the  ripening  and  enrich  the  jilant. 
Farther  investigation  led  to  the  conception, 
that  the  black  fire,  or  rot,  the  disease  so 
often  disappointing  the  sanguine  expecta- 
tions of  the  planter,  was  the  result  of  the 
condition  of  the  plant  directly  antagonistic 
to  maturation,  and  if  so,  that  whatever 
would  encourage  and  hasten  the  process  of 
ripening,  would  prevent  the  disease.  In- 
quiries as  to  the  truth  of  this  supposition 
have  confirmed  the  hypothesis  and  fixed 
the  conclusion,  that  a  want  of  the  material 
to  form  this  salt  constitutes  the  cause  of  the 
disease,  and  that  furnishing  the  material  or 
elements,  Avould  be  a  safeguard  against  its 
ravages.  Since  arriving  at  this  conclusion, 
and  before  he  had  made  experiments  to  test 
the  truth  of  the  theory,  by  the  suggestion 
of  a  friend,  he  was  induced  to  use  ground 
alum  salt,  with  Peruvian  guano,  as  a  prep- 
aration for  tobacco,  merely  to  cheapen  the 
manure,  two  parts  of  the  guano  with  one 
of  the  salt  being  regarded  as  equal  to  all 
guano  as  a  fertilizer,  which  he  has  lound  to 
be  true.  Since  using  this  mixture  he  has 
found'that  he  has  had  no  black  fire.  The 
last  season,  which  was  very  favourable  to 
produce  this  disease,  he  saw  but  one  or  two 
plants  fired  in  his  whole  crop.  This  led  to 
inquiries  of  his  neighboring  planters,  which 
resulted  as  follows  : 

iMr.  M.,  crop  150,000 — land  peculiarly 
liable  to  fire — whole  crop  salted  except 
about  30,000  new  land — no  fire  on  the  old 
land  to  attract  notice — part  of  the  new  fired 
badly.  Mr.  C,  crop  about  250,00  J— laud 
much  less  liable  to  fire  than  Mr.  M.'s — used 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


239 


no  salt — fired  very  badly,  and  forced  to  cut 
prematurely  to  save  from  fire.  Col.  Gr., 
about  200,000— no  salt— fired  badly.  Capt. 
B.,  about  200,000— no  salt— last  cutting 
began  to  fire  rapidly.  Mr.  H.,  about  250,- 
000—200,000  salted— no  fire — 45,C0J— 
guano  without  salt — fired  considerably — 
5,000  new  land — no  manure — fired  very 
badly.  Mr.  B.,  tli*  friend  at  whose  sugges- 
tion the  writer  was  first  induced  to  use  salt, 
says  he  had  not  thought  of  its  being  a  pre- 
ventive of  the  fire,  but  upon  reflection  re- 
collects that  whereas  he  occasionally  had 
the  fire  before  using  the  salt,  he  has  had 
none  since.  In  view  of  these  facts,  the 
writer  regards  the  conclusion  legitimate, 
that  ground  alum  salt  is  a  preventive  against 
the  black  fire,  or  rot. 

Perhaps  the  maximum  to  the  acre  should 
not  exceed  a  bushel.  This  seems  to  be  the 
opinion  of  most  who  have  used  it,  fearing 
that  a  more  liberal  dose  may  render  it  more 
difficult  to  secure  a  good  stand.  Without 
question  it  may  be  advantageously  applied 
during  the  cultivation,  alone  or  mixed  with 
guano  or  the  phosphates,  and  possibly  with 
even  better  effect.  A. 

Cub  Creek,  Charlotte. 


worth  more    than    guano    to  drill   in   with 
wheat. 

Mattaponi. 

P.  S. — Some  of  this  compost  was  carted 
out  last  fall,  and  spread  on  wheat  land  after 
seeding;  and  to-day,  February  21st,  I  am 
carting  and  spreading  on  wheat ;  some  was 
used  on  clover  intended  for  next  fall's  fal- 
low, and  a  large  quantity  mixed  witii  all 
the  available  manure  on  the  premises,  will 
be  used  on  the  present  year's  corn  crop.'  I 
am  now  making  a  compost  of  saw-dust  and 
this  ash  compost,  for  Irish  potatoes — (a  root 
by  the  way  far  preferable  to  turnips  as  a 
feed  for  hogs  and  cattle.) 


For  the  Southern  Planter. 

Ashes  and  Wood's  Mould. 
King  William,  Feb.  22nd,  1860. 

Last  April,  1859, 1  commenced  cutting  up 
and  piling  all  the  old  trees  in  my  woods, 
and  during  wet  seasons,  burning  them  into 
ashes  for  agricultural  purposes.  Timber 
getters  from  Maine  had  been  at  work  on 
my  land,  leaving  large  quantities  of  white 
and  red  oak  to  rot,  (mostly  in  ravines  and 
gullies,  inaccessible  to  hauling  with  ordina- 
ry team,)  all  this  was  piled  up  long  enough 
to  dry,  then  burnt,  and  the  ashes  raked  up 
■with  the  wood's  mould  convenient.  Hun- 
dreds of  loads  of  rich  compost  has  thus 
been  made,  with  but  little  expense,  and 
ashes  so  much  needed  by  our  lands  and  so 
hard  to  get,  freely  supplied.  I  think  there 
is  wood  enough  rotting  in  our  forests  to  fur- 
nish ashes  for  agriciltural  purposes  gene- 
rally, and  I  hope  many  may  be  induced  to 
search  out  and  use  it. 

Ashes  from  brush  burnt  in  "  new 
ground,"  may  be  hauled  to  the  compost 
heap  with  profit,  and  when  mixed  with 
wood's  mould  and  plaster,  and  sifted,  are 


Manure— An  Agricultural  Problem. 

I  have  met  several  trains  of  wagons  every 
morning,  on  my  way  to  my  office,  filled  with 
fresh  stable  manure.  This  morning  I  stop- 
ped an  intelligent  negro  driver,  and  made 
some  inquiries  as  to  where  he  intended  car- 
rying his  load,  and  the  use  he  intended  to 
put  it  to.  His  answer  Mas,  that  it  was  in- 
tended as  manure  for  a  garden,  and  for 
corn — it  was  intended  to  enrich  poor  soil 
upon  which  to  produce  a  crop»the  coming 
season. 

Just  at  the  point  where  I  happened  to 
stop,  the  street  was  remarkably  muddy,  with 
a  black  stiff  loam  produced  by  decomposi- 
tion of  vegetable  matter  and  offal  from  fac- 
tories, kitchens,  etc. 

"  Why  don't  you  haul  this  mud  out  of  the 
street,  and  mix  with  your  stable  manure?" 

''  I  don't  know,  sir." 

"Don't  your  master  know  that  this  very 
mud  is  much  better  for  his  purpo.se  than 
what  you  are  hauling?"  The  negro's  re- 
ply was  pertinent : 

'•  I  don't  spec  he  does  I" 

And  so  I  believe :  very  few  indeed  do 
know  the  fact  that  our  common  street  mud, 
such  as  you  find  in  front  of  your  office,  is 
better  manure  for  immediate  use  than  any 
now  used.  It  contains  more  of  fixed  alkali, 
nitrogen  and  ammonia,  than  the  best  stable 
litter,  the  latter  containing  a  large  quantity 
of  free  ammonia,  which  dissipates  upon  ex- 
posure to  the  air,  while  in  the  former  it  is 
fixed  in  the  form  of  salts,  and  enters  at  once 
into  the  general  composition  of  the  soil  with 
which  it  is  mixed. 

I  give  this  suggestion  in  hope  it  may  elicit 
further  inquiry  and  free  discussion. 

P.  B.  E. 


240 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


The  Contented  Farmer. 


Thrusting  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  and 


Once  upon   a  time. 
Prussia,  surnamed  "  Old  Fritz.' 


-r,     1     .  1     T--         ^  counting  hini  fifty  bran  new  gold  pieces  into 
rrederick.  Ivino:  or  i  •    ,       s     ,  j     -.u  i  •  i  ri  ^ 

I  T-i  •     ->  ^    I       '•  1      his  hand,  stamped  with  his  royal  likeness,  he 


took  a  ride. 


said  to  the  astonished  farmer,  who  knew  not 


and  espied  an  old  farmer  plowins  his  acre  by      i    , 

,,         '      .J       ,       .,      .  1  .       ,7         ,   J     -^    what  was  coming-— 

the  way  side,  cheerily  singing  his  melody.  ,,  ti  •     •"  •       p      -i.    ^ 

J         '  Jen  .'      I      «  iijg   cQjn  IS  genuine,  tor  it  also  comes 

"  You  must  be  well  off,  old  man,"  said  the  from  our  Lord    God,  and  I  am  his    pajmas- 

kine.     "  Does  this  acre  belong  to  you,  on  ter.     I  bid  you  adieu."--[(?ermaH  Btform. 


■which  you  so  industriously  labor?" 

':  Xo,  sir,"  replied  the  farmer,  who  knew 

not  that  it  was  the  king. 

"  I  am   not   so   rich  as  that,  I  plow  for 

wages." 

"  How  much  do  you  get  a  day  ?"   asked 

the  kins:  farther. 


ed  Messenger. 


From  the  Southern  Homestead. 

The  Use  of  Muck. 

3fexsrs.  Editors  :- — In    this  day  of  fertil- 


izing humbugs,  I  fear  that  many  farmei"s  are 

,  „.  ~  ,       „  ^  1      ,    ,        ,  ,  ^  ■  disposed  to  overlook  the  mines  of  valuable 

-  Eight  groschen,     (about  twenty  cents)  •  ^.^^^^^  ^.  ^^^^^^  -^  ^^^  ^^        ^^.  ^^^^j, 

said  the  farmer.  |j   ^,^|;^^^   that  there   is  not   one  farmer  in 

"That  is  not  much,"  replied  the  king ;  twenty  fully  appreciates  it.  Perhaps  this  is 
can  you  get  along  with  this  '!"  \  because  it  is  too   cheap  and  too  easily  pro- 

"  Get  along  and  have  something  left."      [cured. 

"  How  is  that  /"  Muck  is   simply  decomposed  matter  that 

The  farmer  smiled  and  said — 'HYell,  if  I  has  accumulated  in  low  spots  by  drainage, 
must  tell  you:  two  groschen  for  m3^self  and  &c.  That  we  may  more  clearly  examine'its 
wife  ;  and  with  two  I  pay  my  old  debts;  two  true  character,  let  us  briefly  review  its  va- 
I  lend  away,  and  two  I  give  away  for  the  rious  actions  with  reference  to  growing 
Lord's  sake."  j  crops. 

"  This  is  •  mystery  which  I  cannot  solve,"  j  1.  It  furnis*hes  by  its  decomposition  fer- 
replied  the  king.  jtilizing  gases  and  minerals  which  areimme- 

'■  Then   I  will  solve  it  for  you,"  said  the  diately  available  as  food  for  plants. 
farmer.  j      2.  It  acts  as  an  absorbent  and  retainer  in 

"I  have  two  old   parents  at  homo,  who  j  ^ran.siV»,   of  plant  feeding  materials  which 
kept  me  when  I  was  weak  and  needed  help,  may  come  within  its  reach— -readily  yielding 
and  now  that  they  are  weak  and  need  help  its  accumulated  stores  to  the  roots  of  plants, 
I    keep   them.     This  is    my  debt,  towards  but  not  readily  to  other  influences, 
which  I  pay  two  groschen  a  day.    The  third  ^      3.  It  increases  the   powe.-    of  the  soil  to 
pair  of  groschen,  which  [  lend  away,  I  spend  absorb  moisture, 
for  my  children,  that    they  may  learn  some-i      4.  It  adds  to  its  heat, 
thing  good  and  receive  a  Christian  instruc- 1      5.  It  improves  its  mechanical  condition, 
tion.     This  will  come  handy  to  me  and  my  rendering  it  more  easy  to  cultivate  and  less 
wife  when   we  get  old.     With  the  last  two  liable  to  become  crusted  on  the  surface, 
groschen  I  maintain  two  sick  sisters,  whom  ^      Thus  we  can  easily  sum  up  a  few   of  the 

benefits  arising    from    its     use,   but   there 


I  would  not  be  compelled  to  keep — this  I 
give  for  the  Lord's  sake." 

The  king,  well  pleased  with  his  answer, 
said — 

"Bravely  spoken,  old  man.      Now  I  will 


are  many   more  that   might  be  brought  for- 
ward. 

If  the  farmers  of  Tennessee  will  pay  more 
attention  to  this  cheap  article,  they  will  cer- 


also  give  you  something  to  guess.  Have  you  tainly  find    their  reward  in    the  increase  of 
ever  .seen  me  before  T'  [their  crops.  F.  G.  L. 

"  Never,"  said  the  farmer.  Janmny,  1860. 

"In   less  than  five  minutes  you  shall  see'  ,. , . , 

me  fiftv  times,  and  carry  in  your  pocket  fifty       mu    i.  c  ^-l       •  ii,  1         i  j 

r      /,;,        ,,,        •'       -^        ^  *^  i      The  tongue  of  the  wise  useth  knowledge 

,.  fi«u-'  •      ^"-jji        1  •  i_  T  i  lariuht;  but  the  mouth  of  fools  poureth  out 

"  1  his  is  a  riddle  which  1  cannot  unrav-  n    ,■  ,  ^ 

1  >»      -J  *u    p  I  foolishness. 

el,    said  the  farmer. 

"Then  I  will  do  it  for  you,"  replied  the       A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath:  but 

king.  grievous  words  stir  up  anger. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


241 


For  the  Southern  Planter. 

"  Vegetable  Physiology." 

Mr.  Editor — Some  months  ago,  yoix  paid 
my  work  on  "  Scientific  and  Practical  Ag- 
riculture," the  compliment  of  copying  into 
your  valued  paper,  the  chapters  on  Vegeta- 
ble Physiology.  In  one  of  those  chapters 
the  following  passage  occurs  : 

'•'  The  food  taken  up  by  the  roots  and 
carried  by  the  sap  to  the  leaves,  there  meets 
■with  the  gaseous  food  from  the  air,  all  to- 
gether forming  by  their  solution  '  crude 
sap.'  This  is  greatly  modified  during  its 
circulation  through  the  leaf,  if  an  abundant 
supply  of  air  be  present.  The  change  which  j 
the  plant-food  thus  undergoes,  we  call  '  di-  [ 
gestion,'  because  of  its  resemblance  to  the 
changes  produced  on  animal  food  by  animal 
digestion.  When  the  sap  has  thus  been 
prepared  for  nourishing  the  plant,  it  is 
called  '  latex,'  or  '  true  sap.'  It  is  then  con- 
veyed by  the  circulating  organs  to  the  vari- 
ous portions  of  the  plant,  and  in  some  mys- 
terious way,  under  the  guiding  finger  of 
Omnipotence,  assumes  various  forms  of  or- 
ganic structure,  producing  stems  and  leaves, 
flovrers  and  fruits.  Here  we  have  a  beauti- 
ful analogy  between  the  circulation  of  sap 
in  plants,  and  the  circulation  of  blood  in 
animals." 

The  March  number  of  the  Southern 
Planter,  which  has  just  come  to  hand,  has 
a  criticism  on  certain  points  set  forth  in  the 
foregoing  paragraph.  -It  is  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  Yardley  Taylor.  He  objects — 1.  To 
the  "  theory  of  the  downward  circulation  of 
the  sap  in  plants."  2.  He  criticises  the 
use  of  the  word  "  dissolved,"  as  expressing 
the  condition  of  the  gaseous  food,  (viz : 
carbonic  acid)  absorbed  from  the  air  by  the 
sap.  3.  He  would  substitute  electricity  for 
heat,  as  the  chief  agency  "in  the  decompo- 
sition of  carbonic  acid  gas  in  the  sap  of! 
plants,  and  thus,  (as  he  says,)  making  mat- 
ters ready  for  assimilation  through  an  up- 
ward circulation  alone,  we  have  a  theory  for 
growth  that  accords  well  with  the  simplicity 
of  Nature's  laws,  and  will  account  for  all 
we  see  without  bringing  in  mysteries  to  our 
aid."  4.  In  the  mean  time  be  takes  occa- 
sion to  throw  out,  for  my  benefit,  the  very 
sage  and  important  suggestion,  that  "  it 
would  be  well  for  those  who  are  preparing 
elementary  works,  to  examine  into  all  recent 
discoveries  in  science,  and  profit  thereby." 

I  am  mu^  obliged  to  Mr.  Taylor  for  his 
16 


very  suggestive  article ;  and  shall  always  be 
obliged  to  him,  or  any  one  else,  who  may 
correct  my  scientific  errors,  or  add  to  the  lit- 
tle stock  of  information  which  I  have  been 
able  to  treasure  up  For  I  am  yet  a  learner, — 
a  mere  gleaner  in  the  great  field  of  scien- 
tific research — a  field  too  broad  to  be  passed 
over  in  one  short  life-time,  and  too  full  of 
unsolved  mi/sterie.<^,  for  the  present  genera- 
tion, or  even  the  next,  to  clear  its  way  at 
every  point. 

Willingly,  therefore,  would  I  sit  at  the 
feet  of  Mr.  Taylor,  or  any  one  prepared  to 
give  me  instruction — especially  one  who  can 
so  readily  solve  the  mysteries  of  vegetable 
growth.  Will  he  be  so  kind,  then,  as  to 
multiply  his  solutions  ?  But,  if  he  should 
find  his  pupil  a  little  slow  of  apprehension, 
not  always  ready  to  adopt  his  "  theories," 
and  sometimes  disposed  to  set  up  facts  and 
authorities  to  be  demolished,  he  must  "  take 
it  all  in  good  part,"  and  only  ply  his  argu- 
ments with  greater  vigor. 

First,  with  reference  to  the  circulation 
of  sap,  he  seems  to  admit  with  me,  that 
"  the  sap  ascends  from  the  root  to  the  leaf, 
and  carries  with  it  in  solution  a  portion  of 
the  material  necessary  for  the  nourishment 
of  the  growing  plant;"  and  that  "plants 
derive  a  large  portion  of  their  nourishment 
from  the  air,  through  their  leaves,  in  the 
form  of  carbonic  acid  gas."  So  far  we 
agree.  Having,  now,  "  a  portion  of  the 
material  necessary  for  the  nourishment  of 
the  growing  plant,"  brought  up  from  the 
roots  to  the  leaves;  and  another  portion 
collected  by.  the  leaves  from  the  air,  we  are 
left  to  infer,  (so  far  as  Mr.  Taylor  tells  us 
anything  to  the  contrary,)  that  it  all  remains 
in  the  leaves,  except  the  water  evaporated 
through  their  pores.  On  this  point,  some 
very  reliable  authorities  diflfer  from  Mr. 
Taylor;  and  some  still  more  reliable  "known 
facts"  are  very  much  in  the  way  of  this 
new  and  very  debatable  theory — a  theory 
advanced  some  time  since,  but  not  generally 
adopted.     Who  are  our  authorities  .'' 

The  "  New  American  Cyclopaedia,"  on 
which  Mr.  T.  rests  his  faith,  says  that  "the 
ingenious  Dr.  Draper,  of  New  York,  has 
made  some  important  observations"  on  the 
nourishment  of  plants,  &c., — and  this  inge- 
nious Dr.  Draper  says :  "  by  their  action, 
(referring  to  the  spongioles,)  the  fluid  is 
forced  up  through  the  sap-wood  into  the 
leaves,  and  there  exposed  to  the  conjoint 
agency  of  sun  and  air.     A  change  is  thus 


242 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER, 


[AlEIL 


accomplished,  and,  from  being  crude,  it 
turns  into  elaborated  sap,  and  now  descends 
through  the  bark,  to  be  distributed  to  every 
part  of  the  plant." — \_Fhysiohgi/,  p.  87.] 

The  same  Cyclopj^dia,  under  the  article 
"  Bark,"  has  this  language  :  ''  It  [bark]  is 
also  the  channel  through  which  the  sap 
descends  from  the  leaves.  Ihe  true  bark, 
which  separates  from  the  wood,  is  only 
found  in  the  exogenous  and  gymnospermous 
classes  of  plants.  Its  construction  is  of 
cellular  tissue,  traversed  longitudinally  by 
woody  tissue,  which  is  composed  of  woody 
tubes,  through  which  the  sap  elaborated  in 
the  leaves  descends." 

But,  under  the  head  of  "  Agricultural 
Chemistry,"  this  A'^ev:  American  Cyclopsedia 
had  already  said  :  "  The  vague  ideas  of  the 
older  vegetable  Physiologists,  according  to 
which  there  is  a  constant  circulation  of  sap 
in  plants,  an  upward  and  a  downward  flow — 
the  sap  ascending  in  the  outer  wood  to  the 
leaves,  there  being  eloborated,  and  return- 
ing through  the  inner  bark  to  the  roots,  de- 
positing new  matter  on  its  way,  must  be  no- 
ticed here  as  an  exploded  but  still  oft-re- 
peated error.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
there  exists  any  but  an  npicard  and  outward 
■current."  Now,  will  Mr.  Taylor  take 
American  Cyclopaidia,  vol.  I.,  or  Amei'ican 
'Cyclopcedia,  vol.  II.,  as  reliable  authority  ? 
The  two  volumes  certainly  take  opposite 
:'sides  of  the  question. 

Prof.  Asa  Gray,  of  Harvard,  in  his 
^*  Structural  and  Systematic  Botany,"  p.  128, 
(Ed.  1858,  a  year  after  vol.  I.  of  the  New 
American  Cyclopaedia  was  published,)  gives 
utterance  to  his  views  thus:  "These  last, 
[the  proper  cells  of  the  liber  or  inner  bark,] 
as  they  are  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  bark, 
•are  seldom  if  ever  ab.sent ;  they  contain  an 
abundance  of  mucilage  and  proteine,  and  in 
gII  probability  they  take  the  principal  part 
in  the  descending  circulation  of  the  plant, 
if  it  may  be  so  called,  i.  c,  in  conveying 
doicnicai-ds,  and  distributing  the  rich  sap 
which  has  been  elaborated  in  the  foliage." 
On  the  next  page  he  says:  "While  the 
•new  layers  of  wood  abound  in  crude  .sap, 
which  they  convey  to  the  leaves,  those  of 
the  inner  bark  abound  in  elaborated  sap, 
which  they  receive  from  the  leaves  and  con- 
vey to  the  cambium  layer  or  zone  of  growth. 
The  proper  juices  and  peculiar  products  of 
plants  are  accordingly  found  in  the  foliage 
and  the  bark,  especially  in  the  latter." 
J'rof  Gray  is  certainly  one  of  the  leading 


botanists  of  this  country;  and  one  who 
would  not  be  apt  to  advance  theories  which 
had  been  entirely  "exploded."  We  might 
multiply  recent  authorities,  but  these  may 
suffice  for  the  present. 

Let  us  now  look  at  some  of  the  "known 
facts."  The  New  American  Cyclopnedia, 
vol.  1.,  agrees  with  vol.  II.,  and  with  most 
other  books  in  the  opinion,  that  carbonic 
acid,  as  an  element  of  plant  food,  "  is  ra- 
pidly  absorbed  by  the  leaves  of  growing 
plants  under  the  influence  of  sun-light,  and 
undergoes  decomposition  in  the  vegetable 
cells,  carbon  being  retained  and  assimilated, 
while  the  oxvgen  is  set  free,  wholly  or  in 
part,  and  exhales  from  the  leaves." — [Art. 
Agrl.  Chemistry.]  Admitting  this  as  a 
"  known  fact " — and  it  has  been  repeatedly 
proved  by  experiment  —pray  tell  us  where 
this  carbon  is  "  retained  and  assimilated." 
Is  it  in  the  cells  of  the  leaves  alone  ?  If 
this  were  so,  we  should  find  the  leaves  to  be 
the  largest  and  firmest  part  of  the  plant; 
but  the  "  known  fact"  is  just  the  reverse. 
Mr.  Taylor  thinks  that,  if  the  sap  were  to 
pass  down  from  the  leaves  into  the  branches 
and  trunk,  "  it  is  more  reasonable  to  infer 
that  the  matters  would  be  more  deposited 
near  the  leaves  than  they  are,  thus  making 
the  top  grow  faster  than  the  body."  I  sup- 
pose he  will  admit  that  the  mineral  matter 
formed  in  the  plant  comes  from  the  soil 
through  the  roots.  Then  would  it  not  be 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  these  mineral 
"matters  would  be*  more  deposited"  near 
the  root,  than  in  the  branches  and  leaves  ? 
Such,  however,  is  not  the  case.  The  parts 
of  nearly  all  plants  most  remote  from  the 
roots — the  twigs  and  leaves — abound  most 
in  mineral  substances,  which  have  traversed 
both  root  and  trunk.  Might  we  not  then 
reasonably  suppose,  that  the  carbon  from 
the  air  could  be  carried  down  by  descend- 
ing sap,  without  being  necessarily  deposited 
more  freely  during  the  first,  than  during 
the  last  part  of  its  descent? 

Again  he  says :  "  It  would  be  a  mysteri- 
ous way,  indeed,  to  suppose  a  downward  as 
well  as  an  upward  movement  of  the  sap ; 
the  downward  being  much  thickened  by 
the  evaporation  of  the  superabundant  water 
at  first  contained  in  it.  This  difficulty  is 
not  overcome  by  supposing  the  descent,  be- 
neath the  bark,  where  most  of  the  growth 
is  made,  for  it  must  pass  through  the  stem 
of  the  leaf  where  there  is  no  known  evi- 
dence of  their  passing  each  otliy.    Accord- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN   PLANTER. 


243 


ing  to  this  theory  it"  must  pass  through  the 'confirm  the  theory  of  a  descending  circula- 
porcs  of  the  sap-wood  too,  for  it  is  well  tion  of  the  ehiborated  sap.  1.  Let  a  stvonjjf 
known  that  these  pores  gradually  become  cord  be  tied  tightly  around  the  body  of  a 
more  and  more  filled  up  by  matter,  until  the  [  young  and  rapidly  growing  tree.  As  the 
texture  of  the  heart-wood  is  assumed.  How.  tree  increases  in  size,  the  tightening  of  the 
does  this  matter  get  there?"  Here  our |  cord  will  check  the  downward  Sow  of  sap  in 
author  finds  himsetf  in  two  points  of  diffi-ithe  bark,  and  the  part  abuve  the  cord  will 
culty,  on  the  supposition  that  the  elaborated  grow  more  rapidly  than  the  part  below,  the 
sap"^has  to  return  from  the  leaf  into  the!  diflercnce  becoming  very  perceptible  in  two 
stalk.  Firgf,  it  must  pass  the  ascending;  or  three  years.  A  similar  result  will  follow, 
sap  into  the  stem  of  the  leaf.  SeconcVt/,  it  if  instead  of  using  the  cord,  a  ring  of  bark 
mu.st  find  its  way  back  to  the  cells  of  the  i  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  or  less,  in  width  be 
sap-wood,  in  order  to  furnish  the  matter  I  cut  out  carefully  all  around  the  trunk,  in 
necessary  to  give  this  the  '•  texture  of  the  such  a  way  as  not  to  injure  the  soft  outer- 
hcartwood."  "^  I  layer   of   the   sap-wood.      "While   the   part 

The  microscope  has  done  more  than  all  above  the  ring  grows  larger  than  the  part 


other  instruments  and  means  combined  to 
solve  the  problems  of  vegetable  and  animal 
physiology;  and,  among  other  thing?,  it  has 
solved  the  two  difficulties  here  presented. 
It  has  shown  us,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
leaf  consists  of  two  somewhat  distinct  classes 
of  cells.  The  first  class,  consisting  of  the 
woody  tissue,  is  so  arranged  as  to  form  the 
main  bodyof  the  stem,  with  its  almost  innume- 
rable divisions  and  sub-divisions,  making  up 
the  whole  frame-work  of  the  leaf.  The 
second,  consisting  of  aUalar  tissue,  is  more 
soft  and  pulpy  in  its  structure,  and  is  called 
"parenchyma."'  The  cells  of  the  paren 
chyma  contain  the  green  substance  of  the 
leaf,  and  are  found  in  the  stem  and  its 
divisions,  as  well  as  in  the  blade  of  the  leaf. 
The  woody  tissue  of  the  stem  is  found  to  be 
connected  with  the  sap-wood,  and  from  it 
receives  the  sap  and  conveys  it  to  the  cells 
of  the  parenchyma  in  every  part  of  the 
leaf,  but  chiefly  to  the  lower  surface  of  ordi- 
nary leaves,  where  it  is  condensed  by  evapor- 
ation and  charged  with  carbonic  acid  from 
the  air.     It  then  passes  from  cell  to  cell  of 


elaboration  which  fits  it  for  nourishing  the 
various  parts  of  the  growing  plant,  and  pass- 
injr  ihrousrh  the  lines  of  these  cells  to  the 
inner  bark,  with  which  they  are  connected,: 
it  is  attracted  by  "  endosmosis"  to  all  parts 
of  the  plant  demanding  nourishment.  It 
finds  its  way  to  the  sap-wood,  and  even  to 
the  heart-wood  to  some  extent,  through  those 
lines  of  cells  that  connect  the  inner  bark 


below,  the  ring  will  be  gradually  closed  over 
from  the  upper  side — showing  an  accumu- 
lation of  matter  from  above. 

''  Analogy''  does  not  necessarily  imply 
very  close  resemblance,  but  only  ''likeness 
between  things  in  some  circumstances  or  ef- 
fects, when  the  thinprs  are  otherwise  entirely 
different."  "When  I  speak  of  the  'Uinahjy 
between  the  circulation  of  sap  in  plants,  and 
the  circulation  of  blood  in  animals."  I  do 
not  mean,  that  they  bear  any  very  close  re- 
semblance, for  then  I  .should  not  have  used 
the  word  "'analogy.'  Things  may  bear  an 
analogy  to  each  other  which  is  very  remote; 
but  the  degree  of  remoteness  must  be  de- 
termined by  what  the  mind  already  knows 
of  the  things  brought  under  comparison,  if 
Mr.  Taylor,  or  any  one  else,  wishes  to  know 
how  nearly  I  regard  the  circulation  of  sap,  as 
analogous  to  the  circulation  of  blood,  let 
him  read  the  XXVI.  chapter  of  my  work  on 
Agriculture,  which  gives  a  concise  outline  of 
Animal  Physiology. 

Secondly.  As  to  the  second  point  of  3ir. 
T.'s  criticism — the  use  of  the   word   "  dis- 


the  parenchyma,  undergoing  that  process  of  solved" — I  have  only  a  few  words  to  say  in 


reply.  The  terms,  ''dissolve,"  ''solution, 
"soluble,"  kc,  are  to  be  found  in  every  re- 
spectable work  on  chemistry,  and  are  used 
to  express  the  relation  of  certain  gases  to 
water  and  other  fluids,  when  these  two  forms 
of  matter  manifest  a  greater  or  less  degree 
of  affinity  for  each  other.  For  example, 
"chlorine  is  soluLle  to  a  considerable  extent, 
in    water,"    [^Foicnes'].      "  One   measure   of 


with  all  the  layei-s  of  wood,  forming  what  j  water  will  dissolve  one*  measure  of  carbonic 
are  called  "  medullary  rays."     Here,  then, 


we  have  Mr.  Taylor's  second  point  of  diffi 
culty  sat  aside. 

I  will  add  one  or  two  facts,  which  any 
one  may  readily  verify,  and  which  tend  to 


*  Mr.  Taylor  says,  "it  is  well  known  tli.it 
water  has  a  great  affinity  for  that  gas,  and  will 
imbibe  several  times  its  bulk  of  it  without  pros- 
sure."  Is  this  one  of  his  -  recent  discoveries  in 
science"'  ^     Tify  own  experiments  Lave  fuliy  con- 


244 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[Apriii 


acid/'  [^Stochhardt].  "At  ordinary  tempe- 
rature and  pressure,  water  dissolves  the  third 
of  its  weight  of  ammonia,"  (a  gas)  [JVew 
Am.  Cijclopsedia  !  These  forms  of  expres- 
sion have  become  incorporated  into  the 
language  of  science,  and  cannot  now  be 
easily  eradicated. 

Thirdly.  His  objection  to  giving  liffht 
the  credit  of  doing  the  cJn'ef  part  of  the 
work  in  decomposing  carbonic  acid,  will 
hardly  bear  the  test  of  either  authority  or 
experiment.  Recent  writers  speak  thus : 
"  The  process  of  decomposition  of  carbonic 
acid  takes  place  oidi/  during  the  day,  as 
bJjht  is  absolutely  necessary  for  this  process." 
\_Am.  Journal  of  Science  and  Art — A^oy. 
1858.]  Again:  "To  undergo  this  import- 
ant change  (assimilation),  the  crude  sap  is 
attracted  into  the  leaves,  or  other  green  parts 
of  the  plant,  which  constitute  the  apparatus 
of  assimilation,  where  it  is  exposed  to  the 
h'ljhf  of  the  sun,  under  which  influence  alone 
can  this  change  be  eflfected."  \_Gra>/,  1858.] 
Let  my  friend  now  try  the  following,  or 
some   similar   experiment.      Take   a    dozen 


I  study  the  .subject,  the  more  convinced  I 
am  of  my  total  ignorance  of  the  nature  of 
electricity." 

If  we  would  avoid  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing, at  this  stage  of  scientific  development, 
to  solve,  and  especially  ot  .saying  we  have 
solved,  all  mystery  in  the  growth  of  either 
plant  or  animal,  we  must  call  in  the  help  of 
some  better  known  agent  than  electricity. 
We  had  better  attribute  much  to  "  the  guid- 
ing finger  of  Omnipotence,"  than  to  say, 
"we  know  all  about  it — Electricity  has 
solved  the  whole  m3-stcry." 

Fourildy.  The  very  gentle  hint  in  regard 
to  "  examining  into  all  the  recent  discoveries 
in  science,"  1  shall  thankfully  accept,  and 
endeavor  to  "  profit  thereby."  Meantime  I 
shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  my  good  friend 
again,  although  I  have  not  the  pleasure  of  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  him.  If  either 
he,  or  "  the  philosophic  editor  of  the  Flore 
des  Ceres,"  can  bring  forward  facts  well 
authenticated,  and,  by  a  legitimate  process 
of  reasoning  based  upon  these  facts,  can 
show  mc  that  I   am  entertaining;  erroneous 


(less  or  more)  of  open  boxes  or  barrels,  and! views,  or  advocating  unsound  theories  in 
having  planted  an  equal  number  of  hills  of  I  any  department  of  science,  instead  of  quar- 
potatoe.?,  turn  a  box  or  barrel  bottom  up-lrelling  with  him,  I  shall  tender  him  my 
ward  over  every  hill.  Then  bore  several  most  sincere  thanks,  and  class  him  amongst 
small    holes    in    each    bottom,    and    insert  my  real  benefactors. 


straight  pieces  of  wire,  so  that  they  shall  be 
in  contact  with  the  potato  plants  and  the 
oTound  at  one  end,  and  shall  rise  as  high  as 
may  be  convenient  into  the  open  air.  These 
wires  will  convey  more  electricity  from  the 
air  to  the  plants,  than  they  would  collect  in 
the  ordinary  way.  Let  them  be  kept  thus 
covered,  and  well  supplied  with  water  and 
everything  else  they  may  demand  except 
light,  and  if  a  half  CTop,  or  a  tenth  of  a 
crop  is  produced,  I  shall  yield  the  point  at 
once. 

No  one  has  ever  denied  that  electricity 
exerts  an  influence  in  the  vegetable,  as  well 
as  the  animal  kingdom.  But  when  Mr. 
Taylor,  or  any  one  else,  brings  in  the  opera- 
tions of  electricity  to  solve  the  mysteries  of 
natural  phenomena,  let  him  not  forget  that 
he  is  dealing  with  the  most  hidden  and  in- 
explicable of  all   mysteries.     An  agency,  of 


J.  L.  Campbell, 
Wasliington  College,  Lexington, 

March,  1860. 


>?(,  Ya.,  ) 
L860.      I 


For  the  Soiilhcrn  Planter. 

Culture  of  Broom  Corn. 
Mr.  Editor  : 

Having  seen  a  notice  in  the  March  num- 
ber of  the  Planter,  that  there  is  to  be  a  broom 
manufactory  in  Richmond,  and  wishing  to 
aid  in  encouraging  Southern  manufactures, 
I  send  you  the  following  article  on  the 

CULTURE   OF   BROOM    CORN, 

as  my  experience  in  raising  the  crop  for  the 
manufactory  : 

Plough  and  prepare  the  ground  as  usual 
for  other  corn.  Lay  it  off  in  rows,  three 
feet  apart.  If  the  land  is  strong  and  rich, 
put  it  in  drills — if  not,  put  it  in  hills  two 


which   Prof.   Faraday,  the   Prince  of  elec- j  feet  apart.  One  peck  of  seed  to  the  acre  is  a 
tricians,  says:    "There  was  a  time  when  I  j  plenty.     Work  it  as  jou  do  other  corn  pre 


thought  I  knew  .something  about  the  matter; 
but  the  longer  I  live,  and  the  more  carefully 

vinced  me,  that  water  must  be  made  very  cold, 
before  it  will  absorb  near  its  own  volume  of  car- 
bonic acid  under  ordinary  atmospheric  pressure 


cisely. 

In  the  Southern  climate  the  brush  is 
ready  for  harvesting  about  the  middle  of 
July,  for  the  manufacture  of  brooms,  as  it 
should  be  cut  when  green,  while  the  seed  is 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERX    PLAXTEE, 


245 


in  milk.  If  the  seed  is  required  by  the 
farmer,  it  can  remain  until  fully  ripe,  but 
the  brush  will  not  command  so  good  a  price. 

In  harvesting,  it  should  be  cut  off  from 
the  stalk  from  six  to  eight  inches.  The  seed 
is  usually  whipped  off  by  holding  the  brush 
on  the  cylinder  of  a  threshing  machine.  In 
a  small  way,  it  can  be  cleaned  off  with  a 
hackle. 

In  preparing  it  for  market,  dry  it  well  in 
the  sun,  and  tie  it  up  in  bundles  of  about 
ten  pounds  each. 

The  crop  will  yield  from  six  to  eight  hun- 
dred pounds  per  acre,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  soil. 

The  usual  price  paid  is  about  SlOO  per 
ton. 

In  order  to  compete  successfully  with  the 
Xorthern  manufactories,  it  is  desirable  to 
obtain  penitentiary  labor  in  making  up  the 
brooms.  EespectfuUy, 

J.  C.  Maksh. 

Baltimore,  March  17,  1860. 


More  about  Salt  as  a  Preventive  of  Black 
Fire  or  Eot  in  Tobacco. 

Since  our  call  on  Mr.  Xoland,  page  238 
of  this  number  of  our  journal,  the  following 
letter  has  been  received  from  bin  by  our 
friend,  Mr.  Kuffin,  and  kindly  placed  at  our 
disposal.  It  fully  and  satisfactorily  answers 
to  the  object  we  had  in  view,  when  calling 
on  3Ir.  X.  for  a  detailed  st  temeut  of  his 
practice  and  experience  in  reference  to  the 
remedial  or  rather  preventive  effect  of  salt, 
used  with  reference  to  the  formidable  dis- 
ease— "fire-rot" — to  which  there  is  such  a 
prevailing  tendency  in  our  growing  crops  of 
tobacco. — Editor. 

Rox,  March  21st,  1860. 
F.  G.  Ruffin,  Et^g., 

Dear  Str  : — You  ask  my  experience  in 
the  use  of  salt  as  a  preventive  of  fire  in  to- 
bacco. I  have  used  it  for  two  years,  at  the 
rate  of  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  bushels 
per  acre — applied  broadcast  at  the  time  of 
hilling.  The  first  year  I  applied  it  only  to 
a  portion  of  mj-  crop,  and  was  so  well  satis- 
fied of  its  value  that  I  intended  using  it 
npon  the  whole  crop  last  year.  My  supply, 
however,  did  not  hold  out,  and  I  left  a  few 
thousand  hills  unsalted.  This,  as  was  the  case 
with  all  the  crops  in  my  neighborhood,  suf- 
fered much  from  firing,  while  the  salted  por- 
tion of  my  crop  escaped  almost  unharmed. 
My  protracted  absence  from  home  prevented 
my  observing  the  effects  of  this  application 


as  closely  as  I  otherwise  would  have  done, 
but  my  overseer  and  neighbors  testify  to  the 
efiicacy  of  salt  as  a  preventive  of  fire  ;  and 
the  condi»^ion  of  my  crop  now  coming  into 
market  is  stronger  evidence  still  in  its  favor. 
Youi-s  truly. 

E.    t\'.    X.    XoAVLAND. 


For  the  Sculheni  Planter. 

Seed  Com. 

Mr.  Editor  : 

The  many  questions  asked  me  concerning 
the  improved  seed-corn  advertised  for  sale 
by  me  in  your  last  number  of  the  Planter, 
have  induced  me  to  communicate  the  mode 
by  which  I  have  effected  the  improvement. 
Twenty  years  ago  I  selected  my  seed-corn 
from  several  places,  of  difterent  kinds ;  some 
soft  and  some  hard  and  flinty.  I  took  the 
nubs  off  from  both  ends  of  the  ears ;  shelled 
the  corn  and  mixed  it  before  planting,  al- 
ways carefully  avoiding  in  my  selection  the 
blue,  yellow  or  red  grains,  and  the  red  hu.sk. 
Since  then  I  have  carefully  selected  each 
year,-  at  shucking  time,  such  ears  as  I  liked 
best — always  keeping  in  view  a  deep  grain 
and  a  white  husk.  At  planting  time,  if  I 
thought  my  corn  was  too  hard,  I  selected 
more  soft,  to  mix  in  with  the  seed.  By  doing 
this  I  found  that  I  could  make  my  crop  hard- 
er or  softer,  to  my  liking. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

GrARLAND   HaXES. 

I  will  give  you  my  method  of  planting 
and  working  the  corn  in  time  for  your  next 
number.  Gr.  H. 


On  Science,  as  a  Branch  of  Education. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  a  lecture 
on  the  above  subject,  recently  delivered  be- 
fore the  Eoyal  Institution,  London,  by  Pro- 
fessor Faraday.  The  high  position  of  this 
gentleman  always  secures  attention  for  his 
opinions ;  but,  upon  this  topic  especially, 
his  views  will  be  examined  with  great  in- 
terest. 

The  development  of  the  applications  of 
physical  science  in  modern  times  has  become 
so  large,  and  so  essential  to  the  well-being  of 
man,  that  it  may  justly  be  used  as  illustrat- 
ing the  true  character  of  pure  science,  as  a 
department  of  knowledge,  and  the  claims  it 
may  have  for  consideration  by  governments, 
universities,  and  all  bodies  to  whom  is  con- 
fided the  fostering  care  and  direction  of 
learning.     As   a   branch  of  learninsr,  men 


246 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


are  beginning  to   recognize   the   claim   of 

i-cience  to  its  own  particular  place;  for, 
tbough  flowing  in  channels  utterly  differ- 
ent in  their  course  and  end  to  those  of  lite- 
rature, it  conduces  not  less,  as  a  means  of 
instruction,  to  the  discipline  of  the  mind; 
■whilst  it  ministers,  more  or  less,  to  the  wants, 
comforts,  and  proper  pleasure,  both  mental 
and  bodily,  of  every  individual  of  every 
class  in  life.  Until  of  late  years,  the  edu- 
cation for,  and  recognition  of  it,  by  the  bo- 
dies which  may  be  considered  as  giving  the 
general  course  of  all  education,  have  been 
chiefly  directed  to  it  only  as  it  could  serve 
professional  services, — namely,  those  which 
are  remunerated  by  society;  but,  now  the 
fitness  of  University  degrees  in  science  is 
under  consideration,  and  many  are  taking  a 
high  view  of  it,  as  distinguished  from  lite- 
rature, and  think  that  it  may  well  be  stu- 
died for  its  own  sake, — i.  e.,  as  a  proper  ex- 
ercise of  the  human  intelligence^  able  to 
bring  into  action  and  development  all  the 
powers  of  the  mind.  As  a^  branch  of  learn- 
ing, it  has,  without  reference  to  its  applica- 
tions, become  as  extensive  and  varied  as  lit- 
erature ;  and  it  has  this  privilege,  that  it 
must  ever  go  on  increasing.  Thus  it  be- 
comes a  duty  to  foster,  direct,  and  honor  it, 
as  literature  is  so  guided  and  recognized ; 
and  the  duty  is  the  more  imperative,  as  we 
find  by  the  unguided  progress  of  science 
and  the  experience  it  supplies,  that  of  those 
men  who  devote  themselves  to  studious  edu- 
cation, there  are  as  many  whose  minds  are 
constitutionally  disposed  to  the  studies  sup- 
plied by  it,  as  there  are  of  others  more  fitted 
by  inclination  and  power  to  pursue  literature. 
The  value  of  the  public  recognition  of 
science  as  a  leading  branch  of  education  may 
be  estimated  in  a  very  considerable  degree 
by  observation  of  the  results  of  the  educa- 
tion which  it  has  obtained  incidentally  from 
those  wlio,  pursuing  it,  have  educated  them- 
selves. Though  men  may  be  specially  fitted 
by  the  nature  of  their  minds  for  the  attain- 
ment and  advance  of  literature,  science,  or 
the  fine  arts,  all  these  men,  and  all  others, 
require  first  to  be  educated  in  that  which  is 
to  be  known  in  these  respective  mental  paths  ; 
and  when  they  go  beyond  this  preliminary 
teaching,  they  require  a  self-education  di- 
rected (at  least  in  science)  to  the  highest 
reasoning  power  of  the  mind.  Any  part  of 
pure  science  may  be  selected  to  show  how  i 
much  this  private  self-teaching  has  done, ' 
and  by  that  to  aid  the  present  movement  in ; 


favor  of  the  recognition  generally  of  scien- 
tific education  in  an  equal  degree  with  that 
which  is  literary;  but  perhaps,  electricity, 
as  being  the  portion  which  has  been  left 
most  to  its  own  development,  and  has  pro- 
duced as  its  results  the  most  enduring  marks 
on  the  face  of  the  globe,  may  be  referred 
to.  In  ISOO  Yolta  discovered  the  Voltaic 
pile — giving  a  source  and  form  of  electrici- 
ty before  unknown.  It  was  not  an  accident, 
but  resulted  from  his  own  mental  self-educa- 
tion. It  was,  at  first,  a  feeble  instrument, 
giving  feeble  results;  but,  by  the  united 
mental  exertions  of  other  men,  who  educa- 
ted themselves  through  the  force  of  thought 
and  experiment,  it  has  been  raised  up  to 
such  a  degree  of  power  as  to  give  us  light, 
and  heat,  and  magnetic  and  chemical  action, 
in  states  more  exalted  than  those  supplied 
by  any  other  means.  In  1819  Oersted  dis- 
covered the  magnetism  of  the  electric  cur- 
rent, and  its  relation  to  the  magnetic  nee- 
dle ;  and  as  an  immediate  consequence,  other 
men,  as  Arago  and  Davy,  instructing  them- 
selves by  the  partial  laws  and  action  of  the 
bodies  concerned,  magnetized  iron  from  the 
current.  The  results  were  so  feeble  at  first 
as  to  be  scai'cely  visible ;  but,  by  the  exer- 
tion of  self-taught  men  since  then,  they 
have  been  exalted  so  highly,  as  to  give  us 
magnets  of  a  farce  unimaginable  in  former 
times.  In  1831  the  induction  of  electrical 
currents^  one  by  another,  and  the  evolution 
of  electricity  by  magnets,  was  observed, — 
at  first  in  results  so  small  and  feeble  that  it 
required  one  much  instructed  in  the  pursuit 
to  perceive  and  lay  hold  of  them ;  but 
these  feeble  results,  taken  into  the  minds  of 
men  already  partially  educated  and  ever 
proceeding  onwards  in  their  self-education, 
have  been  so  developed  as  to  supply  sources 
of  electricity  independent  of  the  Voltaic 
battery  on  the  electric  machine,  yet  having 
the  power  of  both  combined  in  a  manner 
and  degree  which  they,  neither  separate  nor 
together,  could  ever  have  given  it,  and  ap- 
plicable to  all  the  practical  electrical  pur- 
poses of  life.  To  consider  all  the  depart- 
ments of  electricity  fully,  would  be  to  lose  the 
argument  for  its  fitness  in  subserving  educa- 
tion in  the  vastness  of  its  extent;  and  it  will  be 
better  to  confine  the  attention  to  one  appli- 
cation, as  the  electric  telegraph,  and  even 
to  one  small  part  of  that  application,  in  the 
present  case.  Thoughts  of  an  electric  tele- 
graph came  over  the  minds  of  those  who 
had  been '  instructed  in  the  nature  of  elec- 


\ 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


247 


tricity  as  soon  as  the  conduction  of  ttat 
power  with  extreme  swiftness  through  me- 
tals was-  known,  and  grew  as  the  knowledge 
of  that  branch  of  science  increased.  The 
thought,  as  realized  at  the  present  day,  in- 
cludes a  wonderful  amount  of  study  and  de- 
velopment. As  the  end  in  view  presented 
itself  more  and  more  distinctly,  points,  at 
first,  apparently  of  no  consequence  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  science,  generally  rose 
into  an  importance  which  obtained  for  them 
the  most  careful  culture  and  examination, 
and  the  almost  exclusive  exercise  of  minds, 
whose  powers  of  judgment  and  reasoning 
had  been  raised  fii'st  by  general  education, 
and  who,  in  addition,  had  acquired  the  spe- 
cial kind  of*  education  which  the  science  in 
its  previous  state  could  give.  Numerous 
and  important  as  the  poiats  are,  which  have 
been  already  recognized,  others  are  conti- 
nually coming  into  sight  as  the  great  devel- 
opment proceeds,  and  with  a  rapidity  such 
as  to  make  us  believe  that,  much  as  there  is 
known  to  us,  the  unknown  far  exceeds  it; 
and  that,  extensive  as  is  the  teaching  of 
method,  facts  and  law,  which  can  be  estab- 
lished at  present,  an  education  looking  for 
far  gi-eater  results  should  be  favored  and 
preserved.  The  results  already  obtained 
are  so  large  as  even  in  money  value  to  be  of 
very  great  importance ; — as  regards  their  in- 
fluence upon  the  human  mind,  especially  when 
that  is  considered  in  respect  of  cultivation, 
I  trust  they  are,  and  we  will  be,  far  greater. 
No  intention  exists  here  of  comparing 
one  telegraph  with  another,  or  of  assigning 
their  respective  dates,  merits  or  special  uses,  j 
Those  of  Mr.  "Wheatstone  are  selected  for  j 
the  visible  illustration  of  a  brief  argument ' 
in  favor  of  a  large  public  recognition  of' 
scientific  education,  because  he  is  a  man 
both  of  science  and  practice,  and  was  one  of 
the  very  earliest  in  the  field,  and  because 
certain  large  steps  in  the  course  of  his  tele- 
graphic life  will  tell  upon  the  general  argu- 
ment. Without  referring  to  what  he  had 
done  previously,  it  may  be  observed  that,  in 
1840,  he  took  out  patents  for  electric  tele- 
graphs, which  included,  amongst  other 
things,  the  use  of  electricity  from  magnets 
at  the  communicator, — the  dial  face, — the 
step-by-step  motion, — and  the  electro-mag- 
net at  the  indicator.  At  the  present  time, 
1858,  he  has  taken  out  patents  for  instru- 
ments containing  all  these  points  ;  but  these 
instruments  are  so  altered  and  varied  in 
character,   above   the   former,  that  an  un-; 


taught  person  could  not  recognize  them. 
The  changes  may  be  considered  as  the  re- 
sult of  education  upon  the  one  mind  which 
has  been  concerned  with  them,  and  are  to 
me  strong  illustrations  of  the  effects,  which 
general  scientific  education  may  be  expected 
to  produce.  In  the  first  instruments  power- 
ful magnets  were  used,  and  keepers,  with 
heavy  coils  associated  with  them.  When 
magnetic  electricity  was  first  discovered,  the 
signs  were  feeble,  and  the  mind  of  the  stu- 
dent was  led  to  increase  the  results  by  in- 
creasing the  force  and  size  of  the  instru- 
ments. When  the  object  was  to  obtain  a 
current  sufiicient  to  give  signals  through 
long  circuits,  large  apparatus  were  employ- 
ed, but  these  involved  the  inconveniences  of 
inertia  and  momentum  ;  the  keeper  was  not 
set  in  motion  at  once,  nor  instantly  stopped ; 
and,  if  connected  directly  with  the  reading 
indexes,  these  circumstances  caused  an  occa- 
sional uncertainty  of  action.  Prepared  by 
its  previous  education  the  mind  could  per- 
ceive the  disadvantages  of  these  influences, 
and  could  proceed  to  their  removal;  and 
now  a  small  magnet  is  used  to  send  sufiicient 
currents  through  12,  20,  50,  100,  or  several 
hundred  miles ;  a  keeper  and  helix  is  asso- 
ciated with  it,  which  the  hand  can  easily 
put  in  motion  ;  and  the  currents  are  not  sent 
out  of  the  indicating  instrument  to  tell  their 
story,  until  a  key  is  depressed,  and  thus  ir- 
regularity contingent  upon  first  action  is  re- 
moved. A  small  magnet,  ever  ready  for 
action  and  never  wasting,  can  replace  the 
Voltaic  battery;  if  powerful  agencies  be 
required,  the  electro-magnet  can  be  employ- 
ed without  any  change  in  principle  or  tele- 
graphic practice ;  and  as  magneto-electric 
currents  have  special  advantages  over  Vol- 
taic currents,  these  ^re  in  every  case  re- 
tained. These  advantages  I  consider  as  the 
result  of  scientific  education,  much  of  it  not 
tutorial  but  of  self:  but  there  is  a  special 
privilege  about  the  science  branch  of  edu- 
cation, namely,  that  what  is  personal  in  the 
first  instance  immediately  becomes  an  addi- 
tion to  the  stock  of  scientific  learning,  and 
passes  into  the  hands  of  the  tutor,  to  be  used 
by  him  in  the  education  of  others,  and 
enable  him  in  turn,  to  educate  himself.  How, 
well  may  the  young  man,  entering  upon  his 
duties  in  electricity,  be  taught,  by  what  is 
past,  to  watch  for  the  smallest  signs  of  ac- 
tion, new  or  old ;  to  nurse  them  up  by  any 
means  until  they  have  gained  strength ; 
then  to  study  their  laws,  to  eliminate  the 


248 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[April 


essential  conditions  from  the  non-essential, 
and,  at  least,  to  refine  again,  until  the  in- 
cumbering matter  is  as  much  as  possible  dis- 
missed, and  the  power  left  in  its  highly  de- 
veloped and  most  exalted  state.  The  alter- 
ations and  successions  of  currents,  produced 
by  the  movement  of  the  keeper  at  the  com- 
municator, pass  along  the  wire  to  the  indi- 
cator at  a  distance  ;  there  each  one  for  itself 
confers  a  magnetic  condition  on  a  piece  of 
soft  iron,  and  renders  it  attractive  or  repul- 
sive of  small,  permanent  magnets;  and  these 
acting  in  turn  on  a  propelment,  cause  the 
index  to  pass  at  will  from  one  letter  to  an- 
other on  the  dial-face.  The  first  electro- 
magnets, i.  e.,  those  made  by  the  circulation 
of  an  electric  current  round  a  piece  of  soft 
iron  were  weak  ;  they  were  quickly  strength- 
ened, and  it  was  only  when  they  were  strong 
that  their  laws  and  actions  could  be  succes- 
sively investigated.  But  now  they  are  re- 
quired small,  yet  potential.  Then  came  the 
tecching  of  Ohm's  law;  and  it  was  only  by 
patient  study,  under  such  teaching  that 
Wheatstone  was  able  so  to  refine  the  little 
electro-magnets  at  the  indicator  as  that  they 
should  be  small  enough  to  consist  with  the 
fine  work  there  employed,  able  to  do  their  i 
appointed  work  when  excited  in  contrary! 
directions,  by  the  brief  currents  flowing  from  '. 
the  original  common  magnet,  and  unobjec- 
tionable in  respect  of  any  resistance  they , 
might  offer  in  the  transit  of  these  tell-tale 
currents.  These  small  transitory  electro-' 
magnets  attract  and  repel  certain  permanent  j 
magnetic  needles,  and  the  to-and-fro  motion  I 
of  the  latter  is  communicated  by  a  propel- ' 
ment  to  the  index,  being  there  converted  I 
into  a  step-by-step  motion.  Here  every  \ 
thing  is  of  the  finest  workmanship  ;  the  pro- 
pelment itself  require^  to  be  watched  by  a! 
lens,  if  its  action  is  to  be  observed;  thej 
parts  never  leave  hold  of  each  other ;  the ' 
vibratory  and  rotatory  ratchet-wheel  and  the 
fixed  pallets  are  always  touching,  and  thus  i 
allow  of  no  detachment,  or  loose  shake  ;  the 
holes  of  the  axes  are  jewelled;  the  moving 
parts  are  most  carefully  balanced, — a  conse- 
quence of  which  is,  that  agitation  of  the 
whole  does  not  disturb  the  parts,  and  the ! 
telegraph  works  just  as  well  when  it  is  twist- 
ed about  in  the  hands  or  placed  on  board  a  ■ 
ship,  or  on  a  railway  carriage,  as  when  fixed  j 
immovably. 

Now,  there  was  no  accident  in  the  course 
of  these  developments  ; — if  there  were  ex- ' 
gerimentS;  they  were  directed  by  the  pre-] 


vioiL^ly  acquired  knowledge  ; — every  part  of 
the  investigations  was  made  and  guided  by 
the  instructed  mind.  The  results  beins: 
such  (and  like  illustrations  might  be  drawn 
from  other  men's  telegraphs,  or  from  other 
departments  of  electrical  science,)  then,  if 
the  term  education  may  be  understood  in  so 
large  a  sense  as  to  include  all  that  belongs 
to  the  improvement  of  the  mind,  either  by 
the  acquisition  of  the  knowledge  of  others, 
or  by  increase  of  it  through  its  own  exer- 
tions, we  learn  by  them  what  is  the  kind  of 
education  science  offers  to  man.  It  teaches 
us  to  be  neglectful  of  nothing ; — not  to  des- 
pise the  small  beginnings,  for  they  precede, 
of  necessity,  all  great  things  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  science,  either  pure  or  applied.  It 
teaches  a  continued  comparison  of  the  small 
and  great,  and  that  under  differences  almost 
approaching  the  infinite :  for  the  small  as 
often  contains  the  great  in  principle  as  the 
great  does  the  small;  and  thus  the  mind  be- 
comes comprehensive.  It  teaches  to  deduce 
principles  carefully,  to  hold  them  firmly,  or 
to  suspend  the  judgment — to  discover  and 
and  obey  Imc,  and  by  it  to  be  bold  in  apply- 
ing to  the  greatest  what  we  know  of  the 
smallest.  It  teaches  us  first  by  tutors  and 
books  to  learn  what  is  known  to  others,  and 
then,  by  the  lights  and  methods  which  be- 
long to  science,  to  learn  for  ourselves  and 
for  others; — so  making  a  fruitful  return  to 
man  in  the  future  for  that  which  we  have 
obtained  from  the  men  of  the  past.  Bacon, 
in  his  instruction,  tells  us  that  the  scientific 
student  ought  not  to  be  as  the  ant,  who 
gathers,  merely ;  nor  as  the  spider,  who 
spins  from  her  own  bowels ;  but  rather  as 
the  bee,  who  both  gathers  and  produces. 
All  this  is  true  of  the  teaching  afforded  by 
any  part  of  the  physical  science.  Electri- 
city is  often  called  wonderful — beautiful ; — 
but  it  is  so  only  in  common  with  the  other 
forces  of  nature.  The  beauty  of  electricity, 
or  of  any  other  force,  is  not  that  the  power 
is  mysterious  and  unexpected,  touching  eve- 
ry sense  at  unawares  in  turn,  but  that  it  is 
under  laic,  and  that  the  taught  intellect  can 
even  now  govern  it  largely.  The  human 
mind  is  placed  above,  not  beneath  it;  and 
it  is  in  such  a  point  of  view  that  the  mental 
education  afforded  by  science  is  rendered 
supereminent  in  dignity,  in  practical  appli- 
cation and  utility:  for,  byenobling  the  mind 
to  apply  the  natural  power  through  law,  it 
conveys  the  gifts  of  God  to  man. — {Annual 
of  Scientific  discovery y  1859. 


1S60.] 


THE    SOUTHERN'  PLAXTER, 


249 


EICHMOXD,  YIRGIXIA. 
Virginian  Independence.* 

In  the  speech  referred  to  in  the  note  below, 
the    object   of   the    speaker    in    addressing    the 
members  of  the  State  Legislature  and  others  on 
the  independence  of  Virginia  in  her  commercial, 
agricultural  and  educational  relations,  seems  to 
have   been  to  show,  by  an   imposing  array   of 
facts    and    figiires    industriously    collected   and 
judiciously  collocated,  that  the  course  of  former  j 
legislation,   and  of  the  practice  of  our  citizens, ' 
has  been  such  as  to  operate  disastrously  to  the  , 
several  State  interests  referred  to,  and  in  effect  I 
to  discriminate  against  Virginia,  and  in  favor  of  j 
her  Northern  rivals,  and  most  persistent,  impla- 
cable and  malignant  traducers.     He  also  shows 
that  whilst  Virginia,  as  the   legitimate  fruit  of 
her  impolitic  legislation,  and  suicidal  policy,  has 
been  shorn  of  her  power  and  just  influence,  the  \ 
North    has   fattened   upon  ^the    spoils    wrested! 
from  her  in  the  struggle  for  supremacy — a  strug- ' 
gle  rendered  unequal   only  by  self-imposed  dis-  | 
abilities  on  her  part ;  and  that  whilst  Virginia 
has  been   '•  degraded"  by  misgovemment,   the  j 
North  whohasbeen  "benefitted""atherexpense —  '. 
has   tauntingly  exulted  in   what  has  been  Vir- ' 
ginia's  slow  progress  and  development,  in  com- 
parison of  what  they  would  have    been  under  a' 
wise  and  patronizing  system  of  legislation,  and 
of  self-reliant  adherence  to,  and  liberal  support 
of   home    industr)-  and    her   home  institutions, 
and    also    a    more    exclusive  devotion   of  her 
resources  to  the  up-building  of  her  own  educa- 
tional   institutions,   and   the    fostering    and    en- 

courasing  of  a  liteiature  peculiarly  her  own,  or, 

"      ! 

•  Speech  of  Daniel  H.  London,  Esq.,  on  the  r 
Commercial,  Agricultural  and  Intellectual  Inde- f 
pendeuce  of  Virginia  and  the  South — delivered  \ 
in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  on  the  j 
5th  of  January,  ISOO.  A  Pamphlet  of  5'2  pages,  | 
to  be  procured  at  Randolph's,  1"21  Main  Street,  j 
Richmond.  I 


at  least,  a  literature  of  a  strictly  Southern  char- 
acter • 
The  growing  decadence  of  the  po'wer  and  in- 
fluence of  Virginia,  and  the  growth  and  pro- 
gress of  New  York  in  these  elements,  are  shown 
in  the  following  table,  exhibiting  the  representa- 
tion of  these  two  States  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  for  each  decade,  from  1790  to 
1S50  inclusive : 


Virginia  had . .  . 
New  York  had. 


10    19.2-2  2:5-2-2,-21  15  13 
t^  'ill  i:2Tr34!40  34:33i 


'■  But  the  commerce  of  these  two  States,"  says 
Mr.  London,  "presents  a  picture  worthy  of  the 
profoundest  attention." 

Passing  by  the  commercial  statistics  (which 
he  adduces)  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  com- 
bined, as  compared  with  New  York-,  for  the  period 
extending  from  1750  to  1770  inclusive,  we  cite 
the  comparison  of  "Viginia  alone,''  vriih  New 
York."  as  fonnd  in  the  following  tables  showing 
the  imports  and  exports  of  tl\ese  two  States  in 
1791,  and  onvi'ards  to  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year 
in  1850. 

"  1791 — ^Virginia  imports, $2,486,000 

Virginia  exports, 3.131,000 

New  York  imports, 3,0-2-2.0OO 

New  York  exports, 2,505,000 

"At this  period  (1791),  these  two  States  were 
nearly  equal. 

"  Let  us  now  see  the  appalling  picture  of  the 
exports  and  imports  of  these  two  States  in  the 
years  following : 

I  ^  irgiiiia.    New  York.j 

I 


Imports  in  the  year  1S21,,$1,07S,490  .$23,629,246 


■Exports 
ilmports 
[Exports 
Imports 
[Exports 
Imports 
(Exports 


1821. 
1830. 
1830, 
1840, 
1S40, 
1S50, 
1S50 


3,079,099 
405.739 

4,791,644 
545,085 

4,778,220 
426,599 

3.41.5.646 


13,162,917 
35.624.070 
19,697,983J 
60,440.7501 
■34.264,080 
111.123.524 
52.712.789 


"  By  ^vhose  action,"  asks  the  speaker,  "  has 
this  condition  of  affairs  been  produced  ?  Who 
has  deprived  Virginia  of  her  once  flourishing 
foreign  commerce?  Who  has  neglected  ber 
interests  ?  Who  has  plundered  her  husband- 
men of  their  labor?  Who  has  turned  her  sea- 
ports into  neglected  villages  ?  Whose  blighting 
hand  has  dwarfed  her  representation  in  the 
national  legislamre.  till  she  is  too  feeble  even  to 
be  respected  where  she  was  once  powerful  ?  In 
vain  is  it  answered,  that  the  institution  of  slavery 
has  produced  this  result.  Slavery  existed  in  Vir- 
ginia in  the  days  of  her  prosperity  as  well  as  it 


250 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


does  now.  It  cannot  be  answered  that  it  is  due 
tt)  a  want  of  intelligence  and  adaptation  for 
commercial  or  agricultural  pursuits  in  our  peo- 
ple. Such  an  afBrniation  is  a  libel  on  the  most 
virtuous  and  intelligent  people  in  the  United 
States. 

*****  '"To  these  questions,"  and 
others  here  omitted,  "there  is  but  one,  and  only 
one  answer,  and  that  is  this:- — It  is  the  per- 
nicious HAND  OF  GOVERNMENT  wliicli  has  degraded 
us  and  benefited  others." 

The  speaker  then  introduces  "^  Table,  show- 
ing the  number  of  Vessels,  Tonnage,  Men  employed, 
and  the  Bounties  in  the  Whale,  Mackerel,  and  Cod 
Fisheries,^^  which,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  we 
omit,  extending  over  a  period  of  sixty-seven 
years.  Deducting  "  the  years  of  war,"  in  which 
no  bounties  were  paid,  it  appears  that  in  sixty- 
three  years,  the  aggregate  of  bounties  paid  was 
$12,120,53-2,  averaging,  annually,  $192,389  40. 

The  efiect  of  this  legislation  of  the  Federal 
Government,  during  all  this  protracted  period, 
has  been  "  to  transfer  the  results  of  the  toil  of 
the  people  of  Virginia,  and  of  the  Southern 
States,  to  the  benefit  of  others  ;  and  at  this  very 
time,  about  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  are 
paid,  annually,  out  of  the  Federal  Treasury  to 
the  citizens  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire 
and  jNIaine,  for  catching  cod  fish  :  and  the  statis 
tics  disclose  the  fact,  that  more  than  $12,000,000 
of  public  money  have,  been,  by  the  act  of  a 
common  government,  extracted  from  the  people 
of  this  State,  in  part,  to  be  lavished  upon  a 
vocation  in  which  the  people  of  Virginia  have 
no  interest;  for,  if  there  is  anyone  article  of 
food,  in  all  the  world,  not  used  by  our  people,  it 
is  cod  fish." 

^^  The  navigation  laws,' ■  continues  the  speaker, 
"by  wliich  foreign  vessels  are  forced  out  of  the 
coasting  trade,  and  their  exclusion  from  our 
jiorts,  except  under  regulations  designed  to 
benefit  the  ship  owners  of  the  Northern  States, 
wliere  it  was  and  is  known  that  this  interest 
chieflj'  exists,  are  detrimental  to  our  interests. 

"The  reciprocity  treaty,  by  which  Canadian 
wheat  and  breadstutfs  are  admitted  free,  brought 
into  Northern  markets,  in  1857,  ten  millions  one 
hundred  and  ninety-one  thousand  five  hundred 
anil  tiiirtj'-two  dollars  worth  of  grain  and  flour, 
to  exclude  the  grain  and  breadstuffs  of  Virginia 
and  other  Southern  States.  (See  Commercial 
Relations  in  1858,  page  60.) 

"These  items  are  not  all  to  which  allusion 
might  be  made,  but  they  suffice  to  justify  the 
statement,  that  Virginia  and  her  sister  Southern 
States  can  look  to  the  action  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment with  no  prospect  of  justice  and  con- 
sideration. 

"But,  the  worse  than  indiflferent,  yea,  the 
baneful  le,ni.<lation  which  has  been  pursued  by 
Virginia   herself,  alTecting  her    own  commerce 


and  her  own  agriculture,  must  now  be  examined. 
Surely,  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  [The  Italics 
ours]  that  the  legislation  of  any  free  people  is  de- 
fective, u'hen  the  latits  that  should  protect  the  laborer 
and  secure  to  him  the  fruit  of  his  own  toil,  are  so 
framed  as  to  wrench  from  his  f(and  the  Just  equiva- 
lent for  his  labor,  and  place  it  in  the  possession  of 
another, -especially  when  that  other  is  not  a  friend. 

"The  laws  respecting  merchants'  licenses  are 
so  framed  as  that  the  grossest  inequality  pre- 
vails throughout  the  whole  .State,  and  the  opera- 
tions of  the  tax  for  merchants'  licenses  is  a 
direct  bonus  to  every  retail  merchant  in  the 
State,  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  Virginia  to  pro- 
cure his  supplies." 

These  positions  are  sustained  by  facts  and 
arguments,  which  it  would  lead  us  too  much  into 
detail  to  present  here,  but  we  cannot  overlook 
the  remarks  of  the  speaker  regarding  the  unjust, 
unequal,  and,  in  some  cases,  the  oppressive 
operation  of  one  of  these  laws.  We  mean  the 
license  law: — 

"This  section,  it  v^'ill  be  thus  seen,"  referring 
to  the  12  classes  unto  which  the  tax  bill  decid- 
ed the  merchants  "is  a  positive  and  malignant 
injustice  to  the  small  and  feeble  merchants,  and 
bears  heavily  on  them  ;  whilst  the  princely  ami 
powerful  are  burdened  so  lightly  a?  to  make  the 
conclusion  inevitable  that  if  the  legislature  had 
any  object  in  view,  it  was  to  oppress  the  small 
retailer,  of  whom  the  poor  are  obliged  to  buy  in 
many  instances,  and  to  protect  the  large  and  op- 
ulent merchant  from  bearing  the  same  propor- 
tionate burden  as  the  poor  man  engaged  in  the 
same  vocation  bears,  for  the  privilege  of  selling 
goods,  wares  and  merchandise  tipon  the  soil  of 
Virginia.  If  sales  are  to  be  taken  as  an  index 
to  the  property  or  capital  of  the  merchant,  then 
apply  the  same  rule  to  all.  *  *  •         • 

If  the  object  has  been  to  derive  the  largest  rev- 
enue f:om  the  amount  oi  goods  sold  in  the  State, 
then  the  means  adopted  have  been  the  least  sa- 
gacious, for  the  largest  operator  pays  the  very  small- 
ess  pro  rata  tax;  but  if  the  object  has  been  to 
induce  the  interior  merchant  to  seek  the  markets 
of  other  States  to  procure  his  supplies,  the  wis- 
dom of  this  clause  in  our  tax  bill  may  be  com- 
mended, as  it  in  fact  operates  as  a  bonus  of  from 
one  to  two  state  taxes — in  many  instances  a  dis- 
crimination against  our  own  citizens,  from  whom 
the  State  has  demanded  and  received  a  license 
tax  to  carry  on  a. lawful  business,  on  the  soil  of 
Virginia.  Was  this  the  object  of  the  law?  If 
so,  continue  it;  but  if  any  other  purpose  can  be 
divined  for  the  measure,  then  show  the  end  and 
object  of  its  existence." 

In  vindication  of  the  assertion  that  the  license 
laM'  operates  "to  induce  the  interior  merchant  to 
seek  the  markets  of  other  Stales  to  procure  his 
supplies,"  the  speaker  shows,  that  "  $100  worth 
of  goods  brought  into  the  State  of  Virginia  from 
any  other  State  by  amerchantselling,"  the  mean 
average  of  "  $40,000"  worth  of  goods  per  an- 
num sold  to  a  jobber"  "  and  then  sold  to  a  retail- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


251 


er  ■ — the  effect  will  be  a  discrimination  against 
Virgiuia,  and  an  inducement  to  the  retailer  to 
purchase  goods  elsewhere  of  1  16-000dth3  per 
cent,  on  the  value  of  his  purchasers,  which  is 
demonstrated  as  follows : 

'•  The  wholesale  dealer  would  pay §0  52 

2d.  The  jobber  of  class  No.  9,  would  pay  64 
3d.  The  retailer  would  pay  in  class  No.  7.     1  01 

Whole  amount  of«taxes  collected  bv  the 
State $2  17 

But  if  the  retailer,  No.  7,  will  go  out  of  the 
State  and  buy  his  stock,  and  sells  them 
in  Virginia,  he  will  pay  only 1   01 

Balance  in  favor  of  buying  out  of  Virginia  t 

by  the  laws  of  this  State $1    16  \ 

The  inequality  and  injustice  of  this  is  plainly 
seen  in  the  light  of  our  State  Constitution,  which 
'•indicates  equal  justice  to  all  vocations,  the 
poor  and  the  rich  alike.'' 

But  a  still  greater  inequality  and  more  obvious 
injustice  is  perpetrated  by  this  license  law.  first 
in  the  discrimination  it  makes  in  favor  of  the 
begimier  upon  a  large  scale,  and  against  the  mer- 
chant of  like  extent  of  business  an  the  second 
year  of  his  mercantile  operations — a  discrimina- 
tion so  great  as  to  operate  as  a  temptation  and 
an  inducement  to  the  merchant  to  change  his 
business  and  begin  anew  every  year  !  and  se- 
condly, in  its  reverse  operation  it  burdens  and 
oppresses  the  poor  trader,  who,  "unless  he  can 
swear  that  his  capital  is  less  than  $-5CK),  most 
pay  the  same  sum,  [sixty  dollars,]  without  regard 
to  his  sales  or  his  capital."  May  not  a  change 
be  enacted  in  this  law,  which,  while  the  same 
amount  of  revenue  shall  be  derived  from  it,  will 
operate  more  justly  and  equally,  and  of  conse- 
quence more  advantageously  •'  upon  the  com- 
mercial, agricultural,  and  manufacturing  inter- 
ests of  Virginia."  The  remedy  proposed  by  the 
speaker  is  the  adoption  by  the  State  of  the  fol- 
lowing "  principles,  namely,  that  no  article  of 
merchandize  ought  to  pay  more  than  one  Stale  tax 
on  its  sale  in  Virginia,  and  that  no  merchant,  no 
matter  how  wealthy,  or  how  large  his  business, 
ought  to  be  allowed  to  prosecute  it.  without  con- 
tributing the  same  pro  rata  upon  his  sales,  that 
the  poorest  man  is  made  to  pay  for  a  like  prici- 
leger         *  •  •         •         ♦  'He 

continues:  "The  principles  suggested  above, 
can  be  safely  and  judiciously  embodied  in  the 
provisions  of  any  act  which  may  be  passed 
upon  the  subject  of  merchants"  licenses.  From 
time  immemorial,  Virginia  has  discriminated  in 
favor  of  the    agricultural   products  of  her    own 


people,  and  of  all  the  other  States,"  and  for 
many  years"  "she  did  not  tax  any  goods  sold  mi 
her  soil,  except  those  from  foreign  countries.  She 
may  now  properly  apply  principles  which  she 
has  exercised  to  her  own  detriment  for  so  long 
a  time,  and  make  them  of  great  advantage  to 
every  interest.  The  following  are  worthy  of 
consideration,  in  the  number  of  articles  to  be 
sold,  without  any  discrimination  against  thera, 
viz :  Raw  cotton,  rice,  brown  sugar,  molasses, 
wheat,  flour,  and  all  otlier  breadstuffs,  tobacco, 
ail  products  of  the  forests  of  the  southern  slave 
States:  hemp,  flax,  wool,  indigo,  madder,  log- 
wood, and  all  other  dye  stufis  ;  gypsum,  guano, 
horses,  mules,  asses,  meat,  gattle,  hogs,  sheep, 
and  other  live  stock  :  beef,  pork,  lard,  meats,  oil 
of  all  kinds,  fishes,  minerals  of  every  kind  ob- 
tained in  any  slave  State:  and  any  goods,  wares, 
or  merchandise,  the  product  of  any  slave  State."' 

"It  is  due  to  our  pecuniary  interests  as  a  peo- 
ple, that  all  direct  importations  from  abroad 
should  be  exempt  from  every  burden,  when  we 
are  advised  of  the  fact  that  one  single  vessel  of 
800  tons  coming  to  James  river  from  Liverpool 
with  salt  even,  discharging  and  taking  in  a  cargo 
of  flour  and  tobacco  for  Europe,  will  distribute 
as  much  money  as  almost  every  vessel  now  en- 
gaged in  the  coasting  trade  distributes  in  a  whole 
year.  This  fact  can  be  shown  by  competent 
testimony:  but  beyond  this,  another  fact  that 
our  products  find  a  market  in  foreign  countries 
chiefly,  and  not  in  the  northern  States,  renders  it 
too  clear  that  our  true  interests  must  indicate 
the  most  direct  and  untrammeled  intercourse 
with  those  who  consume  our  products.  But  the 
fact  that  we  have  been  deprived  of  our  foreign 
commerce  by  the  laws  of  the  federal  irovern- 
ment  and  our  own  State  government  coiiibined, 
must  suggest  the  duty  of  using  ihe  reserved  pow- 
ers of  the  State  for  regaining  that  trade  which 
has  been  .driven  away  from  our  own  seaport 
towns.  But,  as  the  acts  of  our  own  State  are 
now  before  us,  the  pilot  laws  of  Virginia  must 
constitute  a  subject  of  remark :  and  that  the  fol- 
ly of  these  measures  may  be  brought  to  view,  it 
is  only  necessary  to  state  that  it  is  made  obliga- 
tory on  every  vessel,  unless  loaded  with  coal,  en- 
gaged in  the  foreign  trade,  to  employ  a  pilot, 
I  whether  he  be  needed  or  not,  when  she  ap- 
j  preaches  our  waters  ;  whereas  no  coasting  ves- 
sel is  reqtiired  to  employ  a  pilot  unless  she 
chooses. 

The  charge  on  plaster  for  pilotage  to  Rich- 
mond, when  brought  directly  from  the  places 
where  it  is'  produced,  is  as  much  as  twice  its 
cost  frequently,  and  upon  other  articles,  iu  the 
same  ratio  by  the  foot,  according  to  the  draft  of 
the  vessel,  upon  no  other  pretext,  as  appears  by 
the  law  in  the  Code,  than  that  she  is  engcge<i  in 
the  foreign  trade,  whether  owned  or  not  in  tliis 
State.  Surely  all  reasoning  is  at  an  end  with 
the  law-making  power  of  the  State,  when  it 
shall  be  necessarv  to  argue  that  an    agricultural 


Mj^ 


252 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


people  ou<^ht  not  to  burden  the  vessels  of  their 
own  citizens  and  others  which  are  engaged  in 
bringing  them  articles  of  prime  necessity  and  of 
general  use,  whilst  the  vessels  of  those  who  have 
sometimes  been  purloining  their  properly  in  open 
violation  of  the  laws  of  the  State,  are  allowed 
to  enter  our  waters,  participate  in  our  commerce, 
and  come  anil  go  with  cargoes  of  any  size,  with 
not  a  single  farthing  exacted  of  them  without 
the  positive  contract  of  the  captain  of  their  ves- 
sels ;  and  this,  too,  whether  the  vessel  is  owned 
or  not  by  a  Virginian.  This  unwise  discrimina- 
tion against  our  foreign  commerce  is,  as  a  mea- 
sure of  State  policy,  in  no  way  defensible." 

*  *  *  *  *        '■  If  the    pilots    of 

Virginia,  cannot  subsist  without  this  measure,  m 
the  shape  in  which  it  now  stands;  then  it  will  be 
better  to  make  a  direct  appropriation  from  the 
treasury  of  the  State  for  their  benefft,  and  let 
the  voluntary  principle  be  applied  to  them  and 
their  interests.  When  a  captain  wishes  to  em- 
ploy a  pilot,  let  him  do  it  at  such  charges  as 
may  be  thought  reasonable,  or  make  all  vessels, 
whether  coastwise  or  foreign,  pay  the  same  and 
be  compelled  to  take  the  first  pilot  that  offers  his 
services,  when  the  vessel  approaclies  the  waters 
of  Virginia."  The  charges  for  pilotage  will  be 
seen  to  be  most  oppressive,  when  we  are  told 
that  there  are  imposed  by  the  existing  laws 
''  charges  of  from  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  to  two 
dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  from  S3a  to  Hamp- 
ton Roads,  and  a  further  charge  of  four  dollars 
and  thirteen  cents  to  Richmond,  per  foot,  mak- 
ing the  average  of  more  than  six  dollars  the  foot 
up  to  our  chief  town  and  nearly  as  much  going  out 
— together  about  twelve  dollars."  No  wonder 
then  is  it  that  "  but  few,  if  any  of  our  citizens" 
engage  "  in  direct  foreign  trade,"  when  by  em- 
ploying any  coasting  vessel  "to  transport  the 
cargo  to  New  York  or  elsewhere  out  of  the  State, 
we  may  escape  these  charges  in  Virginia  alto- 
getlier."         *  *  *  *         *      j^  corres- 

pondent of  Mr.  London's  states  the  following 
significant  fact:  "A  vessel  drawing  15  feet  of 
water,  coming  to  Richmond  with  plaster  from 
Nova  Scotia  direct,  has  to  pay  $1  00  to$l  50  for 
a  pilot,  equivalent  to  $1  per  ton  tax  on  plaster, 
wliile  a  vessel  from  Massachusetts  or  Maine, 
with  a  coasting  license,  takes  no  pilot,  brings 
plaster  subject  to  no  tax,  and  pays  the  northern 
man  his  profit."  Now  who  is  it  that  pays  this 
tax  of  one  dollar  per  ton  on  an  article  of  prime 
necessity  and  therefore  entitled,  if  any  thing  is 
so  entitled,  to  immunity  from  taxation  ?  We  ask 
again  upon  wliom  does  this  tax  fall  of  two  hnn 
dred  and  fifty  per  cent,  upon  its  cost  (40  cents 
per  ton)  in  Nova  Scotia  ?  Upon  the  farmers  and 


planters  of  Virginia,  of  course.  And  to  whom 
goes  this  extra  dollar  of  the  cost  of  this  fertili- 
zer, but  into  the  pockets  of  their  Yankee  ene- 
mies 1 

Similar  losses  are  entailed  upon  Virginia  by 
the  operation  of  those  laws  as  regards  our  West 
India  trade  where  we  find  a  ready  market  for 
"flour,  corn,  meal,  staves,  hoop-poles,  and  pro- 
visions," and  from  whence  we  receive  in  return 
"  sugar  and  coffee,"  articles  of  general  use  and 
prime  necessity.  "Surely,"  says  Mr.  London, 
"  the  legislative  body  will  bear  no  longer  the 
humiliating  attitude  that  they  present  to  the 
world,  of  using  the  powers  of  the  State  to  im- 
poverish our  own  people  so  as  to  benefit  those 
who  have  already  received  so  much  from  the 
labour  of  the  people  of  Virginia  and  the  South." 
He  then  introduces  the  following  table,  attribu- 
ted to  M.  R.  H.  Garnett,  Esq.,  showing  "that 
each  man  in  the  South  pays  the  following  un- 
equal sums  as  compared  with  the  North  in  the 
J  oars  named,  to  wit : 


Years  from  1791  to  ISOO, 
"  1801  to  1810, 

"  1811  to  1820, 

"  18-21  to  1830, 

"  1831  to  1840, 

1841  to  1845, 


ci 

o 

o 

o 

o 

C/3 

s 

$■21 

60 

mi  25 

31 

27 

13  56 

32 

37 

10  37 

34 

71 

7  12 

27 

42 

4  29 

10 

46 

1  99 

And  that  the  South  lost  in  the  foreign  trade  the 
use  of  $133,472,827  of  her  capital  in  the  year 
1S48,  and  the  North  gained  it — besides  paying 
to  the  federal  government  as  taxes  the  sum  of 
§26,000,000,  twenty-three  millions  of  which 
was  spent  beyond  our  borders.  For  the  year 
1858,  upon  the  same  principles,  the  South  lost 
the  use  of  about  |225,000,000  of  her  capital, 
taking  our  exports  and  imports  as  the  basis  of 
the  calculation.  These  figures  are  frightful 
when  the  fact  is  disclosed  that  the  citizens  of 
Massachusetts  absolutely  receive  two  dollars  in 
pensions  and  bounties  whilst  they  pay  only 
$1  99  in  taxes.  The  amount  yearly  taken  from 
the  labour  of  the  South  to  benefit  the  Northern 
people  by  the  laws  of  Congress  is  too  huge  for 
any  freeman  to  contemplate  with  patience,  and 
for  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  to  be  intercept- 
inj?  a  trade   which  might  go  directly  from  her 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER. 


25a 


producers  to  those  who  need  their  products,  and 
to  divert  these  articles  of  trade  into  the  liands 
of  those  who  are  not  our  friends,  and  that,  too, 
at  so  frightful  a  cost,  is  too  absurd  to  be  antici- 
pated." 

Mr.  London  then  adverts  to  the  transactions 
of  the  Virginia  Banks,  and  points  out  what  he 
conceives  to  be  the  hurtful  tendencies  of  their 
operation  in  regard  to  the  interests  of  Virginia, 
&c.,  but  space  fails  us  for  pursuing  the 
subject  further.  We  must  conclude  by  refer- 
ring the  reader  to  the  speech  itself,  exhorting 
the  farmers  and  planters  of  Virginia  to  stand 
up  to  the  defence  of  their  own  best  interests, 
by  abstaining  from  the  use  of  everything  of 
Northern  origin  which  they  can  produce  at 
home,  and  to  patronize  their  o^vn  institutions  of 
learning,  their  own  literature,  their  own  me- 
chanics and  artisans,  produce  their  own  hay, 
manufacture  their  own  brooms,  and,  in  fine,  to 
establish  to  the  extent  that  may  be  found  prac- 
ticable, a  home  market  for  their  productions 
through  the  exchanges  of  commodities  that 
must  naturally  occur  between  the  farmer  and 
mechanic  to  their  reciprocal  advantage. 

W. 


Richinond  Enterprise. 

We  have  here  several  tieiv  factories  of  difler- 
cnt  kinds  ;  among  them  the  Mills  of  Messrs.  S. 
McGruder's  Sons  and  S.  Hartman  for  grinding 
bones,  and  Manipulating  Guanos.  Mr.  F.  G. 
PiufEn,  and  Messrs.  Edmond  Davenport  &  Co., 
have  had  mills  in  operation  for  some  months 
for  the  same  purpose;  so  that  our  Virginia  far- 
mers can  buy  at  home,  manipulated  guano, 
ground  bones,  super-phosphate  of  lime,  &c.,  &c. 
Nay,  more,  if  they  do  not  want  to  buy,  but 
merely  to  satisfy  any  curiosity  they  may  have 
as  to  the  manner  of  preparing  these  fertilizers, 
they  can  at  all  hours  of  the  day  find  the  Mill 
doors  open,  and  are  free  to  give  everything  in 
them  a  careful  inspection,  while  their  gentle- j 
manly  owners  will  take  pleasure  in  showing 
them  every  part  of  their  process,  and  in  an- 
swering any  questions  they, may  feel  disposed  I 
to  ask.  j 

They  have  no  secrets  as  to  the  articles  out  of| 
which  their  fertilizers  are  com[)Ounded,  but 
everybody  is  invited  to  come  and  examine  for 
themselves. 


Improved  Stock  and  Farming  Imple- 
ments. 

We  extract  from  the  Enquirer  of  the  21st  of 
March,  the  article  below,  (to  which  our  atten- 
tion has  been  called  by  a  friend  to  merit  and  a 
patron  of  public  improvement,)  respecting  the 
claims  of  our  esteemed  friend,  Dr.  John  R. 
Woods,  of  Albemarle,  to  "  the  gratitude  and 
respect"  of  the  agricultural  public  for  his  "con- 
tributions ....  in  the  cause  of  improvement 
in  stock-raising,  farming  implements,  and  gen- 
eral husbandry."  We  have  frequently  adverted 
to  Dr.  Woods'  public  spirit  and  enterprise  in 
introducing  higk  types  of  improved  breeds  of 
stock,  and  have  often  heard  his  farm  manage- 
ment much  extolled,  but  we  have  not  yet  ful- 
filled a,  too  long  deferred,  purpose  of  visiting 
his  hospitable  mansion,  whereby  we  may,  like 
"  Agricola,"  be  enabled  as  an  eye-witness  to 
testify  of  the  things  whereof  we  have  see». 
We  readily  adopt  as  our  own  his  article  sub- 
joined with  but  this  exception,  that  until  ^^Ram'- 
shall,  by  universal  suffrage,  be  voted  out  of  the 
circle  of  the  Zodiac,  and  be  replaced  by  the 
more  euphonious  and  delicate  (?)  but  hirsute 
cognomen  of  "  Buck'^ — a  name  patent  only  so 
far  as  sheep  are  concerned  to  Major  Jack  Dovvn- 
ing's  "Old  Bill,"  the  interchangeable  synonym 
of  Buck — we  shall  insist,  with  all  the  vehe- 
mence of  Unkle  Toby,  upon  calling  a  Ram — 
Ram! 

"  improved  stock  and  farming  implements. 

"The  merits  of  politicians  and  their  public 
services,  rarely  fail  to  be  sufficiently  noticed 
through  the  press ;  public  admiration  and  re- 
spect are  freely  invoked  in  their  behalf;  but  it 
sometimes  happens  that  efforts  made  by  gentle- 
men to  promote  the  good  of  the  community,  in 
the  more  humble  but  not  less  important  depart- 
ment of  agriculture,  do  not  receive  the  acknow- 
ledgement that  their  liberal  public  spirit  de- 
serves. I  am  led  to  make  these  reflections  by 
the  contributions  made  by  Dr.  John  R.  Woods, 
of  Albemarle,  in  the  cause  of  improvement  in 
stock-raiiiing,  farming  implements  and  general 
husbandry. 

"  Dr.  Woods  has  been  very  attentive  to  the 
different  fertilizers  in  use  for  some  years  past, 
and  has  been  active  in  recommending,  by  his 
example,  their  introduction  into  general  use, 
and  thus,  perhaps,  is  entitled  to  much  of  the 
credit  of  the  great  improvement  of  lands  in  Al- 
bemarle. To  his  example  and  efforts,  in  a  good 
degree,  is  to  be  attributed  the  now  general  pop- 
ularity of  the  wheat  drill,  the  most  valuable 
accessory  to  the  success  of  wheat  culture. 

"  In  the  improvement  of  the  breed  of  horses, 
he  has  made  some  sacrifices.  Two  years  ago 
he  undertook  to  import  two  stallions   from   Eng- 


254 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[April 


land.  •  Havelock'  and  'Napier.'  The  first  a| 
Cleveland  bay,  arrived  safely,  but  did  not  meet  j 
his  expectations;  and  Napier,  of  a  more  high  | 
bred  stock,  and  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
horses  ever  raised  in  England,  died  on  the  pas- 1 
sage  to  America.  He  did  not  succumb  under  ] 
these  disappointments,  but  ordered  another  ] 
Cleveland  baj'.  and  in  this  last  instance  has 
been' eminently  successful  in  jirocuring  a  splen- 
did specimen  of  a  horse  for  general  luiliiy. 

'•His  horse  •Symmetry'  is  a  dark,  dapple  bay, 
sixteen  and  a  half  hands  high,  of  commanding 
presence,  full  muscle,  and  powerful  bone. 
Owing  to  the  perfect  proportions  of  all  his  parts, 
j'ou  do  not  realize  that  he  is  a  very  large  ani- 
mal until  you  stand  close  to  him. 

"Dr.  Woods  has  laboured  a  good  deal  in  the 
improvement  of  hogs  and  sheepi  He  has  just 
imported  a  most  magnificent  buck,  of  the 
Cotswold  stock,  to  cross  on  his  present  flock, 
that  will  compare  with  any,  I  presume,  in  Vir- 
ginia- 

'■  The  sight  of  these  two  imports  will  repay 
a  visit  of  one  hundred  miles  to  his  hospitable 
mansion  ;  which,  in  examining  the  results  of 
Ids  good  farming,  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  a 
source  of  profit  as  well  as  pleasure  to  any  one, 
as  it  certainly  was  to 

"  Ageicola." 

For  the  Sonthei-n  Planter. 

Experiments  with  American  and  other 
Guanos. 

JIr.  Editor: — In  the  J\Iarch  number  of  the 
Southern  Planter  you  ask  for  experiments  with 
the  American  Guano.  Having,  last  year,  made 
some  experiments  ■with  it  and  <\"ith  other  gua- 
nos, in  order  to  test  their  respective  merits,  ap- 
plied to  both  corn  and  tobacco,  in  which  I  was 
ver3'  particular,  and,  I  believe,  accurate,  I  now 
stibmit  the  results  of  the  experiment  on  corn, 
and  will,  if  you  desire  it,  communicate  hereafter 
the  particulars  of  the  one  on  Tobacco. 

I  selected  a  very  poor  piece  of  land  for  the 
experiment  on  corn,  such  as  would  not  have 
produced  more  than  five  bushels  per  acre,  if  as 
much. — the  selection  being  mads  of  land  thus 
poor,  the  better  to  test  the  strength  and  produc- 
tiveness of  the  difierent  guanos  used.  I  marked 
otf  three  acres,  all  as  nearly  equal  as  could  be 
determined  by  the  eye,  and  alter  thoroughly 
ploughing  and  preparing  the  land,  I  applied  on 
the  3Uth  of  April  to  one  acre  200  BBs.  of  Ameri- 
can Guano,  costing  $40  per  ton  of  2000  lbs., 
which  was  an  outlay  of  $4  per  acre:  on  another 
acre  I  applied  200  lbs.  of  KettlewelFs  Manipu- 
lated Guano,  costing  $52  per  ton  of  2000  Bs. — 
an  outlay  of  $5.20  per  acre;  and  on  the 
third  acre  200  fts.  of  Peruvian  Gupno,  cost- 
ing $59  per  ton  of  2000  fts. — or  $5.90  per  acre. 
These  several  applications  were  made  broad- 
cast, and  the  guanos  thoroughly  incorporated 
with  the  soil.  The  corn  was  all  planted  on  the 
same  day,  and  the  after  cultivation  was  neat 
and  thdrongh,  but  in  the  month  of  August  it  all 
EufiVred  intensely  with  drought,  for  about  three 
weeks,   which   I  think  curtailed  the  crop  very 


much.  It  is  proper  that  I  should  state  that  the 
same  number  of  stalks  grew  upon  each  acre — 
there  being  not  a  missing  hill  in  either.  In  the 
month  of  November,  the  product  of  each  acre 
was  carefully  gathered  and  stored  away  by  it- 
self; and  in  January,  after  having  become  tho- 
roughly ilry,  each  parcel  was  shucked,  shelled, 
measured  and  ^veighed  separately,  and  the  re- 
sult is  as  follows: 

The  American  Guano  made  784  ffis.  per  acre, 
■which  was  196  tts.  of  corn  for  each  dollar  ex- 
pended, and  it  w'eighed  55  fts.  per  bushel. 

The  Kettlewell's  MaJiipulated  made  1176  Bs. 
per  acre,  which  was  •226  lbs.  for  each  dollar  ex- 
pended, and  the  corn  ■weighed  065  Bs.  per  bu- 
shel. 

The  Peruvian  Guano  made  1224  Bs.  per  acre, 
which  was  207  lbs.  of  corn  for  each  dollar  ex- 
pended, and  the  corn  weighed  54  Bs.  per  bushel. 

These  experiments  were  fairly  made,  are  cor- 
rectly stated,  and  prove  conclusively  that  the 
manipulated  guano  is  the  Lest  and  cheapest  ap- 
plication for  corn.  But  every  gentleman  can 
test  the  calculations,  judge  for  himself  respect- 
ing the  peculiarity  of  the  season,  and  deduce 
from  the  premises  his  own  conclusions. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted, 

R.  H.  Allek, 
Oral  Oaks.   Va. 

March  23d,  1860. 

We  are  very  much  indebted  to  Mr.  Allen  for  the 
above  communication,  and  ■will  be  still  further 
obliged  to  him  for  the  resuls  of  his  experiments 
on  Tobacco,  which  he  so  kindly  offers  to  furnish. 


Maryland  State  Agricultural  Chemist 

We  are  under  obligation  to  Philip  T.  Tysom, 
Esq.,  "State  Agricultura'  Chemist,"  for  a  copy 
of  his  report  to  the  Legislature  of  Maryland. 
We  shall  fully  avail  ourselves,  in  a  future  num- 
ber, of  some  of  the  many  facts  and  valuable 
suggestions  with  ■which  the  report  abounds,  by 
laying  them  before  our  readers.  We  regret 
having  to  delay  their  publication  on  account 
of  the  pre-occupation  of  our  columns  at  this 
time. 


Broom  Corn. 

Mr.  P.  Horton  Keach  tells  us  that  the  aver- 
age price  of  Broom  Corn,  per  ton  of  2,000  lbs., 
will  be  about  one  hundred  dollars.  A  first 
rate  sample  will  bring  rather  more  than  the 
price  named. 


Lieut.  Maury's  Speech  before  the  Agricultural 
and  Manufacturing  Association  of  North  Ala- 
barna,  has  been  received.  We  will  pay  our 
respects  to  it  in  onr  next  issue. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


255 


HampsMre  Soar. 

AboTe  our  readers  have  an  ensruving  of  Mr. 
Peyton  Johnson's  "Frank,"'  copied  from  a  pho- 
tosranh  taken  after  he  was  fatted  for  the  butcher. 


by  crossing  %vith  them.  Two  of  our  neighbors 
have  owned  "  half  Khaisi  cows,'"  which  were 
very  valuable — one  of  them  giving  five  gallons 
of  milk  a  day;  and  the  otlier  rather  more  than 
four. 

The  thorough-breds  are  rather  too  active  and 
frisky,  as  they  cannot  be  restrained  by  any  ordi- 
nary fence  ;  but  cattle  with  one-fourth  Khaisi 
blood  would  make  first  rate  oxen,  as  they  would 
possess  more  activity  and  spirit  than  our  native 
stock. 

We  advise  our  country  friends,  who  are  fond 
of  seeing  fine  cattle,  to  go  and  take  a  look  at 
"Mazeppa."  when  they  visit  this  city.  They 
I  can  «btain  directions  for  finding  him  by  calling 
at  the  office  of  the  Virginia  State  Agricultural 
Society,  or  at  this  office. 

We  hope  Alessrs.  Kulin  &  Martin  will  exhibit 
"  Mazeppa,"  in  company  with  a  lot  of  his  calves, 
at  the  shows  of  our  Agricultural  Societies  next 
fall. 


Orchards  and  Orchara  Houses. 

We  return  thanks  to  C.  M.  Saxton  Barker  & 
Co.  of  New  York,  for  a  copy  of  a  most  excel- 
lent work  on  the  best  modes  of  constructing 
Orchard  Houses,  Dwarfing  Fruits,  ffc.  S)-c. 

This  book  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  all  those  who  are  engaged  in  cultivating 
fruits  for  market,  where  it  is  an  important  item 
of  profit  to  have  them  early. 


r.l 


256 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[April 


For  Uit  i^ovAhcrn  planter. 

Lines  for  a  Lady's  Album. 

BT   JAJCES    A.    ArCrST. 

Yon  ask  me  to  indite  a  rhpne. 

Fit  ofi~rirLg  for  this  Tclume  fair, 
Whose  leares  should  glow  -with  thoughts  sublime 

And  -H-ords  like  je\Fels  rich  and  rare  ; 
I  promisM  in  a  luckless  hour 

Tribute  worthy  of  its  pages, — 
Oh!  that  man  had  always  power 

To  fbl&il  irhat  he  engages. 
Twas  on  a  soft  poetic  night, 

Pen  in  hand — trimm"d  fair  and  taper — 
I  bokily  sat  me  dovm  to  w^rite 

Upon  finest  gilded  paper, 
InToking  first  the  mnse's  aid 

After  old  establish' d fashion. 
To  my  dismay,  the  gentle  maid. 

AcFwer'd  in  a  dowTiright  passion  ! 
The  sheet  lay  spread  in  all  its  grace. 

Fair  as  that  lily  hand  of  thine — 
The  pen  deserves  in  verse  a  place. 

The  ink  was  good,  the  light  divine; 
But  Tain  was  all  this  tempting  shovr, 

Vain  these  pretty  preparations, 
Poetic  thoughts  refused  to  flow. 

Fervent  though  my  invocations. 
I  trimm'd  my  light  and  tTimm''d  again. 

Until  it  beamed  a  lustrous  blaze, 
But  all  my  trimming  was  in  vain 

To  brighten  fancy's  dying  rays. 
Then  finding  all  bright  visions  fade 

Like  moonbeams  on  a  misty  night, 
I  call'd  the  muse  a  fickle  maid — 

I  own,  'twas  very  impolite. 
My  very  inkstand  seem'd  to  leer, 

Mocking  at  my  vain  endeavor ; 
I  rose  in  anger  from  the  chair,  , 

Turning  ink  and  table  over! 
Then  orercoixie  with  dark  despair, 

I  threw  myself  -with  all  my  woes, 
Into  a  friendly  rocking-chair. 

And  soon  began  to  dream  and  doze : 
Then  sweet  sleep  stole  gently  o'er  me,    • 
•  All  dark  mem'rys  fled  like  bubbles. 


And  such  visions  rose  before  me, 

As  supplanted  all  my  troubles. 
I  savr  a  fair  and  joyous  throng 

Of  maidens  on  a  flow'ry  la%vTi, 
And  as  they  gently  tripp'd  along, 

Each  looked  as  lovely  as  the  dawn, 
But  one  there  was  whom  well  I  knew, 

And  Lad}' !  all  but  you  might  tell, 
On  vrhom.  each  nymph  a  garland  threw — 

On  whom,  each  rosy  chaplet  fey. 
Many  a  lovely  child  of  air 

Was  floating  in  that  smiling  train  ; 
The  graces,  hand  in  hand,  were  there, 

And  beauty  with  her  magic  chain. 
There  music,  too,  trill'd  softest  tune, 

How  could  the  gentle  sylph  refuse; 
And  Lady — doubt  it  not — there  shone, 

In  all  her  wonted  charms — the  muse  ! 
••  Poor  simple  youth  V  began  the  maid  ; 

"  Think  you  that  I  could  tamely  bear 
That  one  should  call  on  me  for  aid, 

In  oflTring  at  a  shrine  so  fair, — 
Drink  inspiration  from  yon  eyes. 

When  fancy's  flame  is  burning  low, 
And  beaming  from  their  kindred  skies, 

A  far  diviner  rav  will  glow  I" 


THE 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER, 

ADVETvTISIXG    SHEET. 


So.  4.  RICHMOND,  VA.  April,  1860. 


Old   Books   A"\^aiitecl. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  RICHMOND, 

Will  take  in  eschauge  for  other  works,  au^-  kind  of  old  books. 

High  prices  in  cash  will  be  paid  for  Burke's  History  of  Virginia,  complete  or  odd 
volumes.  Stith's,  Keith's,  or  Jones  Histories  of  Virginia.  Any  work  by  John  Tavlor, 
of  Caroline.  Robinson's  Forms.  Davies' Criminal  Law  Acts. of  Virginia  for  1849-.50, 
lSoO-51.  or  1852. 


TO  MUSIC  TEACHERS  ANO  THE  LADIES  GENERALLY. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  BOOKSELLER, 

Ouer:-  i'ui  siiie  31,000  pages  of  stanthirJ  3Iuiic.  ami  receives  regularly,  every  week,  all  the 
popular  new  pieces. 

J8^^  Preceptor's  Books  of  Vocal  anJ  Instrumenial  Exercises,  Primers.  Church  3fusic,  &c. 

J.  W.  R.  Las  just  publishetl  Everett's  Xew  Thesaurus  Musicus,  which  is  the  best  book  for 
Choirs  and  Singing  Classes.  ISl-  Also  Everett's  Elements  of  Vocal  Music.  50  cts.,  sent  by  mail, 
post  paiil. 


NOTICE  TO  BOOK-BUYER 


All  who  are  foiminic  or  adding  to  their  Libraries  would  do  well  to   send  to  J.  W.  RANDOLPH 
for  his 

CA.T^VLOGX7ES 

Of  Xew  and  Standard  WorkS;  published  by  him  for  free  circulation.     They  embrace 

ivi^isri£"  TH:oxjs.^isrrD 

Volumes  in  every  department  of  Liferniure,  v\-ith  the  iltte  of  publication,  size,  bindingj  and  i^rice 
of  each  book.  Tliesc  six  Catalogues  will  be  mailed  to  all  who  enclose  6  cents  to  pay  the 
postage. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  Bookseller  and  Publisher, 
121  Main  Street,  Richmond,  Va. 

April  60. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


CEO.  WATT  8l  CO., 

ha^iog  Iteen  Jhis,  i:2d  daj  of  December.  185S,  di«?olr-  ' 
ed,  we  have  a??oeiiif(!  twirsehe?  in  bueioe^s,  uuder 
!be  firm  of  GEO.  WATT  &;  CO.,  tor  the  parpe?e  ol 

Hiakiiij  aid  s«-lJing  the  WATT 

CUFF-BRACE  PLOW, 

With  !he 

BILEAST  IM?EOyE]ItIEK"T 

tierer.n.  tDil  the 

And  Ehs.n  keet>  constantly  on  band  a  large  a==ori- 
mtril  of  rhese  Plows,  and  Casiing-s  of  these  and  oiher 
popnlur  kiiid.^,  »ith  CuJiivator?,  Harro»s.  Corn  or 
Tobacco  Weeders.  Hillside  and  Subsoil  Plows,  new 
grouiid  Coalters.,  &:.c 

^dll  oX  trhich  arc  made  in  ovr  oven  Factory. 

Al?o,  iftraw  Co!ierg,  Graio  Cradlef,  Corn  ShellerE, 
Corn  Planfers,  (Caldwell's  make.)  and  a  varietv  of 
olher  csefu!  Impl^inenls  in  our  line,  which  we  war- 
rant to  fihe  satii^faclion,  or  he  returned-  We  t-olicit  a. 
call  froia  the  Airriculluriil  (-omiiiUxjiiv,  assuiiug  them 
that  oiir  best  eSbrls  sJiail  be  used  to  tivp  ibem  fiupe- 
riorariteles.  GEO.  WATl', 

HUGH  A.  WATT. 

Itichmoa-X  Der  ember  23, 1>'5S. 

Grateful  for  the  patronage  given  me  heretofore,  T  so- 
licit a  continuniice  oft.'ie  same  to  ibe  above  firm  :  and 
will  onlv  add  ibat  having  spent  ibe  better  j<art  of  the 
!-i=r  !f-  i<»-!r=  -u  r:^-\'-,n~  tnv  PJo»v  what  it  i*.  I  pledse 
;  ijprme  it— jiovinr  PATE.\T 
ZAST  l.Vi'i(LO\EME.\T  and 
-     .  i,  secured  .No» tit/bcr  Itv/G  ar;d 

Feuruatv  l<»o.  1  util  he'll  Rights  lo  Lolh  iu  reuiute 
sections  of  this  and  other  Stales  on  r<vs>onabie  terms. 
The  pubiic  are  cautioned  against  iriiringentents  on 
these  Patent  lUgfats. 

GEO.  WATT,  Patektek. 
Richmond,  JaQoary  1859. 

City  Savings  Bank  of  Richmond 
CHAPiTERED  IX  1839. 

C-oniinuef  to  rfceire  deposiies,  on  ■which  interestts 
paid  at  the  ra;e  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum,  if  remaining 
on  deposit  sis  months,  and  5  per  ce:jt.  for  shorier  pf- 
riods.  HORACE  L.  KE.NT,  Pres't. 

ALEX.  DUVAL.  ^e<  v. 

N.  A L GUST,  Cashier. 

DIRECTORS: 
John  N.  Gordon,  Samuel  Puiney,  H.  Baldw'in.  i . 
Davecport,  Jr.,  Charles  T.  Wortbam,  Hugh   W.  Fn 
and  Weliiogton  Goddio.  Jao  1S59.— iy 

H.  0.  IIASKIXS, 

SMp  Cliandler,  Grocer  and  Com- 
mission Merchant, 

In  his  large  new  bnildinr.  in  front  of  the  Steamboat 
Wharf,  KocEtTTE.  RICHMO-ND,  VA. 
Sept  1853—15 

MITCHELL  &  TYLER, 

DZALZES    I.V 

Watcbes.  Clocks,  Jewelry,  Silver  and  Plated 
.Ware,  Miiitarj  aiid   F'aii<:y  Goods. 

RICHMOND,    VA. 


SOUTH  DOWN  LAMBS 

I  have  for  sale  sever :1  South  Down  Buck  Lambs. 
My  fl.^ck  is  now  the  6nest  in  Tide  Water  Virginia. 
The  Lambs  are  one-half,  three  (ojirihs,  seven-eig  ;ihs, 
fifteen  sixteenths,  and  iliorou^h  bred,  and  I  sell  ihetn 
at  len.  fifteen,  and  twenty  drdlurs.  af^cording  to  purity 
of  blood.  I  shall  have  not  more  than  eight  or  leo 
foTPtiie.  FRANK.  G.  RUFF LN. 

April  60— tf 

THOROIGH-BRED  ^OETH^EYO^ 
AT  PUBLIC  AUCTION. 

The  subscriber  intends  holding  bis  Second  Public 
Sale  of  Devon  Cuiile,  on  Wednetdnf/.  the  Cfh  of  June 
next — when  he  »il  <jffer  between  20  and  -30  head, 
males   :;nd   females,  all   of  his   cwn    breeding,  Hi^rd- 

j  book  aniajals,  and  of  superior  excellence.  .As  at  his 
previous   sale,  each  lot  will  be  started. at  a  very  low 

j  upset  price,  and  fo!d  wiUioixt  reserve  to  the  hig^hest 
bidder  over  that  aujounl 

'  Calalogues  eoMaining  pedigrees  of  the  animals  to 
be  Fcid,  and  full  particulars  as  to  terms,  &,c.,  will  be 
ready  by  the   15th  of -April,  and  will   be  sent  to  ail 

,  desiiring  it. 

C.  S.  WAINWRIGRT. 

Ap  60— 3t]  The'Meadows,  Khiuebcck,  N.  Y. 

■PIGS  OF  imprM  bre7ed 

I  FOE  S^LE. 

I  have  for  sale,  to  be  delivered  at  weaning 
lime,  a   good   many  pij;S  of  ivnproved  breesl.     I 

( hare    produced  it  myself  from  crosses    of    the 

I  Surry  (or  Suffolk)  genuine  Berkshire,  (Dr.  John 

jR.  Woods'  stock)  Irish  Grazier.  Chester  County, 
no  Bone  aa<l  Duchess.  I  think  them  superior 
hogs  of  medium  size,  and  for  fourteen  years  they 

I  hare  not  had  a  bad  cross  among  them.  I  prefer 
that  purchasers  should  vie-sv  my  brood  sows  and 

j  my  boar  on  my  farm,  three  miles  below  Rich- 
mond     I  will  not  sell  them  in  pairs,  because  the 

:  in-and-in-breeding  would  depreciate  the  slock  al 

lonce  and  cause  dissatisfaction,  but  I  will  sell  in 

tone  lot  several  of  tl  e  same  sex. 

j  Price  §10  per  head  for  one,  and  an  agreed 
price  i"or  a  largerni  m'jer.  They  will  be  delivered 

I  on  the  Bstsin  or  an|f  oi  the  Railroad  Depots  free 
of  charge.     •      ■  FRANK:  G.  RUFFIN. 

;  Summer  Hill,  Chesterfield.  March,  30.  1S.5S. 

PORTABLE   GAS   APPARATUS. 

HAYING  received  the  esclusive  agency  for 
the  Slate  of  Virginia  from'lbe  Maryland  Portable  Gas 
Company,  for  the  sale  of  their  mac-hiiies,  we  are  now 
[  prejiared  to  roniract  for  their  erection. 
'      The  machine  is  remarkable  for  its  extreme  simplici- 
ty, its  salety  and  economy  ;  one  half  a  cent  per  burner 
foran  hour's  consuinjiMon,  is  a  large  estimuie  for  this 
Gas.  whjJe  in  iijuminaiins  qualities  it  is  not  surpassed 
,  by  the  Coal  Gas  of  any  city  in  the  L'nion.     It  is  well 
;  adapted  fi>r  Private  Houses.  Factorie      Schools,  Col- 
!  leges.  Churches  and   wateriiig  places,  and  provides, 
j  what  in  cities  is  considered  an  iudispei.  able  luxury, 
1  a  good  gas  light,  at  much  less  expense    han  is  paid 
for  Oil  or  Candles. 

j  Anv  iu formation  on  the  subject  mav  be  oi.tainedby 
Inddressing  STEBP.I.NS  &  PULLE.N, 

I    Jilay  59 — It  101  Broad  St.,  Kichajond.Va- 


SOUTHERX  PLAXTER.— ADTERTISIXG  SHEET. 


To  Farmers  and  Planter       ;     ^EW  MACHLXE  SHOP. 

UK.    jAMXjO    lillTb-liNb,      |      HavlngcompleteJ  my  new  Factory  on  Frank- 
{Fifr  the  past  ien  years  Slnie  A^rieullurol  Chemist  of '\^^^^  ^i^^^^   and  Walnut    Alley,   the   wliole  being 
Maryland.)  in  connection  with  my 

Agent  for  the  Sale  of  Real  Estate,  Dealer  JMPLEMEXT  AND  SEED  STORE, 

m  jLaniiieS,  l..n_Main   Street.   I  now  inviie   pnrticislar  atten- 

and   every  thins  connpcted   w.tli   the   Farmm,'  and ;  tion  to  the   facilities  I  hnve   ll.r   maniifacnirin" 

Plaiiiinfr  interests,  oflers  it  his  senices.  '  in\- L-in. I  nf  Af->^i. :«=....■  ™«  i  r  i    •        o      i" 

,1  "^  .-     1    ,     .  1  «■  I  ""J  Mil"  oi  -M.iciiinerT,  anci  for  stinnlvin"  beetls 

A  lon<:  espenence  iis  a  practical  niaiiter  and  ramier.  I    „  ,  I .    „      .       _     -''  -    .-         -"m '.""r  ^'^'^i" 

with  the  consiaul  anal  vtic«!  examination  fomiore  ih.n    ^"''  Amrlemenis  of  every  Jescnption. 

ten  years,  of  every  kind  of  Manure  sold  in  our  market. !   .  -^*  heretolore   1    sliall    pay   particular    atten- 

(advantaees  possessed  bv  non:^  others  in  the  trade.) ' 'ion  to  my 

will  enable  me  alwa\s  III  furnish  those,  who  ma\  favor  i     T>/~vT3rp  *  T)T  "C  T'TTT>'r<  ~<txt~it~» - 

we  with  their  orders,  with  the  lifst,  purest,  and  there- |      r  (  )  K  I   A  O  I  i  r j   i  JILjL\l!ifexi.x!jXii^ 

fore  the  rA^/Tpe»<  Manures.  •  i    cr  r>  ' 

F^mners,  Planters  and  others  will  be  furnishtd  wiihp^'""  "orsei  ower,  so  arranged  as  to  require  no 
the  lullov.itij  natural  .M;:n!ire,<:  digiiing  or   delay  m    starting;    and    -hall    keep 

PEKlVlAN  GUANO,  Machines  of  t.;e   best  plan   and  workmanship, 

».T^^  .^  .  «    ^i   .  .>  ^  such  as  Straw  Cutters,  Corn  Shellers,  for  hand 

and  horse-power.  Wheel  Fans.  Cratlles.  Renpers, 
Hay  Presses.  Cidar  Mills,   Seed^iills.   Plows. 
Harrows.  H;iy-rakes,   Gleaners.  Cultivators.  j:c. 
I  invite  special  attention  to  mv 

.    PATEM  STRAW-CUTTER, 

which  is  v.-arrnnted  to  be  the  bc-t   Cutter  made, 
and  js  scdd  at  the  lo"w  price  of  $10;  also  to  the 

VIRGINIA  CORX-SHEI,l.ER, 

as  made  by  me   from   the  original  patterns,  ca- 
pacity 600  bnshels  a  day. 

Repairs  of  Threshers  and   Reapers  attended 
to  promptly.      Agent  for 

WHF.ET   A.\D 

^, __   _  __     _     ___     31cC0RAlICKS 

years  before  it  was  ever  made  or  sold  in  the  city  of'       KtAPEKb. 

Baliiuiore,  by  those  who  have  pretended  lo  lie  its  orig-:  H.  M.   S3IITH. 

inators.     (II  this  be  denied.  I  can  furnish  abtmdaiit !       ^Tar  GO — %m  14  31ain  St. 

proof  ot  the  acciiracv  of  n;v  siatompiil  )     Alsb  — 

HlGGl.NS'     NITRATEI)    SALI.NE    FERTILI-' 


MEXICAN  GUANO 

SO.MBREKA  GUANO. 
NEVASSA  GI  ANO, 

COLUMBIAN  GUANO. 

BONE  DUST, 
and  all  others  in  onr  market  worthv  of  |nirchase.  .\lso 
with  PI..ASTER  OF  PARI:>,  and  PURE  or  JIAG- 
NESI.AN  LIME,  according  lo  tl>e  wants  of  the  soil, 
and  too  niiiL-h  care  cannot  he  taken  in  adapiiiie  the 
proper  lime  to  soils ;  fur  the  warn  of  this  kind  thous- 
ands of  di'llars  have  been  anniially  lost  to  our  Slate. 
Also  (lie  :bili>»ins  artificial  Mimnres  : 

HIGGlNrf'  SUPER  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME— 
prepared   under  his  own  direction  ;  anil 

HIGGIN.S-  PHO.SPHATED  PERUVIAN  OR 
MANIPULATED  GUANO,  pr.paied  «iih  the  great- 
est care  ami  precision. 


This  u.ixture  of  Peruvian  and  the  Phosphatio  '^"-' gJCKFORD  fc  HUFF'\[\X"^  "V 
anos  was  first  recommended  bv  me,  and  succes-sfullv  ;  ^j-  ••.-,-.  r»r.TT  to  'i'r>'  it  >i 
•ised    by    many  planters   anu'fermers  of  this   State!       ^t;'^t!;i.*  H^^^^^"  ^"''  *"■  ^^-  ^' 


HlUUl.NS'     INMRAILU    SALINE    FERTILI-    TVf  ^  ^Tf?     ^TnT^rni       •^"fJ'r'^n^ 
ZER,  an  admirable  Top-Dressi,:sr  for  Wheal.  Ouls  or    '*'^-^  ^^      ^  JjUI'V^jS.      ^.ij_lj_L;^, 
Grass,  »*lii',-h   has  been  successlidly  used  for  many  I  1^0 R    1  ^fiO 

rears,  and  prevents,  to  a  g^reat  extent,  the  wheat  from  ■„  .„^-p,    .     u  a -sU  lU  r  V  <    PPirrn    r  a  t  * 
being  straw-iallen  ;  where  the  wheat  is  pale,  sickly  or /*-^^^*^^^    ^    UAbHliLlxN^    PhlCED    C  ATA- 
yellow,  it    at   once  changes  it  to  a  bright,  healthy:  LOGUE  OF  FLOWER  SEEDS, 

green,  and   ranidlv  increases  its  growth,  and  greatlv!       ^  .    .  ,,    ,  ,  .  „    . 

promotes  t!ie  vield.  !      Containing  all  the  novelties  of  the  season,  13 

All  Manures  sold  in  out  markets  are  liable  to  differ,  '■o^'''  reaily,  being  the  most  complete  and  com- 
aaiurally,  t'.oiigh  coming  from  the  same  place,  and,  prehensive  of  any  ever  sent  out  in  this  country, 
beariu;;  the  same  mark.  Stil  more  are  they  liable  to  ^  Being  aware  of  the  embarrassment  experienced 
adu/teralio:!,  ^v:.,  aud  (m  ihese  things  our  luspec-  b,.  alnatenrs  in  m^ikins  their  selections  from  the 
tiott  btiattm  has  nere.r  aJrordfU   an  adequate  protec-    «-'  .   1  1        .  i-       "       .       »  1  1 

.-         '  •*'  '  Calamines  heretofore  sent  out  by  seedsmen,  we 

All  .Manures sold  hv  me  will  h-ve  my  name  stamp- 1'^*^"^  i"  addition  to  our  General  Descriptive 
ed  on  each  bag  or  barrel.be  carofuily' analyzed,  aud ;  List  of  abont  Six  Hundred  varieties  in  tabular 
for  iheir  purity  the  buyer  is  pledged  a  LLGAL  GL'ARA.N-  firm,  jirepared  a  Special  List  of  upwards  of 
TEK  and  my  personal  hook.  i  Two  Hundred  of  the  newest  and  most  popular 

'Ijie  Manures  sold  by  Die  will  be  at  the  same  rale  |  sorts,  givin*  a  detailed  .leseription  of  each,  and 
as  those  sohl  bv  others  in  the  iraile.  ! .-    -,     i:.„_.-„    ,    r       .1     ■  i-      »:  »i 

i>  ■  1 -•      ,       ,,  ■  „.- .1     Af      .  «  explicit    directions    for   their  cultivation.     Also 

Persons  wi>hiug  10  obtain  i-.nv  o(  the  Manures  man-     ,  *^        ,  u         t-i  o       .         -ii   ^     • 

ufactured  bv  ihe.  or  anv  other*  .".f  mv  sr leeiion.slioald,  l'^"**^  '*''*'"^  '5»  purchase  Flower  Seeds,  will   find 
30  specify  m  their  orders  to  I lieir  agents  in  town.  ji^    'o    their    interest    to   first  consult  this    Cata- 

Tkrms  Cash,  or  accepted  city  pape.-.  j  logtie. 

13»"  Office  and  Laboratory,  SeomI  Street,  3d  door  1  Flower  Seeds  forwarded  by  mail  to  anv  part 
iroiii  So>jiU  Street,  in  GitUug-s  New  Build.ng.  ■  (,|-  „,e  United  States  of  America,  post  paid. 

alav  olt — tf  Baltimore,  Md.      \      r'  .   t  r  ■•  -'11 

■ '  I      Catalogues  forwarded,  post  paid,  on  the  re- 

0*ro  A\A/     ^^IST"STQO  j  ceipt  of  a  three   cent  postage  stamp  to  all  ap- 

O  I  KMVf      OU   I    E  C.KO.  iplicants.  ^ 

My  patent  Straw  Cutter  is  admitted  to  be  the  most  j      ^^'«''^«^^^        BARXES  &  WASHBURN, 
valuable  in  use.     I  guarantee  satj.siaciiou.  "  •^eedsir.en  c-td  ±lorut$, 

H    M.  S.MI  fH;  Agricultural  W:. rehouse, 


58— f  4  ilain  Street. 


Harrison  Square,  {near  Boston.)  Mass. 
Mar  60— 3i 


SOUTHERN  PLAXTEIl.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


PHOSPHOR-PERUYIAN  GUANO, 

TOBACCO  MANURE, 

JisaicuiTunAL  eatr  mt  geouno  bone  Am. 

F.  a  EUFFIIsT 

COllNER  ELEVENTH  AXD  CARY  STREETS,  ON  THE  BASIN, 

RiCH[]sio:NrD,  ^rJ^., 

Offers  to  the  farmers  the  following  MANURES,  all  of  his  own  manufacture,  vh: 

RUFFIN'S  PHOSPHOR-PERUVIAN  GUANO, 

rontaining  S  per  cent  Ajnmonia,  and  40  lo  50  per  cent  Bone  Phosphate  Lime,  per  ton  of  2,0C>0 
pounds,  §D0. 

RUFFIN'S  BONE  ASH  GUANO, 

Containin<;  5  per  cent  Ammonia,  and  about  70  per  cent  Bone  Phosphate  Lime,  per  ion  ci  .i,i'i''t 
pounds,  .$50. 

xiurFFi]s;^"s  tobalCCo  :MAL:srxTKE. 

Containing  5  per  cent  Ammonia,  34   per  cent  Bone  Phosphate  Lime,  22  Chloride  of  Sodium,  and 
17  per  cent  Sulphate  Lime,  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  §45. 

EUFFIX^S  GROUND  BOXE  ASH, 

Containing  about  SO  per  cent  Bone  Piiosphate  Lime,  dry  and  pure,  per  ton  of  2,W0  pounds,  §35, 

Loose  in  bags,  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  $11. 

AGRICULTURAL    SALT, 

In   bays,  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  $13. 

THE  ABOVE  MANURES  are  put  up  in  strong  bags,  containing  1G7  pounds  eachr 
twelve  bags  of  which  make  a  fraction  over  a  ton,  and  can  be  had  of  F.  G.  RUFFIN, 
at  his  mill,  of  any  Commission  Merchant  in  Richmond;  of  THOMAS  BRANCH  <fe 
gONS,  Petersburg;  M.  HOLLINS  &  CO.,  Lvuchburg;  LEIGH  &  BROTHER, 
Norfolk:  MASON,  MARTIN  &  CO.,  Scottsville ;  JOHNSON,  CLARKE  &  CO., 
.Danville.  April  60— tl" 


SUUTHERX  PLANTER ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


"Without  Packing — Without  Suction. 


Mar  59— tf 


This  Pump.  patenteJ  1?59,  is  a 
ilnuble  acting'  force  pump,  mih- 
oiii  cliaii)?.  siiijp  rods  or  pulley?, 
i?  the  simplest,  stronsest,  cheap- 
est Pump  vet  invented;  can  be 
put  iu  !>y  any  one,  and  without 
poing  info  the  well,  and  raises 
Iroin  6  to  BO  gallons  per  minute, 
according  to  size;  works  by  hand, 
w^ater,  wind  or  steam,  and  i«  trar- 
raiited  to  s-ire  saiUfuction  in  all 
depths,  and  ro  raise  waier  bv  a 
ten  year  old  boy  60  feet.  X\\ 
depths  under  2U  feet  complete, 
$18.  Drawings  and  full  parttcu- 
lai^  sent  free. 

Address, 

JAMES  M.  EDNEV. 
147  Clian  bers  St.,  New  York. 


IMPORTED    '•  symmetry;' 


^^ii^ginia  Land  Registry  iEP>TY'S  AMERICAN  PllIP. 
and  ^^g-eiicy  Office, 

LYNCHBURG,    VA. 

The  r!ndersirt:ed,  by  request  of  land  seller?,  has  es- 
tabiishFd  in  the  city  of  Lynchburs:,  an  .Asency  Inr  the 
!w1p  of  Land,  the  object  of  which  is  to  afiord  facilities  j 
both  lo  the  seller  and  purchaser  of  the  laud.    He  will ! 
keep  in  his  otTice  a   L.\ND  REGISTER,  containing  ^ 
correct  and  thorough  descriptions  of  Farms  for  sale, ; 
including  qnantity,  quality,  location,  price,  terms, and 
all  oiher  iiiformatiDa  essential  to  be  known  by  one  de- 
sirous of  purchasing. 

In  ibis  way,  persons  unacquainted  with  the  coun- 
try, or  wishin<r  to  purchase,  can,  with'»ut  delay,  have 
!uch  a  {dantation  pointed  out  to  them,  as  would  suit 
iheir  wishes,  and  the  purchaser  and  seller  at  once  be 
sfcle  to  meet  each  other.  .A.nd,  on  the  other  hand,  sell- 
es  can  bring  their  land  to  the  notice  of  those  directly 
concerned,  without  that  notoriety  which  is  often  un- 
I^easnnt  »ii!iin  itself.  [ 

Persons  who  wish  the  aid  of  this  office  in  selling, ; 
inist  give  a  foil  and  arcunite  description  of  their  land,  j 
in  order  th:\t  a  fair  and  candid  renrescnt;aicn  may  be  I 
u»de  to  the  purchaser.  _  j 

This  -Ageniv  will  be  advertised  in  the  most  promi- J 
nan  a-ricuhural  papers.  . ,       ,  .^  I  THE    PROPERTY    OF     JOHX    R.     WOODS, 

All  cuiuntunicaiions  must  be  postpaid,  and  if  an  an-  i 
•wr  is  required.  u:ust  be  accompanied  with  a  postage        Xear  Iw  Depot,  Albemarle  County,  Ya. 
•tEuip,  and  thev  will  be  )>ronip\lv  attended  to.  .  r  .; ; 

E^  Resisterincr  Fee,  $10.      "  j     SYMMETRY   is  five   years  old  this  sprin?,  is  a 

Ey~  Ofike  at   Wni.  T.  Anderson's,  Bridge  Street,    rich  bay,  wi  h  black  legs,'i6i  hands  high,  and  com- 

'  bines  great  substance  and   tiue  tbrm,  with  excellent 
temper  and  superior  action- 

The  best  judges  who  have  seen  the  Clevelands  in 
,  England  and  on  the  continent,  say  they  have  never 
.  seen  his  superior. 

He  was  got  by  Periect,  (which  name  indicates  his 
character.)  dam  by  Skyrocket,  g.  dam  by  VVinterlield, 
'  g.  g-  dam  a  superior  Cleveland  mare  by  Rectificator. 
Perfect  was  by  Rubens,  dam  by  Luck's  All,  g.  dam 
by  Volunteer- 
Skyrocket  by  Master  George,  dam  by  Cleveland. 
Cleveland  by  Champion. 

Master  Gecrge  by  King  George,  dam  by  old  Bar- 
naby. 

'  SYMMETRY'S  dam.  a  superior  coaching  mare, 
■  obtained  the  FIRST  PRIZE  at  the  .\ewtoa-on-Ouse 
I  Agriculiural  show  in  I  8.>5 ;  beatins  a  large  class; 
\  and  the  SECO.ND  PRIZE  at  the  Wetherby  Agricnl- 
i  tural  Show  the  saire  year.  The  whole  nf  her  stock 
jhave  recei-.cd  FIRSTPRIZES  at  the  different  Ag- 
'  riculrural  Shows. 

SYM  METhY  will  serve  mares  at  $35  the  season, 
'  which  can  be  discharged  by  the  payment  of  $30  be- 
,  fore  the  1st  of  July,  and  50  to  insure,  with  fil'ty  cents 
i  to  the  groom.  Pastuiage.  &c.,  at  the  usual  rates. 
;  Mares  from  a  distance  will  have  every  care  taken  of 
'  them,  bi!t  no  responsibility  incurred  for  accidents, 
j  Near  Ivv  Depot  P.  O.,  .Albemarie  Co.,  Va. 

I      April  6<1— It 


i.eit  Q.-«or  to  Messrs.  Irbv  &  Sniinders 

nay  '59— if  '      LEYBLRX  WILKES. 

No.  -319,  head  Broad  Street,  Shockoe  Hill, 

RICH>IOND,  VA. 

Waolesa'e  and  Retail  Deiaii  Dealer  in  English,  French 
and  American 

(GS.  MEDICINE . 

PliatSjOils.  \  iiriiishes  and  Dye-Stiifis:  W  indow  Glass, 

Puity,  Glue  and  Sand  Paper:  Palnr,  Camel's 

Hair   and    Whitewash    Brushes;     Cloth 

Hair,  Flesh,  Nail  and  Tooth  Brushes. 

F'iue  aud  Choice  Perfumery,  Fancy  Goods, 

PURE  I.IQ.UORS  AND  AVINCS, 

For  Medicinal  and  Sacramental  Purposes. 
Surgical  Instruments,  Trusses,  Shoulder  Braces, 
Supporters,  &lc. 

Landreth's  Celei3rated  Garden  Seeds, 

In  great  varietv.    Also, 

DRS.  LiYNES-  ASD  ROSES 

FAMILY    ^lELICIXES, 
MEXICAN  MUSTANG  LINIMENT. 

T.wether  with  all  ilie  must  po;nilar  P.-M'E.N  T  A.XD 
BOTAMCAL  MEDICI.NES,  direct  from  the  Propri- 
etors. 

Orders  from  Country  Merchants  and  Physicians 
thankfully  received  and  promptly  aiiended  to. 

t^  All  articles  trom  this  Establishment  are  war- 
ranted pure,  fresh  and  genuine.  dec  58 — ly 

Com  Shellers  of  Various  Kinds- 

The  C\liit(Jer  torliand  wiil  sliell  400  busiieU  per 
day,  ilif  same  for  horse  power  and  baud  will  shell  the 
same  bv  hand  and  600  bv  horse  powr-r.  The  Readins 
Sheller  will  shell  from   1,000  lo  1,5(:0  bushels. 

WHE-'Vr  FA.NS,  and  the  usual  varietv  of  machi- 
nery onTiand.  H.  M.  SMITH, 

oc  5S — tf  14  Main  Street. 


Essex  Figs  for  Sale. 

The  subscriber  has  a  few  pure  bred  E-?sex  PIGS. 
Price  $10  each.  Also  some  hf  If  Essex,  out  of  .'?ows 
of  '*  Berkshire  and  Grazier"  stock.  Price  of  the  lat- 
ter, $15  for  two. 

'I'he  best  only  of  the  litter  will  be  sent  to  persons 
ordering  them- 

May   59.  JAMES  E.  WILLIA.MS. 


Rich's  Iron  Beam  Plows- 

A  full  supply  on  hand,  and  for  sale  by 

H.  M.  SMITH, 
oc  53 — tf.  14  Main  Street 


SOUTHERX  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


PHOSPHATIC    GUANO, 

FHOM  THE  ISLAND  OF  SOMBEERO,  West  Indies, 

THE  RICHEST  DEPOSITE  OF  PHOSPHATE  OF  tlME  KNOWN  TO  THE  >VORlD. 

By  a  careful  analysis  of  an  average  sample  of  different  cargoes,  the  annexed  eminent  Chemists 
have  found  this  remarkable  deposite  to  contain  of  Phosphate  of  Lime,  as  follows: 

By  Professor  HAYES.  -  Boston.         -         of  1st  Sample,  80.60  percent. 

"                   '•        '  -  '■     '         -  *           ■2d         "  89.20 

"             REESE,  -  Baltimore,   -               1st         "  85.14         " 

"                   "  -  "              -               ^d         "  86.G0         " 

"                   a  .  u              .               3j          ii  7204         " 

"  "  -  "  -  4th        "  7-2.04         '• 

CHILTON,        -  New  York.-  1st        "  86.34         " 

.:  ..  .  .;  .  .J  J         u  349.2         « 

PIGGOT,  -  Baltimore.   -  1st         ••  76.8.5         " 

"  HUSON,    Liverpool.     England.      -  80.20 

DECK,  -  New  York,  -  1st.        "  88.00 

"  '•  of  a  selected  specimen.  '■  98.25         " 

MAUPIN  &TUTTLE.  Ur.iversity  of  Virginia,  85.16 

"  WILLIAM GILHAj\I,MilitaryListinite, Lexington,  Va.,  S3.40         " 

Thus  proving  it  to  average  the  richest  deposite  of  Pho.«phate  of  Lime  kno^vn  to  the  world. 

Pure  Bone  Dust  contains  but  55  or  50  per  cent,  of  this  important  Phosphate:  hence  a  compari- 
?on  of  the  relative  value  of  the  two,  will  at  o;>ce  show  which  is  the  most  desirable  for  Agricultura 
purposes. 

Guanos  are  of  two  distinct  species — those  in  which  the  Phosphates  of  Lime  predominate.e  - 
in  Sombrero,  and  others;  and  those  in  which  Ammonia  predominates,  as.  in  the  Peruvla.i.  if-f^y 
experience  and  theory  establish  the  fact,  that  Ammonia  and  Phosi^hate  of  Lime  are  essential  ir. 
gredients  for  a  general  fertilizer,  and,  consequently,  for  general  purposes,  a  proper  mixture  of  the 
two  is  recommended:  whilst  the  Peruvian  and  other  Ammoniated  Guanos,  are  mere  stimulants  o- 
tiuickeners  of  the  soil,  the  Sombrero  and  other  Phosphatic  Guanos,  are  permanent  fer'jlizers,  but  of 
slower  action  and  less  perceptible  effect  the  first  year,  unless  aided  by  some  stimulants.  Hence 
ttife  grent  imp'-irtance  cf  combining  the  two  in  proper  proportions,  which,  if  done,  makes  the  best- 
most  iot,Ltr,u,iu,  £(.'•  f.-r.3}nmical  fertilizer  known.  Assuming  the  cost  of  Peruvian  Guano  at  $62, 
and  Sombrero  at  $34  per  ton — and  with  one-quarter  of  the  former,  mix  .thiee-quarters  of  the 
XaWki,  (you.cii  proportions  are  recommended  by  experienced  Farmers.^  it  gives,  at  a  cost  of  about  §41 
per  ton,  a  fertilizer  far  more  valuable  and  permanent  than  the  Peruvian  ffZowe.  The  agriculturist 
need  only  be  reminded  of  the  nature  of  the  two  predominating  ingredients,  in  the  different  species 
of  Guano,  to  enable  him  to  understand  the  proper  mode  of  its  application.  Whilst  Ammonia  (in  the 
Peruvian)  is  liable  to  evaporate  or  rise,  Phosphate  of  Lime  (in  the  Sombrero)  is  heavy,  and  liable  to 
sink  below  the  reach  of  the  roots  of  plants  Therefore  it  should  be  either  dej^osited  in  the  hill,  or 
drill  with  the  crop,  or  used  as  a  top  dressing,  in  the  proportion  of  from  200  to  400  Jbs.  to  the  acre, 
according  to  the  wants  of  the  soil.  If  used  as  a  top  dressing,  the  Spring  is  the  best  time,  when 
the  crop  is  assuming  its  strength  and  sustenance,  as,  at  that  time,  the  benefit  of  the  Ammonia  is 
less  likely  to  be  lost  than  if  used  in  the  Fail  or  early  Winter. 

EDMOND  DAVENPORT  &  CO.,  Agents. 

RICHMOND,    Virginia. 

J^==It  can  also  be  obtained  of  A.  GARRETT.  E.  WORTHAM  &  CO..  DUKE  &  HUTCHIN- 
SON, and  E    H.  SKINKER,  Richmond.  'Feb.  1,  185S. 

CO-PARTNERSHIP    NOTICE. 

I  have  this  day  admitted  as  a  partner.  Mr.  JOHN  N.  JENNINGS.  The  busine^iS  will 
in  future  be  conducted  at  my  old  stand,  No.  118  Main  Street,  under  the  firm  and  style  of  SAMUEL  S.  COT- 
TPiELL  &  CO.,  where  we  have  on  hand  a  fine  assortment  of  S;i(ld|ps,  Bridle.*,  Whips,  CarriasT'',  Cart  and 
Wapon  Harness,  of  every  description  aud  quality,  and  will"  contiuue  to  nmnufactiire  lo  order  and  for  sale, 
everv  class  of  poods  in  o:)r  line. 

There  was  awarded  me  at  the  United  States  Fair  last  Fall,  three  silver  Medals  for  SUPERIOR  SPECI- 
MENS OF  WORK.M.\NSHlP  ;  since  whi^-h  ti.-ne  our  faciiiiies  have  greatlv  increased,  (Rid  we  now  Halter 
ourselves  that  we  can  furnish  eveiy  article  in  our  line,  not  to  be  surpassed  iu  quality,  and  at  as  low  prices 
as  any  other  establishment  in  this  country. 

I  bPg  leave  to  return  my  sincere  thanks  to  my  old  friends  and  the  public  generally  for  the  liberal  patron- 
age  heretofore  bestowed   upon  nie,  and  respectfully  solicit  a  continuance  of  the  same  to  the  new  conceiD, 
pledging  ourselves  to  use  our  utmost  endeavors  to  please  oui  friends  and  patrons. 
Feb  1S59— Iv  SAMUEL  S.  COTTRELL. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


'''^•^''"■^^^^i^^?^)£S?^ 


'be  above  cut  is  a  representation  of  J.  HA  W'S  Pecker  Saw  Mill. 

t  is  simple  in  its  construction,  very  dur.ilile;  and  is  well  ada[)tecl  for  plantation  sawinj:.  It  will  saw 
witlfrom  4  to  6  horse-power  from  l.OflO  to  1,500  feet  per  day,  if  properly  managed.  Tiie  carriage  is  21  feel 
lonaand  will  cut  logs  iliat  will  s()uare  to  21  inches,  and  cuts  all  kinds  of  timber.  The  timber  is  inserted 
in  il  oblong  plate,  and  can  be  renewed  when  worn  out. 

I  live  given  the  Mill  a  fair  trial,  and  warrant  the  performance  as  above  stated.  The  price  of  the  Mill  is 
$26|  witli  extra  jiiniuns,  screw-wrench,  cant-hooks,  set'punch,  and  one  extra  set  ot  teeth.  Any  good  thresh- 
er hrse-power  will  answer  lo  drive  it.  I  also  make  Threshing  A'achines  from  4  to  12  horse  power,  and 
Thit=lieis  10  thresh  and  clean  Wheat  at  the  same  operation,  for  which  1  can  give  satisfactory  references  to 
thejrgest  farmers  on  the  Pamunkey  River.    Those  wishing  further  information,  will  address  ' 

\)c t ober  18.')S— tf ^ JOH  N   H  A  W,  Old  C hiirch.  Hanover  Co.,  Va. 

N'A.'VA.SSA.   aTJA.]sro 

THE  RICHEST  PHOSPHATIC  GUAXO  IMPORTED. 

'^our  attention  is  respectfully  invited  to  the  annexed  Analysis  and  Reports  on  the  Guano  offered  by  me, 
an  especially  to  the  fact  therein  shown,  that  it  contains  in  a  given  bulk  a  greater  amonnt  of  Phosphates 
t\i3  is  found  in  any  other  manure,  natural  or  artificial,  yet  offered  t()  the  public.  Phosphoric  acid  is  now 
adjilied  by  the  best  agricultural  authorities  to  be  the  one  thing  above  all  others  necessary  to  be  returned 
to  ie  soil,  to  enable  it  to  |)roduce  an  unfailingly  good  crop  without  permanently  impairing  its  general  fertility; 
in  lis  guano  we  have  it  presented  in  the  form  best  adapied  for  such  a  purpose.  I  am  anxious  to  have, some 
of  (tried  in  every  distrtct,  and  also  that  such  as  try  it,  may  favor  me  tiiroiigh  my  Agents,  with  the  earliest' 
jnfqmution,  as  to  bow  far  it  has  practically  borne  out  the  anti.-.ipations  of  those  who  have  scientifically  ex- 
ainiied  its  constituents,  with  a  view  to  ensible  me,  and  district  Agf  nts  to  make  early  arrangements  for  an  ade- 
quJe  supply  lor  the  following  year.  Owing  to  the  rapidly  diminishing  supply  of  Guano  from  the  Chincha 
lsljids,it»  yearly  advancing  price,  and  the  exhaustive  effects  produced  by  its  too  (ree  application  to  the  land, 
froi  its  possessing  too  much  ammonia,  in  proportion  to  its  Phosphates,  Navassa'  Guano  excels  it  in  practical 
useand  esi)ecially  to  the  farmer  as  permanently  improving  to  the  land,  which  might  yearly  receive  IVom  the 
appication  of  NA  ^'ASSA  (iUANO,  more  Phosphates  than  the  crop  would  deprive  it  of. 

All  local  Merchants  and  Dealers  are  required  to  give  a  guarantee  on  purchasing  that  they  will  sell  it  to 
cotiumers  genuine,  as  received.  Very  respectfully,  W.M.  F.  MURDjOCK, 

IVo.  29  Exchange  Building,  Baltimore,  April  4,  1858. 
Report  of  ^^nahjsis  of  "  Navassa  Guano" — Made  for  E.  K.  COOPER. 
The  sample  was  found  upon  Analysis  to  be  composed  as  follows — 
I  Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime,     -  -  -  -  84.73 

Containing  of  Phosphoric  Acid,  -  -  38.82 

Fluoride  of  Calcium, 

Carbonate  of  Lime,  .... 

Per  Oxide  of  Iron  and  Some  Alumna,  ... 

Water,  &c.  -  -  -  -  ■        - 

100. 
The  extraordinarily  hig'i  per  centage  of  Phosphate  of  Lime  above  stated,  recommends  this  article  at  once 
as  a  su|>erior  Phosphatic  manure,  especially  at  the  present  time  when  the  want  of  the  better  qualities  of  Phos- 
phatic  Guanos  is  most  seriously  felt.  The  presence  of  Fluoride  of  Calcium  is  of  no  slight  importance.  This 
8Mbstat.ee  serves  as  a  direct  nutriment  to  plants  and,  subsequently,  enters  the  composition  of  the  Bones  and 
Teeth  of  Animals.  '  CHA6.  BICKELL.  Ph.  U. 

Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime.  P)oni-  Phosphate  of  Lime. 

Jas.  R.  Chilton,  M.D.,  New  York,  83.78  R.  H.  Stabler,  M.D.,  Alexandria,  85.92 

For  sale  by  S.  McGRUDERS  SONS,  E.  H.  SKINKER  &  CO.,  Richmond;  JOHN  ROWLETT  & 
CO.,  H  C.  HARDY  &  CO.,  Petersburg:  SCOTT,  FRENCH  &  CO..  Frederick-bura ;  GARRISON  & 
MAIG.VE,  Norlolk;  J.  C.  NEVETT,  Alexandria;  VALENTINE  S.  BitUNNER,  Frederick,  Md.;  BENJN 
DARBY,  Georgetown,  D.  C.  May  1859— tf 


2  .'•4 
5.35 
3.00 
4.38 


SOUTHERX  PLAXTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


WHEELER,  MELICK  &  CO., 

New  York  State  Afi^ricultural  Work; 


o 


.  t  %. 


[double  power  and  combined  thresher  and  winsower,  at  work.] 

Manufacturers  of  Endless  Chain  Railwaj-  Horse  Powers,  and  Farmers'  and  Planters'  Mclii- 
nery  for  Horse  Power  use,  and  owners  of  tlie  Patents  on,  and  principal  makers  of  the  lllow- 
ing  valuable  Machine? : 

WHEELER'S  PATENT  DOUBLE  HOESE  POWER, 

AND 

IMPROVED  COMBmED  THRESHER  AND  WINNOWER, 

[shown  is  the  cct.] 

WHEELER'S  KvIFROVED  PATENT  COMBn'TED   THRESHER  AlTD  WINNO'WBR 

Is  a  model  of  simplicity  ami  compacTness,  and  is  made  in  the  most  substajJtial  manner,  so  that  it  dura- 
bility equals   its  etficieiK;y  and  perfection  of  work.     Its   capacity,   under  ordinary  circumstancs,  has 
been  from  l"i3  to  175  bushels  of  Wheat,   and   from    200  to   300  bushels   of  Oats  per  day.     It  wcks  ail 
other  kinds  of  Grain  equally  well,  and  also  threshes  and  cleans  Rice,  Clover  and  Timoliiv  Seed. 
Pri:e,  $245. 

WHEELERS  PATENT  SINGLE  HORSE  POWER, 

AND 

OVERSHOT  THRESHER  WITH  VIBRATING  SEPARATOR 

Threshes  from  75  to  100  bushels  of  Wheat,  or  twice  as  many  Oats  per  day  without  changing  aorses — 
by  a  change  nearly  double  the  quartity  may  be  threshed.  Pri^e,  $128. 

WHEELER'S  PATENT  DOUBLE  HORSE  POWER, 

AND 

OVERSHOT  THRESHER  WITH  VIBRATING  SEPARATOR, 

Doe.s  double  the  work  of  the  Single  Macliine,  and  is  adapted  to  the  wants  of  large  and  medium  jirain 
flowers,  and  persons  who  make  a  business  of  threshing.  "  Price.  $160 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


WHEELER'S  MW  FOUR  HORSE,  OR  SIX  MIJLE  HORSE  POWER, 

Is  a  recent  invention,  designed  to  meet  the  wants  of  Soiuheni  and  Western  customers      We  be- 
lieve it  the  simplest  and  most  perfect  Lever  Power  made.  Price,  $100. 

Also,  Circular  and  Cross-Citt  Salving-   Machines,   Clover  Hullers,  Feed  Cutters,  Horse- 
Rakes,  and  other  Farmiug   Machiues. 


To  persons  wishing  more  information  and  applying  hy  mail,  we  will  forward  a  Circular 
contciiniiig  such  details  as  j^iueliasers  mostly  want--and  can  refer  to  gentlemen  having  our  Ma- 
chines in  every  State  and  Territory. 

Our  firm  have  been  engaged  in  manufactiMng  this  class  of  Agricultural  Machinery  2-5  years, 
:ind  have  had  longer, 'larger  and  more  extended   and  successful  experience  tlian  any  other  house. 

All  our  Machines  are  warranted  to  give  entire  satisfaction,  or  may  be  returne<l  at  the  expira- 
tion of  a  reasonable  time  for  trial. 

g^^  Orders  accompanied  with  satisfactorj''  references,  will  be  iilled  with  promptness  and 
lidelity :  and   Machines,   securely   packed,    will    be   forwarded    according   to    instructions,   or   by 


cheapest  and  best  routes 
April  G0-.2t 


WHE.TILEH,  MBLICK  &  CO., 


GROVER  8l  BAKER'S 

CELEBRATED  FAMILY  SEWING 


MACHmES. 


Extra  charge 


NEW  STYLES—Priees  from  $50  to  $125. 
of  $5  for  Hemmers. 

This  Machine  sews  from  two  spools,  as  purchaseil  from  the  store, 
requiring  no  re-winding  on  ihre  id.  It  hpin:^,  fells,  gathers  and  stitches 
in  a  superior  stvle,  finishing  eacli  seam  hy  its  own  operation,  without 
iccourse  to  the  hand  needle,  as  is  required  hy  other  machines.  It  will 
do  hetter  and  cheaper  sewing  than  a  seamstress  can,  even  if  she  works 
lor  one  cent  an  hour. 


Sales  Room,  under  Mechanics'  Institute,  Richmond,  Va.,  0th  Street. 


To  the  Grover  &,' Bfiker's  Seirinsr  Machine  Co. — Gents:  Perhaps  you  may  like  to  know  how  the  Gro- 
ver  <fc  Baker  liiachines  are  doing  in  Cuha.  We  have  twenty-five  of  your  machines  in  use,  making  govern- 
ment clothing  for  thekormy,  and  plantation  sewing,  which  we  liave  had  in  use  now  about  eieliteen  months, 
and  their  performance  lias  far  exceeded  our  most  sanguine  expectations.  We  run  the  maciiines  constantly 
hy  steam,  at  a  higii  rate  of  speed,  and  we  find  them  to  require  but  little  re|)air — inileed,  tiiey  scein  not  to  be 
worn  at  all.  We  have  tried  both  the  Singer  and  Wheeler  &  Wilson  machines,  but  rlicy  have  been  long 
since  laid  aside  in  the  race.  One  thing  we  are  sure  of— that  the  Grover  &.  Baker  machine  is  the  only  ma- 
chine for  our  work.  Joh.v  J.  Slocum, 

Svp'i  of  the  Indtistrn,  Cabona,  Havana. 


Some  years  since  I  purchasfd  a  Shuttle  Machine,  and  found  so  much  trouble  in  working  it,  that  I  gave 
it  away, "and  after  closelv  examining  the  inechanism  and  working  of  every  machine  within  my  reach,  I  pur 
chased  a  Grover  &  Baker,  as  best  suited  to  do  the  sewing  ot' niv  I'amily.  I  have  found  it  simple,  easily 
kept  in  order,  and  in  evidence  ol'  its  simplicity,  will  state  that  my  daushter.  when  about  ten  yeiirs  old,  with- 
out any  particular  instruction,  had  no  diffieiiltv  in  working  it,  and  finds  it  verv  fascinating  eniplovnient. 

ROBERT  CHILSDEN,  Beaufort,  S.  C 
Janl860-6t. 


COUNTY  AGENTS  WANTED. 

S]^/^  A  MONTH,  anti  all  expenses  paid, 
Ovy      to  introduce   our  New   N.\tioxal 


FOR  SALE. 

A  SPLENDID  YOUNO  STALLION, 

Sired  by  "  KOSSUTH,"  and  out  of  a  tliorougli  bred 
Double  Thread  $20  Sewing  Machixe  The  mare.  "He  is  sixteen  hands  high,  four  years  (dd— is 
cheapest,  and  best.  For  complete  instructions  and  thoroughly  broken  to  harness,  and  has  received  five 
a  permanent  business,  address,  with  stamp,  fimf  premiums. 

T    vv    HARPisi  A-  rr\  '      (-'oi.OK  a  rich  hav. 

J.  w.  MAittaa  o.  uu.,  ,     g,jq^i,.^   ^j    SOUTHERN   PL.VNTER   Office  for 

Shoe  and  Leather  Exchange,  Boston,  Mass.      ;  f^,i(  particulars. 
April— 2t  r.ia-:  fiO. 


10 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


YIRGI 


S.  Mc 


FERTlLIZERj 

OR, 

R'S  SONS' 


SF^N. 


RUVIA 


We  offer  for  sale  PHOSPHO-PEKUVIAN  GUANO,  Manufoctured.by  ourselves,  and 
warranted  to  contain  EIGHT  PER  CENT  OF  AMMONIA,  and  FOPvTY-FIVE  to 
FIFTY  PER  CENT  OF  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME. 

PRICE,  $50 -CASH,  PER  TON,  OF  2000  POUNDS, 


Having  been  for  many  years  largely  engaged  in  the  Guano  trade,  and  carefully  observed  and 
had  reported  to  us,  by  reliable  practical  farmers,  the  result  of  experiments  with  nearly  every 
variety  of  Guano,  enables  us  to  furnish  a  Fertilizer  which  we  with  great  confidence  recommendi 
and  believe  to  be  much  cheaper  than  the  Peruvian,  when  used  alone. 

The  ingredients  in  this  preparation  are  the  very  best  Peruvian  and  Phosphatic  Guanos,  se- 
lected with  great  care  and  by  rigid  analyses — ground  to  a  very  fine  powder,  and  thoroughly  and 
intimately  mixed.  There  is  no  secret  as  to  the  ingredients  used,  or  process  of  manufacturing: 
and  our  Mill  will,  at  all  times,  be  open  tg  Fanners  who  desire  to  see  for  themselves. 


'3 


Wo  do  not  think  this  Fertilizer  can  be  excelled;  and    its   beneficial   effects,  in  the  improvement 
of  the  land,  is  unquestionable. 

We  shall    also  keep  constantly  on   hand    a   supply  of   FINE    GROUND    BOKE    DUST  and 
BONE  ASH.     je@=  PRICE  .$3o  per  Ton. 


Mar  CO— 6m 


S.  McGRUDER'S  SONS,  Riclimond. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


11 


RHODES'  SUPEB-PHQSPHAT 


Every  lot  offered  for  sale  regularly  Analyzed  and  fully  Warranted. 

,  MANUFACTURED   BV 


B.  ]SJ:.  PtHODES  &  CO., 

Office  b-J  South  Street,  Boivly's  Wliurf,  Baltimore,  Md. 


Packed  in  Barrels  and  Bags.    Price  $45  per  ton,  cash,  in  Baltimore. 

AGEKTS  IN  riRGINIJ. 


RirliiMond— SCfTAEPv,  KOHLER  &  CO, 
Petersburg— VENA  BLE  &  MORTON. 
Lynchbuig— M.  HOLlJiNS   &  CO. 
Norlblk— B.  J-  BOCKOVER. 
Mav  1859— ly 


Alexandria— V.'ATERS,  ZBHiDRMAN  &  CO. 
Fre(ieri(!kslmrir— SCOT]',  PREACH  ii  CO. 
Fannville— H^E.  WARREN. 
Blacks  &,  Whites— JEFFERSON  &.  WILLIAM- 
SO.\. 


AGSNC 


GOLD^TREET,  NEW  YOSK. 


jTiy.s 


THIS  is  a  CONICAL  FRENCH  BURR  STONE  .MILL,  of  great- 
'  Iiriproved    Cot.striiction,    coiiihining  advautafres  over  ail   others 
same  material,  in  coijipaciness,  simplicity,  the  small  amount  of 
jiower  rpqnre.l  t'.:  t  j^t-raie  it,  in  not  heaiing^   tiie   meal,  and   in  being 
adapted  to  £:rind  on  the  same  .Mill,  the  cours-est  feed   and   finest  flour. 
N^groPs  of  sufficient  intfUigence  to  run   and  keep  it  in  perlect  grind- 
ing order,  are  found  on   every  ))lantation.     The    Gin    povv(  r   used  bv 
i'lanters  is  admirul)ly  adapted  lo,  drive  the  EXCELSIOR  !\ULL. 
Two  good  hordes  working  on  any  good  po«er,  will  grind  five  bushels  flour,  or  fine  meal  ihe  hour.     It  is 
only  36  inches  long,  18  wide,  and  18  iiigh— weighs  3!10  pounds.     The  best  iMill   ever  invented  for  plantation 
-will  last  a  life  time,  aiid  therefore  must  not   he  confounded  with  the  numberless  Iron    Mills  with  whicli 


planters  have  been  huuibugged  lor  years  past. 
PR1CE-$100 

Descri|)iive  Circulars  sent  by 
Nov.  1859— tim 


It  is  a  perfect  gem,  of  inestimable  value  on  any  plantation. 
J.  A.  BENNET,  Sole  AsreiiU 


We  oS'er  to  the  Planters  of  Virginia  a  Guano  prepared  by  tis  as  follows  : 
1000  lbs.  of  the  best  Peruvian  Guano  that  can  be  procured  ; 
800  lbs.  of  the  best  Sombrero  Guano,  containing  full  80  ^  cent  of  the  Phosphate  of  Lime. 
•200_^lbs.  of  the  best  Ground  Plaster,  for  which  we  pay  $2  ^  ton  extra. 
Planters  anil  dtliers  are  invited  to  examine  the  article.     From  the  best  information  we  can  ob- 
tain, we  believe  the  mixture  is  one  of  the  best  that  can  be  prepared  for  the  Virginia  lands. 
Price  to  Planters,  §4S'^3-  ton,  or  ^2  ^-  ton  less,  where  they  furnish  baas. 

For  sale  by  EDMOND  DAVENPORT  &  CO. 

Also  for  sale  b;j  Commhssuni  and  Groceri/  Merchants  in  this  City. 

We, refer  to  Planters  who  have  used  the  Sombrero  and  the  Manipulated  Guano — among  them  James  Gait, 
Esq.,  A.  Warwick,  Esq.,  Joseph  Allen,  Esq.,  R.  H.  Styll.  Esq.,  and  others. 

Below  we  give  I).  K.  Tnttle's  (Chenust  at  University  of  Virginia)  report  of  the  same,  samjiles  from  72 
bags,  and  it  shall  he  kept  to  that  xtandard. 

"  I  am  now  able  to  give  you  the  results  of  analysis.  They  show  the  Mixture  to  be  what  yon  stated  in  a 
tbrm'.r  letter,  and  I  judge  that  you  are  very  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  materials,  especiaJlv  of  Peruviai! 
Guano.  The  per  centage  of  Ammonia  shows  the  pure  Peruvian  to  contain  12'4  jier  cent.,  which  is  more 
liian  the  averiige      The  Analysis  is  as  follows  : 

Moisture  (given  off  at  boiling  point  of  water,) 
Phosphate  of  Lime,  -  -  -  . 

Sulphuric  Acid,  6.15  ) 
Lime,  3.C4, ) 

Ammonia,  -  -  .  -  .  . 

Insoluble  Matter,  .--... 

A  small  qnaniily  of  .Alkali — nndeterniined,      > 
Water  in  combination  and   Onraiiic  Matter,  S  "  *  " 


10.05 
48  26 

9.09 

6.20 
1.55 

24.85 


100.00 
Hoping  that  your  Fertilizer  may  meet  with  the  succes.s  which  it  deserves. 

I  remain,  very  respectfully  vours, 
Jan— If  \  '      D.  K.   TUTTLE. 


12 


SOUTHERN  PLAXTER.— ADTERTISIXG  SHEET. 


A  FEW  THOUGHTS  ON 

cdxCEXTRATED  FERTILIZERS. 

The  subjeci  of  Conroitrr.ltd  Firiilizers  is  one' only  200  lo  300 fcs.  per  a<;re,  besides  the  freight, 
>f  great  importance  to  agrienlture.   Their  nse  in-'  &c..  are  just  ilouble  in  the  former  case. 


Tolves  tlie  outlar  of  Ta~t  sums  of  money,  hence 
we  submit  a  few  thonghts,  lf.oking  to  economy.; 


of  fertilizers. 


The  point  to  be  looked  at,  \s  the  amount  of  money 
spent  npon  each  acre   to  produce  given  results. 


which  mav  not  be  without  interest  to  consumers;  Thii?,  GWffis.  per  acre  of  a    fenilizer.  costing 


^45  per  ton,  is  an  ontlay  of  cxacty  $13  .50  per 


AllfertilizersmaybediTidediniotwoclas-es— ;a"e«"'''>«  ^'^  application  of  300B5.  per  acre, 
namely:  first,  «>««n/ra/frf,or  those  which  require';  ^^  «  fertilizer  costing  ^OO  per  ton,  is  exactly  an 
an  application  of  from   100  to  300 fts.  per  acrcj  oat  of -li?  50  per  acre. 


From  these  considerations  it  is  obvious  that 
the  lesB  cosily  fertilizers  are  by  far  the  most  ex- 


REESE"  S  GUANO. 
WHAT  IT  CUNTAKS. 


only;  and,  secondly,  bulky,  or  those  which  re- 
quire an  application  of  600  to  1000  or  jnore- 
fts.  per  acre,  to  produce  a  desir.*  result-  ;  Pensive,  unless,  indeed,  they  require  no   larger 

Of  the  former  of  these,  Phosphate  of  Lime  andi  applications  to  produce  similar  results,  or  rather, 

J    _  ^t.,t^  .!..>  ^-iw-  .>i^w.^.>»>~  ,r  ^«ino    contain  an  equal  amount  of  Ammoma  and  Phos- 

Ammonia  constitute  the  only  elements  oi  value.  ^ 

rj,,-      ■  ,   Li-r^j   f ,    i„ ^    -;,„    „,-^-_  »Aa/e  of  ijf?!f.  ■which  is  never  ilie  case. 

This   IS   an    tslablished  fact,   hence    the   precise,^  J 

money  value  of  any  concentrated  fertilizer  may 

be  easily  determined   when  it  is  known  what 

quantity  of    these    two    elements   it   contains.] 

The    latter   class,    or   buU.-y  fertilizers,  such    as 

Plaster,  Salt,  (or  chloride  of  sodium.)  Ashes,  &c..ii      Beese's Phospo-Peruvian(cr Manipulated) Guano, 

ic.  are  valuable,  but  they  cannot  be  considered!  contains  8  to   83  6s.  Ammonia,  and  50  to  55ibs. 

valuable  at  the  price  of  guano:    say  45    to    50,  Phosphate  of  Lime  in  every  100 fcs.  of  the  Guano, 

dollars  per  ton,  because  they  have  to  be  applied;  and    requires    no    larger  application,    per  acre. 

in  very  lai^e  quantities  per  acre,  to  produce  anyj  than  Perurtan  Guano,  to  produce  equal  or  better 

effect,  while  a  very  small  application  of  a  con-  results. 

centrated  fertilizer,  containing  a  large  per  centum       Reese's  Guano  is  composed  ezclusitcly  of  Peru- 

of  Ammonia  and  Phosphate  of  Lime,  suffices  to  rian  and   finely  ground    "  Sombrero''   Guano,  in 

produce  the  desired  result.     If  it  were  not  so  the  proportions  of  one  half  each. 

cost  of  these  articles  would  preclude  their  use.l      The    Guanos    are    uniformly    and    intimately 

Hence  we  say,  the  value  of  all  concentrated^  combined  by  machinery,  perfi^cted  by  four 
fertilizers  depends  entirely  upon  the  quantity  of '  years  experience. 

these  two  substances  they  contain,  because  if  Sombrero  Guano  is  the  richest  and  most  uni- 
:hey  contain  small  quantities  they  are  less  con-  form  source  of  Phosphate  of  Lime  known  to  the 
cintrated,  and  require  larger  applications  per  country.  It  contains  an  average  of  75  to  80  per 
acre,  at  greater  cost:  hence  it  becomes  tlie  inter-  cent.,  and  is  uniform  in  qua^ty. 
est  of  farmers  to  look  to  this  fact  in  purchasing  We  have  used  Sombrero  Guano,  since  the 
•supplies.  Spring  of  1857,  jn  the  preparation  of  our  ariicle, 

There  is  a  very  natural  disposition,  on  the  hence  we  A-n«ir  it  to  be  reliable, 
part  of  all,  to  buy  at  the  lowest  price,  and  there  Reese's  Gvano,  composed  as  above,  has  been 
is  a  corresponding  disposition,  on  the  part  of:  used  in  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  the  South,  for 
*•  fertilizer  venders,''  to  furnish  low  priced  Tbfcarco,  Wheat,  Com,  and  Cotton,  during  tlje 
articles,  in  order  to  mtfke  sales,  but  in  the  pur-  years  1856,  "57,  '58,  '59  and  '60.  It  'is  knoicn, 
chAseof  concentrated  fertilizers,  it  isalinost  certain  established,  and  approved,  having  passed  through 
tliat  the  cheaper  are  the  most  costly.  'a  period  of  four  years  probation,  wi'h  largely 

For  example,  a  fenilizer  at  $45  per  ton,  re-  increased  and  largely  increasing  demand, 
quiring  400  to  600  ft 5.  per  acre,  is  actually  cost-.  Its  success  has  demonstrated  the  fact,  that  a 
ing  .$9<D  per  ton  when  compared  with  an  article;  truthful  combination  of  a  rich  Photphatic  Guano, 
which  can  be  bought  at  $50  per  ton,  requiring]  with  ^n  equal   weight  of  Peruvian  Guano,  is  a 


SOUTHERN  PLANTEE,— ADVERTISING   SHEET. 


13 


better,  move  couvetiient,  and   economical  fertilizer 
than  Peruvian  Guano  alone. 

WHAT  IT  DOES  NOT  COXTiL\. 

Reese's  Guano  does  not  contain  either  Plastei- 
Sail,  (or  Chloride  of  Sodiiun.)  .^shes,  or  any  other 
substance  than  the  two  Guanos.  Hence  it  is 
strictly  a  conreiU rated  fertilizer,  rich  in  ^immoiiia 
find  Pliosphate  of  Lime. 

The  addition  of  Salt,  Plaster,  &c.,  &c.,  to  com- 
binations of  Guano,  reduces  their  value  and  in- 
creases their  bulk:  Phosphate  of  Lime  and  Am- 
aioiiia,  are  two  valnable  in  concentrated  fertilizers 
to  give  place  to  Plaster,  which  is  worth  only  -$7 
per  ton,  or  Salt,  worth  "20  to  25  cents  per  bushel. 

Plas  er.  Salt,  and  other  btilky  fertilizers  should 
be  applied  separately,  in  such  quantities  per 
acre  as  experience  teaclies.  They  should  be 
bought  at  their  market  value,  and  not  in  coiid^i- 
nation  with  Guano. 

Combinations  of  Guano,  containing  Plaster, 
Salt,  &c.,  can  readily  be  sold  at  a  lower  i)rice 
than  a  Guano  containing  none  of  these  cheap 
and  bulky  articles;  but  it  must  be  observeil, 
much  larger  aplieations,  per  acre,  are  required, 
and  hence,  as  shown  above,  they  are,  in  fact, 
nearly  double  the  cost.  The  object  to  be  attained 
by  the  farmer,  is  the  greatest  value  in  the  least 
bulk. 

We  prepare  but  one  article  as  above,  being 
satisfied,  after  four  years  experience,  it  cannot 
be  imj)roved  upon.  And  %ve  assert,  that  the 
same  quantity  of  Phosphate  of  Lime,  and  Jlm- 
monia,  cannot  be  had  in  any  fertilizer,  in  the 
same  condition,  at  the  same  or  less  than  the  price 
of  our  article. 

Our  machinery  and  facilities  for  prcparati  w_ 
delivery  and  shipment,  are  unequaled  by  any 
establirliment  of  recent  construction,  and  we 
invite  farmers,  visiting  the  city,  to  examine.our 
works  and  witness  the  preparation  of  the  Guano. 

5ft'  adrerlisemeyit  on  another  pa^e. 

JOHN  S.  REESE  &  CO., 


VALUABLE  LOUISA  LAND 
FOR  SALE. 

Wishing  to  dispose  of  my  Real  Estate,  in  order 
j  to  divide  the  proceeds  among  my  children.  I 
oiler  for  sale,  piivute!\,  mv  Farm, 

I  SUNNING  HILL. 

This  most  desirable  tract  of  Land  lies  in  the  heart 
of  the  valuable  tobacco  Lauds  of  Louisu,  on  hoi  h 
!  side.s  of  the  south  branch  of  tlic  North  Aniiii  river, 
,  udjoiniDsr  the  lauds  of  H.  P.  Poindoxier,  Gabriel 
i  Jones,  Joseph  .M.  Baker  and  others,  eight  miles  from 
I  Louisa  Court-House  and  Tolersvillc,  on  the  Virginia. 
j  Central  Haihoad,  and  r-qually  conveiiienl  to  bothr 
j  This  Farm  coninins  l,li  Id"  acres,  of  whioh  200  arc 
'  wood  land,  more  than  three-fourths  of  which  are 
;  hea\ily  limbered  with  oak,  pine  and  hiokorv  of  crisi- 
nal  srowih.  The  arable  land  is  lertile  and  in  a  high 
stale  of  improvement — well  atlopted  lo  the  groivih  of 
,  wheat,  corn  and  tobacco.  There  is  a  comfortable 
DWELLLNG,  with  eight  rooms,  a  good  barn,  tobac.-o 
,  houses, and  all  necessary  on^  buildings.  The  locality 
I  is  healitiy  and  the  neighborhood  pleasant.  Presuminl-- 
I  that  any  one  wishine  to  purchase  will  visit  the  Farm 
i  and  see  for  themselves,  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to 
j  .«peak  farther.  The  Farm  is  capable  ot'  being  divided 
j  into  three  tracts,  if  desired.  Behig  very  desirous  of 
!  selling,  terms  will  he  made  to  accommodate  pui- 
I  chasers. 

j  iMy  manager,  Mr.  Gkoom,  will  take  pleasure  in 
;  showing  the  premises  to  anv  one  who  wiibe.*  lo  pur- 
:  chases.  JULIA  A.  HOLLADAY. 

I      For   further  information,  apply  to    Dr.    W.    C.    N. 
iRan.lolph,  Cl.arlot'esville,  Va,;  "or,  H.    T.    Holiidav, 
Rajiid  Ann  Station,  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad, 
who  is  authorized  to  sell.  Feb  I  0 — if 


April,    ISGO. 


BALTIMORE. 


FOR  SALE. 


A  BEAUTIFLL  AND  VALUABLE  FARM. 

Within  an  hour  and  a  half's  ride  by  Rail  Road  ol 
this  City.  Contains  600  acres,  (more  or  less): 
Neighborhood  is  excellent.  Iinpro<ements  amjile 
and  neat,  and  the  situation  of  the  houses  beaiuitiil. 
THIS  IS  A  GOOD  STAND  FOll  A  PHV81CIAN 
OR  LAWYEK,  OR  A  FIRST  CLASS  SCHOOL. 
A  smaller  larm,  or  City  property,  will  be  taken  in 
part  pay  of  the  purchase  money.  For  further  par- 
ticulars apply  to 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS, 

Mar  60.  Office  of  Southern  Planter. 


THIS  BEAUTIFUL  THOROUGH  BRED 
YOUNG  STALLIOX  AND  SURE  FOAL 
GETi'EH,  Now  .six  years  old,  will  stand  this, 
his  second  season,  at  Mulberry  Hill,  Hanover  Coun- 
ty, the  resideni-e  of  the  subscriber,  anu  will  be  let  to 
mares  at  §20  the  season,  dischuri^ed  by  the  payment 
of  $18  before  the  tirst  day  of  Jiily;"$iO  cash  the 
single  leap,  and  §30  insurance,  and  §1.00  to  ihe 
Sroom  ;  parting  w".  h  the  mare  forfeits  the  insurance. 
Season  couuneucing  the  1st  day  of  March,  and  end- 
ing 30th  June. 

DESCRIPTION. 

SULT.AN  is  a  dark  brown,  having  no  white  about 
him,  he  is  a  horse  of  fine  size,  fully  5  feet  3  inches 
hiah,  with  great  power  and  substance;  his  siioulder, 
the  most  material  part  of  the  horse,  is  stiikinsrlv  dis- 
tinguished, being  verv  deep,  fairly  m(/untiiig  to  the 
top  of  the  wiih.ers,  and  <)bli(]iudy  inclined  to  the  hips, 
his  girth  is  full  and  deep,  back  short  and  stroi'ig, 
thighs  and  arms  long  and  nuiscular,  his  bone  o-ood, 
his  head  and  neck  well  formed,  the  latter  risinsr  well 
out  of  his  withers.  Take  him  as  a  whole,  he'is  a 
horse  of  more  power  ami  substance  than  i.s  usually 
found  in  a  thorough-bred.  He  was  trained  when  U\\t 
\ears  old,  and  was  thought  to  be  very  fast,  but  re- 
ceived an  injury  a  few  da\  s  before  he  was  to  have  run. 

PEDIGREE. 

SULTAN  was  bred  by  James  Lyons,  Esq.,  of 
Richmond,  and  was  gotten  by  the  celebrated  Race 
Hor.<e  and  Stallion.  Revenue  ;  his  dam  by  imported 
Trustee;'  bis  grand  dam  by  Timoleon -^  his  great 
grand  by  Tom  Tough,  and  was  the  fidl  sister  to  the 
damof  Tally  Ho.  BiLLEV  W.  TALLEY. 

Maj-60--2t  * 


14 


SOnriERX  PLAXTER.— ADVERTISIXG  SHEET. 


< 


/ 


HEAD-QUARTERS 

FOR  THE 
;       CELEBRATED  PREAIIUM 


IROH  CILIiCER 

Grain  Drill. 


Witli   tlie   Improved   Guano-  Attacliment   and   Grass    Seed   So^er 


MA>-rrACTrr.ED  by 

BICKFORD    &    HUFFMAN, 

BALTIMORE,  ZNIAHYLAXD. 

...A  u^"f  «-ifl-ing  tliis  artiHc,  and  one  liial  i^  nniver-^slly  acknowlriicred  bv  the  Farmer?  of  the  SoHih.  North 
Slid  \\  est.  .-iml  l,y  all  that  have  esain.i.ed  it,  to  I.e  the  l.esi  ever  cflered  So  ll.e  pnl.lic,  -a ill  bear  iu  iiiind  thU  UD- 
le??  ihey  order  piirly,  may  be  di5;ijipoiiiled,  as  hundred*  were  last  season,  bv  delav 


9  TUnE  DRILL, 

8 
7 


PRICES, 


$':*0  on  Gnnno  Attachment, 

85  00  Grass  Seed  ^o^v^ex, 

80  00  , 

•       All  Orders  jirompU#  filled  and  information  given,  by  application  to 

C.  F.  CORNER, 
General  Agent  for  the  Southern  States, 
Ojjice,  ^o.  90  5.   Charles  Street,  he'u-een  Pratt  and  Camden,  Baiiuiiore.  Md 
For  sale  by  CHURCH  &  FLEMING,  Agents,  Riciimond,  Ya. 


$25  00 
10  00 


c^xjTioisr. 


u^i„!'rr'?nfif„''?,rJ''"  ^"^^° 'V''' "^''"^ '^                             Tiiatth.s  is  to  forbid  all  persons  making,  vending 
UMBR  or  infrinsincr  upon  nur  Guano  or  Compost   Altachi:  "■  «="u'"b 


IK.-iS"    Am- ,.»r-,.r.   .'•   I  ,•"     ' "  ,"    ^•.•;;'V"',  -^"•■'-""i^nN  pateLted  April  Q2d.  1S56.  re-issued  .Ma v  18th, 

us  lhct-,leT,".n  l"T'°/  ""■■  ""l'^'- .«•'!'  '''l^^y  accouniubie.     None  g^n-aine   except  o,anu.%ct«red  by 

t^eet    B  iliioK^re   M       ^rr  °"  ^l\l'''>^«""?  '«  C-   F    CORSER,  our  General  Asent,  at   .\o    9:.  S.  Charles 

<»n,.^        lila        ;     "^  *°  ^"''"'*  "PP"'""-''  to  sell  the  same  bv  v  '^  - 
;»eptember  lao8. — \\y 


BICKFORD  i  HUFF3IANN. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


15 


From   Jarvis'    and    Baker's    Islands, 

IN  THE  PASIFIO  OCEAN, 

XTiider  lr*rotectioii  of  tlie  XT.  S.  Grovemment. 

The  attention  of  the  Planters  ami  Dealer?  in  Guano  is  called  to  this  valuable  feriilizer,  which  has  been 
used  durins:  the  lost  sprin";  and  fall  wiib  the  most  satistactorv  results — not  «iirpasst-d  by  any  terriiizpr. 

Annexed  are  Certilicates  iVo-n  farmers  well  k  own  in  Virginia,  many  others  can  be  seen  by  applica- 
lion  to  tue. 

Certificates: 


Lqccit  Grove,  F'livanna  Co  ,  Va..  ? 
0..tober  26, 1859.         5 
Felix  H.  Cave.  Esq., 

A^eiit  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond. 

Dear  Sir — By  request,  I  furnish  you  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  result  of  mv  experience  with  the  Ameri- 
can Guano  I  purchased  of  you  last  spring. 

I  used  three  kinds  of  Guano  for  tobacco — Peruviau. 
Elide,  and  American.  After  laying  off  the  rows,  3  feet 
■2  inches  apart,  with  a  two  horse  ploush.  I  applied 
about  ;i50  pounds,  broatlcast,  to  the  acre,  then  listed 
or  bedded  with  the  same  plough,  and  planted  without 
hilliag. 

The  part  in  which  I   used   the  American  was  deci- 
dedly the  besr,  though  planted  two  days  later  than  ' 
that  iu  which  I  used  the  Peruvian. 

I  also  used  it  on  corn,  applying  about  125  pounds, 
broadcast,  to  the  acre,  at  the  time  of  the  last  plow- 
ing, with  good  success. 

The  land  on  which  1  used  it  was  a  very  poor 
broom  sedge,  old  field,  that  had  not  been  cultivated 
for  many  }  ears. 

I  am  so  well  pleased  with  my  experiment  with  the 
American  Guano  for  toliacco.  that  1  am  using  it  al- 
logether  this  fall  for  m>  wheat- 

Yours,  respectfully, 

GEORGE  T.  THOMAS. 


fax  Co.,  Va..  > 
3r  17, 1859.     5 


Htco,  Halifax  Co 
Octobe 

Felix  H.  Cave,  Esq.,  '  . 

Agent  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond.         i 
Sir — Yours  came   to  haiid   a  few  days  since,  re-  , 
que^tin^  me  to  inform  you  of  the  action  ol  the  Amer- 
ican Guano  bought  of  you. 

I  lised  it  last  spring  on  my  tobacco.  On  the 
same  piece  of  land  i  applied  the  .American  Guano 
ceparaiely,  and  also  an  T-qual  quantity  of  American 
nd  Peruvian  mixed- 
I  could  not  discover  there  was  any  difference  in 
the  single  a^lication  and  the  mixture  oi  Anterican 
and  Peruvian. 

I  also  used  it  in  the  same  manner  on  my  corn,  and 
can  say  to  you  that  it  acted  finely. 
Very  rpspecttitlly, 

■WILLI A.MC.  TLCKER. 


Orange  Cocntt,  Va.,  Oct.  10, 1859. 
Mr.  Felix  H.  Cave, 

Agent  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond. 
Dear  Sir — I  am  much  pleased  with  tise  Americai* 
Guano  as  a  fertilizer.  1  used  100  pounds  on  1000 
tobacco  hills,  by  the  side  of  100  pounds  Peruvian,  on 
the  sauie  number  of  bills.  The  American  produced 
as  good  tobacco  as  tiie  Peruvian.  By  the  side  of 
each  I  used  10!)  pounds  of  American  and  P-ruvian 
mixed,  50  pounds  of  each  ■  the  mixed  I  prefer.  The 
tobacco  was  much  better  than  either  .-\merican  or 
Peruvian  unmixed.  1  will  try  the  American  on 
wheat  this  fill. 

Most  Respectfiiliy, 

REUBE.V  NEWMAN.  Jr. 


Okaxge  Coumv,  Va.,  \ov.  loth,  1S59. 
Capt.  F.  H.  Cave, 

Agent  of  the  Amer.  Guano  Co.,  Richmond. 

Dear  Sir — .Agreeable  to  your  request  I  l"umish  you 
with  the  result  of  my  experiment  with  .American 
Guano-  T  have  onlv  used  ii  on  tobacco,  and  in  or- 
der 10  test  it  fully,  I  useil  one  ton  o!  American  and 
one  ton  of  Periiviiin,  side  by. side,  lhrou2hout  the  en- 
tire crop.  And  am  happy  to  iufurm  you  that  the 
tobacco  is  of  superior  qualily.  and  that  produced  br 
the  .American  Guano  was.  in  every  respect,  fully 
equal  to  that  raised  with  the  Peruvi.m-  The  quan- 
tity applied  was  '2i)0  pounds  per  acre,  broad  cast, 
upon  red  land. 

I  have  jased  the  American  Guano  upon  wheat  this 
fall.  I  remain  yours. 

Very  truly, 

T.  B  CAVE. 


The  .Amerii;an  Guano  will  be  put  up  in  bags  or 
barrels,  at  the  option  of  the  purchaser,  each  package 
bearing  the  trade  mark  of  the  Company,  (the  Ameri- 
can Eagle,)  and  my  name  in  full,  who  is  the  Sole  Agent 
of  the  Air.srijau  Guano  Company  for  Richmond. 


FELIX  H,  GAVE 


Dec.  59 — 6rao. 


Richmond,  Va. 


SOUTHERN  PLAXTER.— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


iQ---;x 


«l3 


©  iK)9S) 


PHOSPHO-PERUVI 

(OR  MANIPULATED) 

Ob 
INTRODXJCED  1856. 

IS  COMPOSED  EXCLUSIVELY  OF 

BEST  PERUVIAN  GUANO,  AND 

FINELY  GROUND  SOMBRERO  GUANO, 

ONE  HALF  EACH, 
IN  MINUTE,  UNIFORM,  AND  INTIMATE  COMBINATION, 

COjSTT-A-I^TS 

aMMONU, 8  PER  PENT. 

PHOSPHaiE  OF  UMEt  oO  TO  aa  PER  CENT. 


Sold  by  the  following  Agents  and  Dealers  in  Tirginia. 


STOKES  &  RITES,  RicbmonJ,  Ya 
SCHAER.  KOHLER  &  CO.,  RichmontL  Ya. 
HUXT  &  BROTHER,  Rinlimond,  Ya. 
E.  T.  WIXSTOX.  RichmoncL  Ya. 
PEEBLES  &  WHITE,  Petersburs,  Ya 
W3I.  A.  MILLER.  Lvncbburs,  Ya. 


KXOX  &  BROTHER,  Alexandria.  Ya. 
HUGH  SCOTT,  Fredericksburg.  Ya. 
ROWLAXD  ^  REYXOLDS,  Xo|folk,  Ya. 
GRASTY  &  RISOX,  Danville,  Ya. 
EDWARD  F.  SBIPSOX,  Washington,  D.  C. 


The  SOMBPtERO  GUAXO  used  in  our  article  is  imported  direct  by  us,  and  is 
discharged  at  our  Works,  where  it  is  FIXELY  trROUX^D.  Parties  wishing  to  pnrehase 
SOMBREPtO  GUAX'O  alone,  will  be  furnished  with  it  in  strong  bags,  in  quantities  a^i 
desired. 


JOHN  S.  HSESE  &  CO., 


Feb  60— tf 


77  Soutli  Street,  Baltimore,  Maryland. 


SOLTUtKN    PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


BROVyNS 


BnONGHiAL 


TROCU^ 


COUGHS.      , 

Tlie  errrn  ami  suililen  thangesot 
oiir  .  '  -  triiilfiil  sources  of 

/»„  ■    Bronrhinl  offec- 

ti„,,-.  ix-e   Iiu\iii2  provetl 

thai  siuijile  lemeJie-s  often  act 
ppeedilv  ami  cer'aiiily  when  taken 
intbie;irIv?t.i»eoJili-~eas*>,recour5e 
s=hoiilil  i.tonce  be  bad  to  -Brown  * 
Brouehinl  Troches"  or  Lozenges, 
let  li  .-  r..l<i. Co-lib,  or  Irritation  ot 
\[:~  V .  ■•'  it  \c  ever  ?o  slijlit,  as  by 
tlii-i>.  'I'liion a  more seriou? attack 
inuv  be  cfterlii«llv  wrtr<le<l  ofT. 


BftDWN'S      "That  tfonble   in  mv  Throat, TIlUCHlii. ; 

(for  which  the  ''Troches''  i<  a  «^  I 

npnWVS^J'^cific)  baviu-  made  uie  olteu^jgocgj^  1 
^™^"'-^^a  mere  whisperer-'  .  .-,      [ 

N   P.  WILLIS.    S  „^  \ 

BEOT\'NS     "I   recommend   their    use  to-TK«.>tliia> 

Public  Speakers."  ' 

Rnnwx'-;  Re*.  E.  H.  CHAP[N.    TROCHIS. 

DmM>  .^  .      ,^  j^^^^     ^^^^.^^  extremely  ser-j 

viceable  for  HoARSKNtss.' ■TPnTHT'^ 

BROW-VS  Rev.  DaN:EL  WISE.     Tii<AlLfcb. 

"  Aiiiiust  iu?«:int  relief  in  the 
3R0WJi'&'li-'«re>5ing   labor    o(^  breathing  TBOCHEs. 

peculiar  to  Asthma.'' 

RROWV'^      K"  •  -^  ^-  EGGLEsTON.     xrqChES. 
UnOWJ^      "Contain  no  Opium  or  any- 
thing iujiirioui"    „,-.„,         TrnrniN 
BROWN'S  Dr.  A.A.IIAlEs.         IKOlHliS. 

Cficmi'it,  Botion. 

BROWNS,  ^.^^^ 

'"''  Dr.  G.  F.  B IG E low. 

BoiitOH. 

■«  Beneficial  in  Bronchitis."'  

dk  J.  f.  w.  lane,      TROCHLs. 

BottOM 


A  simple  and  pleasant  com- XRQCHES. 
ation  «or  CotGHS,  &c." 

TROCHES. 


M.  I.  FRANKLIN  &  CO., 

SCIENTIFIC  AND  PRACTICAL 

OPTICIANS, 

OFFICE.  148  MAIN  STREET, 
(City  Savings  Bank, 
i  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 

^Improved  Periscopic  Crystal  Spectacles 

i  Correctly  fittca  to   the  eye-sight,  aa.l  warranted 

■  to  suit. 

i  ALSO 

I 

j  MICROSCOPES, 

TELESCOPES,  AND 
'  OPERA-GLASSES, 

Al'  with  tUe  finest  aciiromatic  lenses.  MATH- 
EM  ATICAL  INSTRUMENTS,  aii.l  ELECTRI 
CAL  MACHINES.  STEREOSCOPES  AND 
STEREOSGOPIC  PICTURES,  in  great  rarieiy, 
tlirectiv  importeil  from  England  aad  France- 
!      Mar'60 


BR0WY3 

BROWN'S  ^ 

ppnwxs'    "I  •'•'■^  «"'*"'•'*'  !^^'"  *"*' TROCHES. 
BROWN  i>  ,^„,  fyr  W ''■>"-" 


BROWN'S 


„  .„.   ./hooping  Cocgh 
R.v.H.W.WARKEN.^     TROCHES. 

"  Beneticml    when   compelled 
unnwv'^fo  speak,  sntfeiins  from  Cold."  XROCHES. 
BRO^^N^   R^v.  s.  J.  p.  ANOEKSON, 

St.  LoMlS.    jT^ru-ri^i, 
BROWN'S     ••  I  heartilv  unite  in  the  above  ltttA.n-t^. 

BROWN's"""""'-^:  SCHUYLER.     TROCHES 

"Effectual     in     removing 
n^rtTTV-s  Hoarseness     and     Irritation    o*" XROCHES.  i 
BllUWJ  »,|,g    Throat,    so    common    witbr  . 

Speakurs  and  Sinkers  "'  TDfirur?  ' 

BROWN'S    Prof.  M.  S  r AC  V  JOH  .NSON,  TROCHEb. 
LiiGriiHge.  Gn,^  . 

npnwVN  Teacher  of  M  u  -ic,  Souihern       TROCHES. ' 
UKUW  :n  i>  Female  College 

••  I  have  been  much  afflicted  „p^^tttc 
BROWNS  with    Bronchial    Affectios.  i^"^^^-- 

,.rodiiciii2    Hoarseness   and 
BROWN'S C.mgh.   Tiic  "  7'rofi.»"  are  the TROtHRs. 

oulv    efieciiial    remedy,    giving 

RPnWXS''"^^'  ^'"'    ''!^lV»"-i  I?..-"^troches. 
BKUtt  ^  S  voice."     Rev.  GLO.  sLACK, 

Miu.  Ch.  of  EngUwid.  M.Iton  „p. 

BRO'WN'S  Par^onuae.  tnitnda  iKUtnrj. 

Brow  u's^roiichial  Troches. 
i^-Cure*  Cou^h.  Cold,  Hoarseuei^audiufiHenza. 
Cuce»  any  Irritttliou  or  Soreness  nt  the  I  hroiU. 
Reliccs  tk-  Hacking  Cough  in  CoMttrnplioH. 
ji,  V         bitit,  Axtb'iia  fid  Catnrrh. 

^.  ,^,  ttrenz'h  to  the  toice  of  Si.fGERS. 

/„  .  !<j  Public  Sheakers. 

SuotUtu::  .iud  .Ni"i/''f.  Chili.kes  coh  use  them, 
4m  they  n*aut  Experlorativn  and  reliete  Hoarseness. 
^  Sold   bv   all   Uruseisis  in  the  Uniied  hiaio>,  at 
rWENTV-FlVE  CENTS  A  BOX 
Mnr  GO— 3t 


!  No  Home TTitliout  a  Stereoscope! 
The  Wonders  of  jhe  Stereoscope ! 

;GRE\T  EMPORIUM   FOR  STEREOSCOPES 
i  AND  STEREOSCOPIC  PICTURES, 

i  Continnally  supplied  with  novelties  from  Lon- 
jdon  and  Paris,  al  the  I-  •       ■    -        ^^  i    ..-^^i« 

I  or  Retail,  at  the 

STHREOeCOPIC  BAZaaRt 

148  MAIN  STREET, 

(City  Saviiiers  Bank,} 

RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 

M.  I.  FRANKLIN  k  CO.,  Opticians. 

Also.  IMPROVED  SPECTACLES  AND  EYE 
GLASSES,  correcilv  stu'e-.l  to  the  eye.  MICRO- 
SCOPES OPERA  GLASSES.  ELECTRIC  MA- 
CHINES. PHYSICAL  and  MATHEMATICAL 
INSTRUMI-N  1^  zreat  variety. 
Mar  >?fj. 


S30,000! 


To  one  or  more  persons  who  can  corainand  the 
above  sum,  and  who  may  be  disposed  to  conduct  a 
large  nianiUacinring  esioblishment  in  the  west,  a  most 
advantageous  opening  is  proposed,  wherebv  wiih 
reasonably  good  management,  a  fortune  luny  be  rea- 
lized in  a'short  time.      Address 

Reference  mav  be  made  to  1    P.  WILLIAMS, 

J.15.  C.  G    KeNNEUT.       >         \\.i-:il!iCtiJi;.  D.  t. 


SOUTHERX   PLAXTER.-ADTERTISIXG  SHEET. 


RICHMOND  FERTILIZER  MANUFACTURING  MILLS! 

EOCKETTS,   RICHMOND,   VA. 


S.  HARTMAX,  GENERAL  AGENT, 

OFFERS  FOR  SALE 

EXTEA  FIXE-  BOXE  DrST. 

HARTMAN'S  AMMONIATED  SUP±:R  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME 

HARTMAN'S  IMPROVED  MANIPULATED  GUANO,  ' 

^idTrLei'   ^HEAT,  CORN,   OATS,   TOBACCO,   COTTOX.  and  all  Vegetable. 


«@=  THESE  MANURES  ARE  WARRANTED  GENUINE. 


iBa 


lSnE     i?V    rARRrlT-''V'','''''T'?:''J'^^'=  *=  CLAIBORXE,  BLAIR  (t  CHA.MBEK- 

■  April  60~-\{ 


THE  GREAT  SOTTTHERN 

Hat  and  Cap  Manufactory  and  Depot. 
JOHN  DOOLEY, 

JVo.  81,  Main  Street,  FkhmomJ  Va. 

MAXpFACTURERof  HATS  and  CAPS  on 
ihe  largest  sc..ie,  and  in  everv  possible  varietv 
a.1^  mpr>nero,  V.nh  American  and  European  Ft rs 
HAI^.C\Ps^  PLLSHES,  TRIMMINGS,  and  al 
o  Her  arncles  helono„,g  ,„  ,he  Trade,  is  al«;vs  sup- 
plu  d  u  „h  a  sple.uhd  stock  of  Goods,  for  Wholesale 

evln  ^TV  '  "  ^'^''  ,•"  T'"'"-'  ''"''  0"an'Hv  cannot  be 
excelled  by  anv  other  house  in  the  Somh.     His  man- 
utacturiDs  «rrai»<;e,r.ents  are  oi  the  completest   kind 
and  h.s  facilities  lor  supplying  countrv  ..Whants  a 
the  shortest  notice  cannot  be  surpassed. 
July  1858 — Iv 


BABKSDALE  &  BROS., 

COMMISSION 

MERCHANTS, 

Corner  of  13th  and  Cary  Sts.,  Up  Stairs, 


CLAIBORXE  BAKKSDALE.  , 
C.  R.  BAKKSDALE.  ' 
CHAS.  H.  BAKKSDALE.    ^ 


RICHMOND,  VA. 

Feb  60 — Iv 


GREATREDUCTlOXir,  THE  PRICE  OF 

HATS  AND  BOOTS. 

From  15  to  20  per  c^nt.  saved 
by  l.nyinfffrom  J.  H.  ANTHONY,  Co 
lumhi:in  Hotel  Buildin?. 

Moleskin  Hats  of  best  qnalitv.  $34  : 
do.  second  qiijlitv,  $3 :  Fash'ionable 
Silk  Hats,-*2  50;  Fine  Calfskin  Se«r. 
ed  Boots,  $3  50;  Congress  Gaiter 
Boots,  $3  25:  Fine  Calfskin  &e\\e4 
Shoes.  $-2  -25 

J.  H.  ANTHONY  has  made  ar-J 
raugemems  with  o«e  of  the  L«st  ma-  -^^.^jj, 

kers  ill  the  city  of  Philadelphia  to  supplv  him  with  a 
handsome  and  snbsiauiial  Calf-skin  Ssevred  BOOT 
which  be  will  sell  at  the  unprecedented  lo«r  price  of 
/  lir^e  DoUnrs  »nd  a  Hn'f  J „ ] ,  59_ \ , 

Southern  Clothing  House 

BICHZSIO^TD,   VA. 

The  subscriber  keeps  con- 
stantly  on  hand  a  lar^e  and  Fash 
iouable  assortment  o(  Keadv-niade 
Cloining,  of  his  own  inanufiiclur^. 
of  the  latest  and  most  approred 
Styles.  Al.<o  a  larsre  assortment 
oi  Gentlemen's  furnishing  Goods. 
such  as  Handk"fs,  Cravats,  Neck 
Ties.  Sliirrs,  Drawers.  Gloves  and 
Suspenders.  Collars,  Umbrella*. 

lu  addition  to  which  he  keeps  a 
larce  and    sreneral   assonment  of 

f^      ,.  ,. -=  Piece  Goods  of  ererv  Stvle  an^. 

Uaality.  whu-h  he  is  prepared  to  make  td  ii.e«s«re  at 
the  shortest  notice  and  iu  the  best  and  most  fashiona- 
'''e  s'.vle.  E.  B.  SPENCE. 

I   ,     .^       ^'"-  ^*-^'  Cornrr  of  Main  and  13ib  Sis. 
Jiilv  53 — 1  V 


J^ 


SOUTUERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


4  Silver  Medals— 3  Diplomas— 68  First  Premiums! 

J.  MONTGOMERY  &  BRO. 

I'.'i   ^orth   His:h   Street, 

BALTIMORE,   Md. 
LWEXTORS  AND  MANUFACTURERS 

OF    THEIR 

DOUBLE  SCREENED 

ROCKAWAY  GRAIN  FAN, 

Celchraud  for  their  e£icicncy,  ilurabili'ij  and  ease  in 

working. 

^^^^^  We  would  state  for  the  iDfuriiKirion  of  Farmers  and  the 
jMSiS^.Si'-^  trade,  ilint  our  Fan  is  of  the  larijest  sizf — uiih  6  large 

sieves  ami  screens,  mule  of  the  best  brieht  wire,  on  good  strong  frames.  It  is  made  especially  for  the  Sou- 
thern market,  where  all  implements  ousht  to  be  of  llie  be?t  and  strongest  make.  We  do  not  hesitate  for  a 
inotiient  to  say,  that  our  F.tn  (considering  the  make,  the  number  and  quality  of  sieves,  and  the  amount  and 
quality  of  work  it  will  do  ia  a  giieu  tiwie.)  is  from  ^10  to  §15  cheaper  than  any  in  the  market.  We  have 
started  a  BRANCH  SHOP,  at  LYNCHBURG,  V.\.,  for  the  accommodation  ol  those  located  in  that  section 
of  country.  Our  Fan  is  so  universally  known  that  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  say  more  than  it  has  not 
been  beaten  in  a  trial  any  tine  during  the  last  eight  years,  and  cannot  be  beat. 

As  the  present  wheat  crop  is  unusually  lull  of  cockle,  every  farmer  ought  to  order  one  of  our  Double 
Screened  Rockaway  Fans  ai  once,  as  it  is  the  only  Fan  in  the  market  that  will  clean  the  cockle  from  the 
wht  at. 

The  price  of  our  Fans  in  Baltimore  is  $34 — and  iu  Lynchburg  $3G.  Orders  addressed  to  us  at  either 
place  will  receive  prompt  attention.     A  liberal  discount  'o  the  trade. 

We  respecil'ully  refer  to  S.  Sands,  Esq..  ex-eJitor  of  the  "American  Farmer,'"  Baltimore,  as  to  the  charac- 
ter of  our  Fan  :  and  Win.  Palmer,  Sons  &  Co.,  our  agents,  Richmond,  Va. 

July  1859— ly  J.  xMONTGoMERY  &  BRO.,  Baltimore,  Md. 


Ca-XJ-A-KTO. 


We  would  call  the  attention  of  Guano  Dealers.  Planters  and  Farmers  to  the  article  which  we 
have  on  hand  and  for  sale  at 

Thirty  per  cent  less  than  Pernyian  Onano, 

and  which  we  claim  to  be  superior  to  any  Guano  or  fertilizer  ever  imported  or  manttfactured  in 
this  country.  This  Guano  is  imported  by  W3L  H.  WEBB,  of  New  York,  from  Jarvis"  and  Bakers' 
Islands,  in  the  "South  Pacilic  Ocean,"  and  is  sold  genuine  and  pure  as  imported.  It  has  been 
satisfactorily  tested  by  many  of  our  prominent  Farmers,  and  analyzed  by  the  most  eminent  and 
popular  Agricultural  Chemists,  and  found  to  contain,  (as  will  be  seen  by  our  circulars.)  a  large 
per  centage  of 

Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime  and  Phosphoric  Acid, 

and  other  animal  organic  matter,  yielding  ammonia  sufficient  to  produce  immediate  abundant 
crops,  besides  substantially  enriching  the  soil.  It  can  be  freely  used  without  danger  of  burning 
the  seed  or  plant  by  coming  in  cont^ict  with  it,  as  in  the  case  with  some  other  fertilizers;  retain- 
ing a  great  degree  of  moisture,  it  causes  the  plant  to  grow  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  as  experi- 
ence has  proved 

Free  of  Insects. 

For  orders  in  any  quantity,  (which  will  be  promptly  attended  to.)  or  pamphlets  containing  full 
particulars  of  analyses  and  tests  of  farmers.  Apply  to 


Oct— Iv 


JOHN  B, 

N^'.  5S  vSouth  St. 


SARDY,  Agent, 

,  corner  of  Wall  St.,  New  York  City. 


The  subscriber  has  lor  sale  two  very  tine  Esse.x  BOARS,  rather  more  than  a  year  old.  Also,  one  Suffolk — 
one  Chester  Counti/,  and  several  Ensex  Sotcs.  Price  $3U  each,  delivered  on  the  cars,  or  other  public  freight 
line^. 

Nov.  Isi,   1859.  JA.MES  E.    WILLIAMS. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


E.  H.  SKIOTvER  &  CO., 
GROCERS 

COMMISSION  MERCHANTS, 

Gary  Street,  Riclimond,  Va. 

Offer  their  services  for  the  sale  t;>f 

Wheat,  Flour,  Corn  and  Tobacco, 

The  usual  advancements  made,  on  consignments. 

Alwavs  on  hand  a  fall  stock  of  GUANO, 
GROCERIES,  IRON,  &c.,  &c.,  at  the  lowest 
market  rates.  -Mar  60 — 21 


No.  1  PERUVIAN  GUANO. 
A  A  MEXICAN  do. 

ELIDE  ISLAND         do. 
SO.AIBRERO  do. 

NAVASSA  or  BROWN  COLUMBIAN  GUANO. 
F()r  sale  by 

E.  H.  sklNKER  $  CO., 
No.  50  Cary  St.,  Richmond,  Va. 
INIar  GO— -^t 

HIGHLY  IMPROVED 
BREEDING  STOCK. 

Satisfiecl  tlint  stock  of  any  kind  to  breed  from, 
Ehonld  be  of  an  established  breed,  not  un  nccidentul 
result  hoiii  a  cross  of  exirenies,  1  have  selccied  the 
best  males  and  lemales  to  be  procored  of  Morgan 
Horses,  Durham  Cattle  anri  Chester  County  Hogs 
for  breeding  purposes ;  the  olfspriirg  of  the  cattle  and 
hogs  can  be  liad  tiow,  and  the  services  of  the  staliious 
after  the  I   t  of  .\prih 

Ulack  Hawk,  sired  by  the  famous  Vermont  Black 
Hawk,  nine  years  old  )iast,  a  noble  animal  of  2.44 
gait,  and  perfectly  gentle  and  docile,  and  his  son,  a 
bay,  lour  years  old,  larger  than  his  sire,  and  very 
promising,  are  botli  horses  that  will  recommend  them- 
selves. 

In  proof  of  my  confidence  in  these  breeds  and  ani- 
mals, i   have   e.\|)endfd  over  $~,'I00  without  wailing 
endorsation  and   ))atronage — satisfied  that  those  who 
trv  them,  will  not  rearet  it. 
"For  particulars  address  S.  W.  FICKLIX, 

April  GO — 3t  Charlottesville,  Va. 


SEED  CORN. 


I  have  for  sale  some  Indian  Corn,  that  I  have  been  [ 
tiyin--:  to  improve  for  twenty  years,  by  mixing  dilTer- } 
ent  kinds  with  my  seed  at  planting  time,  always, 
keeping  in  view  a  deep  grain  and  white  husk  Sam-  I 
pies  can  be  seen  at  the  store  of  Blair  &  Chamber-  j 
layne.    No.  Main   Street,   where    orders   will    be  j 

promptly  supplied.  | 

^P  Prick  §  I  50  per  bushel.  j 

Mar60--2t  GARLA.ND  HANE3.      ' 


FIVE  SPLENDID 

HOOKER, — Very  productive;  large,  beauti- 
ful, and  of  LNEQUALED  QUALITY. 

WILSONS  ALBANY.— Exceedingly  produc- 
tive; FINE  FOR  MARKET. 

TRIOMPHE  DE  GAND,— IMMENSE  SIZE  ; 
splendid  appearance,  anil  hi^h  flavour, 

PYRAMIDAL  CHILIAN;— Very  handsome, 
productive,  liardv  and  sooif  flavour. 

LARGE  EARLY  SCARLET,— THE  EAR- 
LIEST :   productive  and  excellent. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  secure  all   the  excellen- 
cies of  this  most  popular  fruit  in  one  variety,  we 
offer  the  above  as  comprizing,  in   five  sorts,  the 
various  jioints  desirable. 
I        We     again    confidently    RECOMMEND    the 
'HOOKER,   «••!  by  far  the  Ixst  for  family  vse,  if 
'only  one  f:nrt  is  to  be  planted — combining  a  greater 
'  nuwbcr  of  exccllenries  than  any  other  variety. 

J8@°'All  of  the  above  have  perfect  tlowcrs, 
land  will  produce  excellent  croj)s,  if  planted 
I  singly  or  together. 

!      PRICES — (Securely  packed  tu   be  forwarded 
j  by  Express  :  ) 
!      Per    100  plants    of  any    of  the    above 

varieties, §  2  00 

I      Per  100  plants,  20  of  each  variety 3  00 

j      Per  500  plants,  100  of  each  variety..  .  .      7   50 

I      Per  1000  plants  of  the  Hooker,.  .  .' 10  00 

I  H.  E.  HOOKER  &  CO., 

I  Commercial  Ncrseriks, 

'  Jiochester,  N.  Y. 

j  The  following  are  some  of  the  distinguish- 
ing points  of  the  '■  JfooA'cr,"  which  originated  in 
our  Nurseries  ; 

I      The  plant  is  vigorous  and  hardy  ; 

I      It  is  extremely  |)ioduciive ; 
It  is  of  the  largest  size  ; 

It  is  very  dark  coloured;  flesh  also  deeply 
coloured  ; 

i  It  is  the  only  large  and  productive  Strawberry, 
which  has  also  high  flavour  and  quality;  it  is 
for  the    condjinati(.>ii    of   these    points    that    we 

I  claim  its  superiority  ; 

[      It  is    excellent    lor    preserving,    retaining    its, 

[  high,  rich  colour  when  preserved  ; 

!  It  has  perfect  flowers,  ami  consequently  re- 
quires  no   other  variety  planted  near  to    fertil- 

j  ize  it. 

I      Our  Nurseries  were  established  in  J  830;  and 

I  rank  now  among  the  tuost  extensive  in  the 
United    States,    occu])ying    two    hundred    acres. 

I  They  are  planted  exclusively  with  Nursery  pro- 

,  ductions,  embracing   every  variety  of  Fruit  and 

I  Ornamental  Trees,  Shrubs,   Small  Fruits,  Roses, 

j  &c.,  &c. 

Mar  60— 2t 


J.    R.    KEININGHAM, 


DE.\LER    IX 


BOOKS  &  STATIONERY, 

211  Broad  Street,  between  4th  and  oih,  RICH- 
MOND. VA.  March  1859. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER-ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


Baltimore  made 

iGRlCULTOML  IMPLEMITS 

1  VERSUS  EASTERN. 


;^*es 


MANUFACTORY 

OF  THE  CELEBRATED 

PITTS'  THRESHING  MACHllS. 


AND 


iVe  notice  that  Messrs.  R.  ^'^^\-^'J'-J,^-^^^^' 
this  citv.  received  FIRST  PREMILMS  for 
•irdeserve-llv  famed  A-ricultnral  Implcnieiits 
the  recent  Agricultural  Exhibitions  and  1-airs 
Id  in  .Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and 
P  Sontliwestern  Slates,  namely  : 
[By  th.^  MARYLAND  STATE  AGRICULUU- 
\L  SOCIETY.  14  Preiniunis. 
Bv  the  V1RGINL\  AND  NORTll^  CARO- 
INA  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY,  «  Pre- 
iums. 

Bv  the  SEABOARD  AGRICULTURAL  SO- 
lETY.  held  at  Norfolk,  12  Pren.iiuns. 
AUo   awarded    to    Sinclair    &    <^"'J;>\'p^i „      .  i       i      i 

^^7S"Tv'?.MRp^'t'fn„.,VpRK. '  Portable  Steani  Engmeson  wheels,  .V-^ 

IRMS  on   SisCLAiKS   Patest  Masticatou.  for  |      Thuse  celebrated   Thre^hin!i  Machines  are  so 
tashin-  and    cutting  Corn   Stalks,   Straw.  &c..  ,  ^^,^„  ,,„j  „„ivc.saUy  known  in  all  sections  o    the 

eonniry.  that  certiticatts  and  notices  ot  the  r 
meriti  i:o>s  i.ot  seem  to  be  necessary  in  an  article 
of  this  kind.  As  it  is  conceded  I)y  all,  both 
Manufacturer  and  Operator,  that  there  is  no  other 
Machine  in  the  worhl  can  compare  with  it. 

We  have  had  numerous  calls  for  fiinaller  sizes. 
ami  are  makinsr.  for  this  season,  of  suitable 
capaciiv  for  either  two,  four,  six,  eight,  or   ten 


HORSE  I^OAVERS, 


lakiii^  in  all 

THIRTY-NINE  FIRST  PREMIUMS 
n  Favor  of  SINCLAIR  &  CO.'S  Wares, 


ml  showing  n  decided  incference  by  the  judL'CS 
II  favor  of  Baltimore  Made  Implements. 

Included  in  the  above  Preminms   were   Stet- 
on"s    Patent    Reaping    and   Mowing    Machine, 


Sinclair's    Patent     Straw    and    Fodiler    Cutters,  j 
sinclairs    Patent    S!)iial    Thieshing    Machine.  1 
Wheat   drill   with   tTiiano    Attachment.  Serrated 
Z^lod  Roller.  Com  Shellcrs,  Corn  Drills.  &c. 

In  the  above  estimate  of  Preminins,  the  fol- 
lowing were  not  included  in  the  ditierent  con- 
tests, all  having  received  their  quota  of  Premi- 
ums at  Fairs  previously  hold,  viz: 

HORSE  POWERS.  Spur  and  Bevel    Geared; 
a"tRX     MILLS.    Burr    and     Iron:     FANNING 
MILLS:  ROLLING  SCREENS-^  AGRICULTI-  , 
R\L    FURNACE:    CHAIN    PUMPS:    LIME, 
SPREADERS :  GARDEN  TOOLS,  &c.,  &c.  \ 

]^^  The  Agriculmral  Implements  and  Ma-  I 
chineiy  nianiifactned  by  us  are  constructed  in 
the  most  substantial  and  durable  manner,  great 
cnpacitv.  and  particularly  adopted  for  Sornhern 
use  ami  usage.  Planters  or  Merchants  wanting 
Eupplies  will  be  furnished  with  Price  Lists  on 
application. 

R.  SINCLAIR,  Jr.  &  Co., 

Manufacturers.  Baltimore,  Mi. 
Aptil  60— Gmo  ■ 


SADDLES,  HARNESS,  &C. 


Horse  Power. 

Those  Mofkines  are  all  }\  ornuucil. 
Descriptive   Circulars  an.l  Li^t  of  Prices  fur- 
nished  ui)on  application  to  the  proprietors. 

BRAVLEY  &  PITTS,  Bndlilo.N.Y. 
Or  to   cither  of  onr   .'i-c-i.'s— CK.- F.  Wallace, 
Winchester.  Va. :   W.  H.  May,  Alexandria.  ^  a. : 
\   M   Jordan,  Salem.  Roanoke  countvj  ^  a. 
April.  l8*i'J — *5  inos.  'I^^ 

TURE~BREi)  STOCK 
rOR  SALE. 

I  Pure  Bred  Durham  Catile,  at  :s:5  lo  ^'■-(^\  . 

ISpanisi'  Meiino   Slieep.  r^ile^iai,   Mer.ao  ^heep,  and 

Fieii.h  MeiinoSh-ep.  at  §i  to?-." 
!  E*sel-    Pi2s.    SutVolk    Piss,   aii.l   Goe  s   Improved 
i      White  Pigs,  nt  $S  each. 

Madagascar  Kalibils  at  SID  per  pair. 

Brood  Mares  served  by  "Bush   Messenger,    at  $l2o 

i  Cohs^^Jl.y  -Cotrill  Morgan,"  and  by  »  Bush  Mes- 

All  animals  sold   «ill  he  caret.illy  boxed    or  hal- 
1  tered.  iind  placed  at  the  E.vpress  oftice. 
1      Mv    rcidence   is   4k    miles    east    ot    Brownsville, 
Favetic  Ctuiniv.  Pa. 

!  f"*-^  """■=  ""^ '  jShx  s,  goe. 


I  manufacture  a  superior 

COLLAR  ! 

ff-  -  which  I  warrant  not  to  chafe  or  gall.  I  have  > 
ahvnvson  hand  a  good  of  "rtinent  of  all  articles  in  . 
mv  line,  which  I  will  .^ell,  wholesale  or  retail,  ns  cheap 
astheyeanbepn,cu.c.^n>.^^re.N^^^^ 

Franklin  St.,2d  square  above  Old  Market. 
3ept— ly 


Feb  60-1  y 


FOR  SALE. 


A  great  many  FARMS,  ut  various  prices,  and 
on  accormr.odating  terms  t  t  mitc 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS, 
Office  of  tbc  Southern  Planter. 


I— ADrSfcisiw 


SOUTHERN^^VTER-ASTiirSL^  SHE?T. 

Grace  Street.  Between  1st  and  Foushee^Rrc  Wd   Va    ' 

Our  long  experience  in  teachins,   and  the  verv   lihi^r,.!  «»,™ 
bavel.otl.  e..abJed  and  encou.ajed  us  To  make  "nn     fan    ,mT""^^  ^^  ^^^^  received  for  so  roan f  je, 

A  course  ol  LiteraCure,  co.nprisii.g  Eu-1  "j.   Fr  T,    fvV    '^  "i"'!-^"'^  ">  °"'"  »"^'«"tiou.  '  ^ 

tlnousl.  .he  .„edi,.m  o<  ,l,e  French,)^  l.^"fcensuece;sfulinri;  '"  ''"  ""  !  '^r"'^'  ''^^^'"^''^  ("'«  '"""^  1. 
tinued  and  enlarged  i„  ihe  next.  "  "Ucxe.^siuUj   tried  during  the  la^i  gession,  nod  wiU  be  c< 

ne^ Iv  recomujend  our  Literature  ch.^s  ,o  graduuii ,.  punVu  '^"'-''  ^PP'^^'^^^-     We  would  e, 

The  new  l.ouse  wl.ich  «e  have  creeled  will  gre.iilv  add  t„  ,l.» 
the  voung:  La.i.e.  boarding;  i„  our  family,    Two^  Vo  L   id?^i''!.,''°''T"''^"«^«'  ««  well  as  to  the  coi,.fort« 
wheo  three  would  de?ire  to  occupy  the  same  cllamb",  -^  *'"  occupy  one  room,  except  io  ca  J 


TT    P     ,  TERMS 

For  Board,  ....  S!o,i(i  im             ^; 

For  Washiiijr,  .             .             .                    '  *^.ii  i»n               f/"- fo'n  ies>ous  (of  an  hour, 

For  Litil.ts,  .        .             .                                 ■  mif,    c,         ^orSaere*!  Masic  in  da*?. 

For  Fuel,         .            .                  "            '  0  flu    p*"^ '.'.""  "*•*  ""*'^"-' 

For  Eupli.h  Tuition.                             ".         '  4,,  „„    f.'"' ['^^^^'''S,  from  AlodeJs.        . 

For  Alodern  Lang.,  tli  ,,      l"*"  prawr.g.  m,:,,  .\a,ure. 

For  French,  when  s.  ud.ed  e^iusiv'elj.  of  the  iZ  ( n'p  "^  '"  ^^'"•"^'"  *^"''*'-^- 

K:.Sii?h  brirt«:hes;  .          .  .      '      .  4am    p^  ^''  *^^"'"""S.    • 

For  Uiiii,    .          .              ..               -  L  rX!*^"""»'-v   Depuriu.eut.  tor  chiin:c.     un^.-r    -i 

For  literature                            .     "      .      '     '.  20  SS       .^^  "'  "^''  '            '            •            •       ".    30  *■ 

rorMusic  on  Fiiino,  Gurtar.Ocgran  or  Singing  fe^ ->o  extra  cl'.arges. 

For  one  le^-<:on  {oi  an  hour)  a  week,''  40  00  i     All  letters  to  be  uddre«-ed  to 

P-UROl'LL,  LADD  &  ©0,^ 

Xo.  122  Main  Street,  corner  18tb,  RICHMOND,  VIEGINIA, 

Offer  at  1,,  p.ic.s. ,  Iirg,  n,„I  „ll  as.ortej  .lock  of  articles  i„  ,l,ei,  li„,_,„b„,i„g 

PAINTS,   COLORS,   VARNISHES,  OILS,  &,C. 

LEWIS'  WHITE  LEAD,  M4rHr\F  on 

AHCo.or..rPai.er.CoaehMaker.a....r^^.^,Oil,P^^r 
omprisin.nearlyeverv  size  made.    V^•e  are  also  prepared  to\ake  orders  for  Imported 

lolished  Plate,  Sky  Light  and'bmamental  Gla^. 

I^  Particular  attention  to  packing  and  forwarding  all  goods-and  .he  qualitv  warranF^d."' 
iunelS.'iS.  PURCELL,  LADD  &  CO,  Druoqisi* 

122    Motn    Slr«.t     R:V»>--!-. 


DEVOTED  TO 


AGRICULTURE,  HORTICULTURE, 


AND   THE 


HOUSEHOLD  AETS. 


i 

1 

^ 

PRINTED  AT  RICH3I0ND,  Ya., 

^: 

■  ^rU 

BY  MACFARLANE   &  FERGUSSON. 

L^ 

c^ 

^ 

^t                                   1800. 
9 

^''^^i 

SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


COISTTEISTTS. 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


Address  of  Hon.  A.  H.  H.  Stuart  before  tlie 
Central  Agricultural  Society  of  Virginia, 
at  Riclimond,  Oct.  28th,  ISoO,        .  .  321 

To  Measure  Hay  Stacks,        .  .  •  336 

Kentucky  University,  .  •  .  337 

Wax  and  Rosin  for  Painting,  .  .  341 

A  Timely  Warning,  ....  341 
Dress  of  tlie  Japanese  Women — Coal  Ashes 

as  a  Fertilizer— Renovating  Orchards,      .  342 
The  Seckel   Pear—  Horses    Need   Air  and 

Light, 343 

Geological  Infusorial   Deposits    within  the 

Corporate  limits  of  the  city  of  Richmond,  344 
Action  of  the  Soil  on  Vegetation,     .  .  345 

Diseases  of  Plants,  ....  34G 
Feeding  Statistics,  ....  34'J 
Did"nt  Think— Parasite  Plants,         .  .  301 

On  the  Essential  Manuring  Constituents  of 

Certain  Crops — Farmers,  Take  a  Hint,    .  352 
A  Good  Way  to  Grosv  Potatoes,        .  .  353 

Underdrainage,  ....  353 

Tobacco  Fertilizers,  ....  354 
Cooking  by  the  Sun's  Rays,  .  .  .  355 

The  Tendency   of  Inventions    to  Mitigate 

Human  Toil,  ....  356 

Agricultural  Letter,  ....  35'J 
Experiments  with  Peruvian  and  Sombrero 

Guanos,       .....  360 
Reciprocal     Relations     of     Farmers     and 

Millers,        .  .  .  .  .361 

Report  on    Guanos — Manufacture    of   Wa- 
fers— Cutting  Glass  without  a  Diamond,  .  362 
Can't  Afford  It — Make  the  Best  of  Every- 
thing, .....  363 
Report   of    P.    T.    Tyson.    Esq.,    Maryland 

State  Agricultural  Cliemist,  on  Bones,       .  364 

"  Shall  I  Buv  'American  Guano?'  "  .  .  369 

"What  Maiiures  Shall  I  Buy?"         .  .371 

A  List  of  Wonders,    ....  372 

Value  of  Corn  Cobs — Following  the  Copy,  .  373 

Editors,  .....  374 

Attention  Farmers—The  Va.  Farm  Journal,  375 

Super-piiospbate  of  Lime,     .  ,  .  376 

Z.  Drimimond,   of  Amherst — Flint's  Milch 

Cows    and    Dairy    Farming — Erratum — 

Substitute  for  Guano — The  News,  .  378 

Horizontal  Culture,    ....  379 

To  tlie  Vine  Growers  of  the  U.  States,         .  382 

The  Rights   of   Women— -Life's  Harvest — 

The  Proof  Reader,  .  .  .  3S4 


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ALEXANDER  GARRETT, 

t'ary  Street,  second  door  below  13th  street, 

Atyoluiug  the  Old  Columbian  Hotel, 

KICHMOND,  VA., 

GENERAL  COMMISSION  MERCHANT, 

AND    DEALER    IN 

GROCERIES, 

PERUVIAN,  ELIDE  ISLAND,  AND  IIUPFIN'S  PHOS- 
I'H(J  GUANO,  PLANTER,  &0. 
Particular  attention  paid  to  the  sale  of  all  kinds  of 
country  prodiiee  : 

Wheat,  Corn,  Flour,  Tobacco,  Oats,  dx. 
I  have  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Jko.  M.Shep 
PARD,  Jr.,  one  of  the  best  judges  and  salesmen  of 
Tobacco  in  this  city,  to  attend  to  the  sale  of  a 
tobacco  consigned  to  me.  July  59 — ly 


Advertisements  out  of  the  city  must  be  accompa- 
nied with  the  money  er  city  references  to  insure  in- 


The  Southern  Planter, 

OFFICE 

NO.  148  MAIN  STREET, 

A  few  Doors  below  the  Exchange  Bank, 

RICHMOND,  VA. 


TH  E 


Devoted  to  Agriculture,  JETorticulture,  and  the  Sousehold  Arts. 

Agriculture  is  tlie  nursing  mother  of  tire  Arts.       I  Tillage  and  Pas-turage  are  the  two  breasts  of 

[Xenophon.    I      the  State. — Sully. 


J.  E.  WILLIAMS,  Editor. 


AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS,  Prop'rs. 


Vol.  XX. 


RICHMOND,  VA.,  JUNE,  1860. 


No.  6. 


From  the  Richmond  Whig. 

Address  of  Hon.  A.  H.  H.  Stuart  before 
the  Central  Agricultural  Society  of  Vir- 
ginia, at  Richmond,  Oct,  28th,  1859. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Virgi- 
nia Central  Agricidtural  Society : 

In  obedieDce  to  your  request,  I  appear 
here  today,  to  speak  to  you  in  behalf  of 
the  agricultural  interests  of  our  State.  Al- 
though distrustful  of  my  ability  to  offer 
anything  worthy  of  the  occasion,  or  calcula- 
ted to  interest  or  instruct  the  enlightened 
audience  which  now  surrounds  me,  I  am  en- 
couraged to  make  the  attempt,  by  the  con- 
viction, that  the  same  spirit  of  courtesy 
"which  prompted  your  invitation  will  induce 
you  to  look  with  indulgence  on  the  imper- 
fections of  my  discourse. 

In  preparing  for  the  discharge  of  my  duty, 
the  first  difficulty  I  had  to  encounter  arose 
from  the  magnitude  of  my  subject,  and  the 
multiplicity  of  its  relations  to  the  other 
great  interests  of  society.  It  presents  it- 
self in  so  many  and  such  attractive  aspects, 
as  to  create  embarrassment,  in  making  a 
selection  of  those  most  appropriate  to  the 
present  occasion. 

I  know  that  it  is  customary,  at  anniversa- 
ries like  the  present,  to  speak  of  the  impor- 
21 


tance  of  agriculture,  as  one  of  the  great 
interests  of  Society  ; — to  trace  its  history 
and  progress ; — to  discuss  its  relations  to 
the  natural  sciences ; — to  explain  the  di- 
versities of  soil,  and  the  systems  of  cultiva- 
tion appropriate  to  each ; — to  indicate  the 
proper  rotation  of  crops,  and  the  best  means 
of  augmenting  production  ; — to  descant  on 
the  charms  and  benificent  influences  of  rural 
life,  and  to  bestow  merited  praise,  on  the 
public  spirited  projectors  and  patrons,  of 
associations  like  that  which  I  now  have  the 
honor  to  address. 

Either  of  these  topics  would  present  a 
theme  alike  attractive  and  instructive,  but, 
for  reasons  which  1  have  deemed  satisfac- 
tory, I  propose,  on  the  present  occasion,  to 
pass  them  all  by,  and  to  devote  the  hour 
that  is  allotted  to  me  to  the  development  of 
some  practical  views  of  the  relations  of  ag- 
riculture to  the  other  great  industrial  inte- 
rests of  our  country. 

It  is  unquestionably  true  that  Agricul- 
ture is  the  most  important  interest  of  so- 
ciety. It  is  the  principal  source  of  produc- 
tion, and  is,  therefore,  the  basis  of  all  other 
interests.  It  supplies  the  raw  material  for 
a  large  proportion  of  our  manufactures,  and 
infuses  life  and  activity  into  all  the  opera- 
tions of  commerce.     It  gives  occupation  to 


322 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER, 


[JUXE 


a  larger  per  ccntage  of  our  population  than 
all  others  combined.  But  it  is  not  an  iso- 
lated interest.  It  cannot  prosper  alone.  It 
is  intimately  connected  with  other  interests, 
and  its  success  or  failure  is,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, to  be  measured  by  the  condition  of 
those  interests. 

He  who  limits  his  views  of  agricuture  to 
production  only,  can  have  but  an  imperfect 
idea  of  the  subject.  He  has  looked  at  it  in 
but  one  of  its  aspects.  To  comprehend  it 
fully,  he  mustemhrace  a  much  wider  field  of 
enquiry  and  understand,  not  merely  how 
the  earth  can  be  made  to  yield  its  richest 
returns  to  the  husbandman,  but,  also,  how 
those  returns  can  be  made  most  available 
for  his  comfort  and  happiness. 

Of  what  value  is  production,  without  con- 
sumption ?  Of  what  use  are  abundant  crops, 
unless  some  fair  equivalent  can  be  obtained 
for  the  surplus  over  the  wants  of  the  pro- 
ducer ? 

A  correct  view  of  the  agriculture  of  a 
country,  therefore,  must  embrace  the  consi- 
deration, not  only  of  the  modes  by  which 
the  largest  crops  can  be  raised,  but  also  of 
the  means  by  which  they  can  be  best  dis- 
posed of;  or,  in  other  words,  how  the  best 
markets  can  be  provided,  and  the  best  prices 
maintained. 

The  function  of  agriculture  is  to  produce 
— of  manufactures,  to  convert — and  of  com- 
merce, to  exchange.  And,  as  it  is  obvious 
that  a  large  portion  of  the  productions  of 
the  soil  are  comparatively  of  little  value, 
until  they  have  been  converted,  by  the  pro- 
cesses of  manufacture,  into  new  forms,  and 
the  surplus  has  been  exchanged  for  such 
commodities  as  the  producer  may  need,  it 
follows,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  that 
there  must  be  an  intimate  relation  between 
agriculture,  manufactures,  and  commerce. 

It  will  readily  be  conceded,  that  if  all  the 
labor  of  the  world  was  directed  to  the  pro- 
duction of  food,  the  surplus,  above  the 
wants  of  the  producers,  would  be  of  little 
or  no  value,  because  there  would  be  no  de- 
mand for  it.  As  every  one  would  raise 
enough  for  his  own  use,  he  would  not  find  it 
necessary  to  look  to  his  neighbor  for  a  sup- 
ply. The  surplus  above  the  wants  of  the 
farmer  would  therefore  be  useless,  and  left 
to  perish  in  the  fields  in  which  it  was  pro- 
duced. To  give  value  to  it,  a  demand  must 
be  created  for  it.  In  the  absence  of  such  a 
demand  it  would  soon  cease  to  be  produced. 
This  demand  can  be  created  only  by  multi- 


plying the  ooeupations  of  the  citizen,  or,  in 
other  words,  by  withdrawing  a  portion  (jf 
the  population  from  the  production  of  food 
and  directing  their  labor  to  other  pursuits. 
When  this  is  effected  a  demand  is  created, 
proportioned  to  the  number  of  laborers,  who 
are  thus  rendered  consumers  inst^ead  of  pro- 
ducers, and  the  foundation  is  laid  for  the 
interchange,  between  the  different  classes  of 
laborers,  of  the  fruits  of  their  respective 
branches  of  industry.  This  interchange  con- 
stitutes, in  the  first  place,  the  barter, — and, 
in  the  more  advanced  stages  of  its  progress, 
the  commerce  of  the  world. 

The  prosperity  of  the  farming  interest, 
then,  depends  upon  the  preservation  of  the 
proper  relation  between  production  and  con- 
sumption. If  an  over  proportion  of  the 
people  are  engaged  in  production,  the  supply 
will  exceed  the  demand;  the  market  for 
the  product?  of  the  soil  will  be  depressed; 
and  the  interests  of  agriculture  must  lan- 
guish. If,  on  the  other  hand,  occupation 
can  be  given  to  a  large  portion  of  the  pop- 
ulation, in  the  mechanic  arts,  in  manufac- 
turing, in  mining,  in  navigation,  and  in 
commerce,  the  demand  for  the  fruits  of  ag- 
riculture will  be  increased;  their  prices  en- 
hanced, and  the  farmer  must  prosper. 

The  benefits  resulting  from  this  division 
of  labor  are  two  fold.  It  tends,  not  only  to 
enhance  the  price  of  what  the  farmer  has  to 
sell,  in  consequence  of  the  increased  demand 
for  it,  but  also  to  cheapen  what  he  may  have 
occasion  to  buy,  because  of  the  increased 
competition  among  those  who  furnish  such 
commodities  as  he  may  need. 

These  are  elementary  principles  of  social 
economy,  which  are,  theoretically,  familiar 
to  every  intelligent  man.  But,  unfortu- 
nately, they  are  too  much  neglected  in  prac- 
tice. I  hope,  therefore,  I  shall  be  pardoned 
for  presenting  them  in  their  simplest  form, 
as  they  have  an  important  bearing  on  the 
line  of  thought,  to  which  I  wish  to  direct 
your  attention 

Whether  the  proper  relation  exists  in 
Virginia,  and  the  United  States,  between 
iproduction  and  consumption,  is  a  question 
which  deserves  your  most-serious  considera- 
tion. The  intelligent  superintendent  of 
the  census  of  1850  estimates  that  three-fifths 
of  the  adult  population  of  the  United  States 
are  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil, 
and  the  statistics  of  our  own  State  show  that 
near  one  half  of  the  adult  male  population 
are  farmers,  or  in  other  words,  producers  of 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


provisions.  lu  the  term  farmers,  I  do  not 
include  hired  laborers,  who  are  employed  on 
farms,  but  only  the  independent  proprietors 
or  tenants,  who  cultivate  separate  farms. 

The  census  tables  of  1850  show  that  the 
whole  number  of  white  adults,  in  Virginia, 
engaged  in  the  various  professions  and  occu- 
pation, at  that  date,  was  226,875.  Of 
these,  106,807  were  farmers,  46,989  labo- 
rers, 1,374  planters,  and  3,747  overseers. 

These  figures  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
too  large  a  proportion  of  our  people  are  en- 
gaged in  the  production  of  food;  and  the! 
present  low  prices  of  almost  every  article  of 
provisions  confirms  this  impression.  A 
larger  quantity  is  produced  than  can  be  sold 
for  I'emunerative  prices.  Every  improve- 
ment which  may  be  made  in  the  system  of 
farming  will  tend  to  a  still  further  depression 
of  prices,  by  increasing  the  supply.  And 
when  we  contemplate  the  rapid  settlement, 
now  in  progress,  of  the  almost  boundless 
grain-growing  region  of  the  Northwest,  a 
region  of  unparalleled  fertility,  we  must  ac- 
knowledge, that  the  prospect  is,  by  no  means, 
encouraging  to  the  farmer.  High  prices,  in 
this  country,  have  always  been  the  effect  of 
a  foreign  demand.  This  demand  will  always 
be,  as  it  has  been,  fluctuating;  for  it  de- 
pends, not  only  on  natural  causes,  such  as 
the  failure  of  crops  abroad,  but  upon  politi- 
cal events  which  may  disturb  the  tranquility 
of  Europe.  American  farmers  are,  there- 
fore, compelled  to  look  more  to  the  condition 
of  things  abroad  than  at  home,  in  makincr 
their  estimates,  as  to  the  breadth  of  land 
they  shall  seed,  and  the  probable  prices  they 
will  receive  for  their  crops. 

This  fluctuation  of  prices  is  one  of  the 
most  serious  evils  that  can  befall  any  coun- 
try. It  unsettles  the  value  of  every  species 
of  property.  When  prices  are  high  the 
tendency  is  to  speculation,  to  incur  debt,  and 
to  form  habits  of  expenditure,  which,  al- 
though they  might  not  be  deemed  extrava- 
gant, if  high  prices  were  to  continue,  must 
prove  ruinous,  when,  by  some  change  in  the 
policy  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  or 
other  cause,  the  foreign  demand  is  cut  off, 
and  prices  sink  to  their  natural  level. 

The  enquiry  then  forces  itself  upon  our 
attention,  how  is  this  evil  to  be  corrected? 

The  most  efi'ective  remedy  that  I  can  sug- 
gest is,  to  diversify  the  occupations  of  our 
people ;  to  withdraw  a  large  number  of  them 
from  agriculture,  and  to  direct  their  labor  to 
other  pursuits;  to  build  up  home  manufac- 


tures, to  stimulate  the  development  of  ou^ 
mineral  resources;  to  encourage  domestic 
commerce,  and  all  the  mechanic  arts,  and 
thereby  create  a  demand  for  the  products  of 
our  farms  at  home.  By  adopting  this  policy 
we  will  diminish  the  number  of  producers, 
— increase  the  number  of  consumei's — and 
make  some  progress  towards  the  establish- 
ment of  a  more  just  relation  between  the 
supply  and  demand. 

And  here,  to  prevent  misconstruction,  I 
wish  to  say  in  advance  tliat  I  do  not  propose, 
upon  an  occasion,  and  before  an  audience 
like  the  present,  to  enter  into  a  discussion 
of  any  of  the  controverted  questions  connect- 
ed with  the  jurisdiction  of  the  federal  gov- 
ernment over  this  subject — whilst  I  enter- 
tain very  decided  opinions  on  these  ques- 
tions, and  have  not  hesitated,  under  suitable 
circumstances,  to  express  them,  I  desire 
carefully  to  abstain  from  introducing  into 
this  discourse  anything  that  could  offend  the 
sensibilities  of  the  most  fastidious,  or  be 
regarded  as  invadiuL'^  a  field,  whichj  unfortu- 
nately for  the  best  interests  of  the  country, 
has  been  dedicated  to  partizan  strife. 

When,  therefore,  I  speak  of  the  encour- 
agement of  domestic  industry,  I  throw  out 
of  view,  for  the  present,  any  legislation  by. 
Congress  directed  to  that  end,  and  limit  my- 
self exclusively  to  such  encouragement  as- 
can  be  afforded  by  the  enlightened  enterprise 
and  public  spirit  of  our  own  people,,  aided 
by  the  co-operation  of  our  own  General  As- 
sembly. 

No  one  will  deny  that  every  furnace,  and 
forge,  and  foundr}^ — every  woolen,  and  cot-- 
ton  and  tobacco  factory, — every  shop  for  the 
manufacture  of  shoes,  and  clothing,  and 
saddlery, — every  mine  that  is  opened, — ^ev- 
ery house  that  is  ercoted, — every  ship  that 
is  built, — in  a  word,  every  enterprise  that 
gives  mechanical  employment  to  our  people, 
tends  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  farmer,, 
by  increasing  the  demand  for  what  he  has 
to  sell. 

Let  us,  then,  for  a  moment  survey  the 
extent  of  the  field  which  presents  itself  for 
the  employment  of  the  labor  of  our  couc-- 
trynien. 

The  statistics  of  our  foreign  commerce 
show  that  the  aggregate  value  of  merchaa-  - 
disc  imported  into  the  United  States  in  4he 
year  1858  was,  in  round  numbers,  282  1-2 
millions  of  dollars,  and  in  1857,  SG9  3-4 i- 
millions  of  dollars.  If  we  analyze  iha-  ta- 
bles, it  will   be  found  that  of  this-  liittar 


324 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[June 


amount,  about  100  millions  worth  could  be 
produced,  and  ought  to  be  produced,  in  our 
own  country,  by  the  labor  of  our  own  peo- 
ple.    For  example,  we  import  of — 

Copper,  in  various  forms, -S  3,617,000 

Iron, 15,209,000 

Lead, 2,-30.5,000 

Paper, .597,000 

Gloves, 1,559,000 

China  and  Earthenware, 4,037,000 

Linseed, ^ 3,003,000 

Wine,  in  Casks, 2,448,000 

Wine,  in  bottles, 1,825,000 

Brandy, 2,.527,000 

Grain  Spirits, 1,125,000 

Molasses, 8,250,000 

Sugar,  brown, 42,614,000 

Sugar,  white  and  loaf, 154,000 

Tobacco, 1,358,000 

Cigars, 4,221,000 

Salt, 2,031,000 

Coal, 772.000 

Glass, 1,166,000 


Making  an  aggregate  of §99,819,000 

Virginia  alone  could  supply  the  iron,  coal* 
copper,  lead,  salt,  tobacco,  glass  and  kollyrite 
for  china  and  earthenware  for  the  whole 
Union.  Louisiana,  Florida  and  Texas  ought 
to  produce  the  sugar,  molasses  and  rum;  and 
other  States  should  produce  the  wine,  bran- 
dy, distilled  spirits,  linseed,  and  many  other 
articles  now  imported,  in  quantities  sufficient 
for  the  consumption  of  our  population.  And 
yet,  with  a  climate  and  soil  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  all  that  we  need,  except  tea,  cof- 
fee and  spices; — with  mountains  and  val- 
leys filled  with  iron,  and  coal,  and  salt,  and 
copper,  and  lead,  and  gypsum ; — we  leave 
them  all  but  partially  developed,  and  draw 
our  supplies  from  foreign  countries  ! 

An  apt  illustration  of  Virginia  policy  is 
to  be  found  in  an  incident,  which  will  pro- 
bably be  remembered  by  many  of  the  in- 
habitants of  this  city,  as  it  occurred  with- 
in a  short  distance  of  the  spot  on  which  I 
now  stand. 

About  twenty  years  ago,  it  became  ne- 
cessary to  erect  a  banking  house  in  Pach- 
mond  for  the  use  of  the  Exchange  Bank, 
then  recently  incorporated,  and  although  the 
structure  is  probably  erected  on  a  stratum 
•of  granite,  and  certainly  stands  within  a 
:mile  of  the  finest  granite  quarries  in  the 
-Union,  the  granite  of  which  it  is  constructed 


was  imported  from  Quincy,  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts  I 

If  the  articles  which  I  have  enumerated 
among  the  imports  were,  as  they  shoud  be, 
produced  in  the  United  States — if  the  labo- 
rers necessary  to  produce  them  were  con- 
sumers instead  of  producers  of  provisions, 
it  is  easy  to  perceive  what  an  increased  de- 
mand would  be  created  fur  the  breadstufi's, 
live  stock  and  other  products  of  our  farms. 
An  ample  and  a  steady  market,  would  spring 
up  at  our  own  doors,  for  everything  we  have 
for  sale,  and  prosperity  and  comfort  would 
spread  through  all  our  borders. 

But  this  view  of  the  interest  of  the  far- 
mer, in  the  growth  of  domestic  manufactures, 
and  in  the -home  market  which  they  supply, 
would  be  very  imperfect  without  a  reference 
to  other  aspects  of  the  subject. 

The  prices  of  all  commodities  are  regu- 
lated, not  only  by  the  laws  of  supply  and 
demand,  but,  also,  by  the  condition  of  the 
currency.  Gold  and  silver  are,  by  our  Con- 
stitution and  laws,  the  measure  of  value.  It 
is  of  the  highest  importance  that  this  stand- 
ard, by  which  the  value  of  other  commodi- 
ties is  estimated,  should  itself  be  stable  and 
uniform.  Every  one  would  understand,  at 
a  glance,  the  evils  that  would  result  from 
having  a  fluctuating  standard  of  weights  and 
measures,  and  the  injustice  of  allowing  par- 
ties to  contract  according  to  one  standard 
and  to  fulfill  the  contract  by  another.  The 
injustice,  in  this  case,  strikes  the  mind  be- 
cause the  standards — the  yard-stick,  the 
pound  weight,  £.nd  the  bushel, — and  the 
subjects  to  which  they  are  applied,  are  ma- 
terial and  tangible.  But  the  fluctuations  in 
the  measure  of  value,  though  less  apparent 
are  not  less  real  nor  less  injurious  than  fluc- 
tuations in  the  mea.«ure  of  quantiti/.  If  a 
party  were  to  contract  to  deliver,  at  a  future 
day,  a  hundred  bushels  of  wheat,  which, 
according  to  the  present  standard,  would 
mean  a  quantit}-  sufficient  to  weigh  .60  hun- 
dred pounds,  it  would  be  iniquitous  to  allow 
the  seller,  when  the  day  for  the  delivery  ar- 
rived, to  discharge  his  obligations  by  tender- 
ing a  quantity  that  would  weigh  only  40 
hundred ;  or,  to  compel  him  to  deliver  a 
quantity  that  would  weigh  80  hundred,  in 
payment.  This  would  be  palpable  to  the 
meanest  capacity.  Yet,  how  few  realize 
the  fact,  that  equal  injustice  is  constantly 
being  practised,  in  consequence  of  changes 
in  the  measure  of  value.  In  times  of  pros- 
perity, when  the  balance  of  trade  is  in  favor 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


325 


°f  the  United  States,  gold  and  silver  are  ac- 
cumulated in  the  country.  Like  every  other 
article  of  commerce,  their  value  is  affected 
to  a  great  extent,  by  the  ratio  between  the 
supply  and  the  demand.  When  the  supply 
is  increased,  the  demand  remaining  the  same, 
the  value  is  diminished,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  as  the  supply  is  diminished,  the  value 
is  increased. 

Let  us  now  look  at  some  of  the  practical 
effects  of  these  fluctuations  in  the  supply 
and  value  of  the  precious  metals  on  the  con- 
tracts of  men.  If  a  farmer  contract  a  debt 
of  $1,000  to-day,  when  wheat  is  worth  $1 
per  bushel,  he  can  discharge  his  debt  by 
transferring  to  his  creditor  1,000  bushels  of 
wheat,  or  the  price  for  which  he  can  sell  it. 
Rut,  suppose  he  contracts  a  debt  of  that 
amount,  payable  in  one  or  two  years,  and, 
in  the  meantime,  the  balance  of  trade  has 
turned  against  the  United  States, — a  rapid 
exportation  of  specie  has  taken  place,  and 
the  quantity  in  the  country  is  reduced  one- 
half.  It  is  plain,  that  the  value  of  gold  will 
have  appreciated  nearly  in  an  inverse  ratio 
to  the  quantity  left.  The  measure  of  value 
will  have  changed  ;  one  dollar  will  now  buy 
what  it  would  have  required  two  dollars  to 
buy  the  year  before ;  and  the  farmer  will 
now  have  to  give  two  thousand  bushels  of 
wheat,  or  its  price,  to  pay  the  debt,  which 
one  thousand  bushels  would  have  paid,  at  the 
date  of  the  contract.  Thus,  by  a  change  in 
the  condition  of  the  currency,  his  debt  is 
substantially  doubled,  because  it  requires 
double  the  amount  of  property  to  pay  it. 

We  had  many  striking  illustrations  of 
this  proposition  during  the  commercial  re- 
vulsion of  1857.  In  that  year,  our  impofts 
greatly  exceeded  our  exports,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  send  abroad  a  large  portion  of 
the  coin  of  our  country,  to  pay  our  foreign 
indebtedness.  Heavy  drafts  were,  accord- 
ingly, made  on  the  specie  in  general  circu- 
lation, and  on  the  reserved  stocks  in  the 
banks.  These  drafts  were,  for  a  time, 
promptly  met,  but  at  length  they  became  so 
onerous,  that  the  banks  were  compelled  to 
suspend  specie  payments.  A  panic  soon 
followed,  credit  was  prostrated,  those  who 
had  money  hoarded  it,  and  debtors  found  it 
almost  impossible  to  obtain  coin,  to  discharge 
their  obligations.  Gold  was  nearly  doubled 
in  value,  and  those  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  have  it  were  enabled  to  buy  Vir- 
ginia State  bonds  at  854  per  share  of  8100, 
and  all  other  property  at  similar   rates   of 


depreciation.  The  debtor,  therefore,  who 
relied  on  the  sale  of  Virginia  stocks  or  other 
property  to  meet  his  obligations,  found  him- 
self under  the  necessity  of  selling  twice  the 
quantity  he  he  had  anticipated  to  pay  his 
debt.  And  the  mischief  was  aggravated  by 
the  fact,  that  the  loss  in  all  such  cases,  fell 
on  those  least  able  to  bear  it,  and  the  profit 
accrued  to  the  capitalist  and  the  speculator. 

These  revulsions  in  our  monetary  system 
have  been  of  such  frequent  occurrence,  and 
have  been  attended  with  such  wide- spread 
ruin,  that  it  is  time  public  attention  should 
be  directed  to  the  discovery  of  the  appro- 
priate remedy.  In  my  judgment  they  can 
only  be  averted  by  making  more  at  home, 
and  buying  less  abroad.  We  should  incur 
no  foreign  debt  which  the  exports  of  our 
own  productions  will  not  pay.  We  should 
keep  our  gold  and  silver  at  home,  and  there- 
by maintain  the  stability  of  the  standard  of 
value.  If  it  is  to  fluctuate  at  all,  it  is  bet- 
ter that  the  fluctuation  should  be  in  favor 
of  the  debtor  than  the  creditor — by  a  de- 
preciation in  value,  caused  by  too  large  a 
supply  of  gold  and  silver,  than  by  a  rise  in 
consequence  of  a  scarcity.  This  policy 
commends  itself,  especially,  to  the  favor  of 
those  who  are  inimical  to  the  extravagant 
system  of  credits,  which  has  prevailed  in 
our  country.  It  will  certainly  tend  to  im- 
pose wholesome  restraints  on  it  by  giving 
the  creditor  to  understand  that  deferred 
obligations  will  probably  be  discharged  in  a 
depreciated  currency. 

An  abundant  supply  of  gold  will,  also 
serve  to  develop  new  sources  of  wealth,  and 
to  stimulate  industry  and  enterprise  in  ev- 
ery department  of  business. 

The  present  is  an  auspicious  time  for  the 
investigation  of  the  subject,  in  all  its  rela- 
tions and  bearings.  We  are  just  recovering 
from  the  effects  of  one  commercial  crisis, 
and  unless  all  the  signs  of  the  times  are 
fallacious,  we  are  fast  drifting  on  to  another. 
The  importations  of  the  present  year  prom- 
ise to  outstrip  in  amount  those  of  1856-'7. 
Already  the  clouds  that  indicate  the  ap- 
proaching storm  are  visible  in  the  horizon. 
Heavy  indebtedness  has  been  incurred,  and 
there  is  no  foreign  demand  for  our  bread- 
stuffs  Cotton  will  go  far  in  liquidation,  but 
it  will  not  suffice  to  discharge  it.  Larger 
shipments  of  specie  have  commenced.  The 
measure  of  value  is  being  rapidly  contracted, 
and  prices  have  fallen,  and  will  continue  to 
fall,    until  they  sink  below  the    European 


326 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[June 


level.  The  gold  and  silver,  which  should  be 
employed  at  home,  is  going  abroad  to  pay  for 
articles  which  ought  to  have  been  manufac- 
tured at  our  own  doors. 

Let  us  refer,  for  a  moment,  to  the  statis- 
tics of  the  import  and  export  of  the  precious 
metals.  The  export  of  specie  from  New 
York  and  Boston  alone,  in  the  first  eight 
months  of  the  present  year,  amounted,  in 
round  numbers,  to  fifty-seven  millions  of 
dollars.  The  receipts  from  California  and 
all  other  sources,  for  the  same  period,  were 
about  twenty-eight  millions.  The  difference, 
twenty-nine  millions,  has  therefore  been 
drawn  from  the  banks  and  the  general  cir- 
culation of  the  country. 

On  the  1st  of  January  last,  the  banks  of 
New  York  held  about  twenty-nine  millions 
of  specie,  and  at  the  close  of  August  they 
held  twenty-one  and  a-half  millions.  They 
lost,  therefore,  in  the  period  referred  to,  but 
seven  and  a-half  millions,  and  the  difference 
between  seven  and  a-half  and  twenty-nine 
millions,  equal  to  twenty-one  and  a-half  mil- 
lions, must  have  been  drawn  from  the  gene- 
ral circulation,  or,  in  other  words,  from  the 
pockets  of  the  people. 

The  farmers,  in  common  with  all  other 
classes  of  society,  but  to  a  greater  extent 
than  any  other,  are  now  feeling  the  effects 
of  this  drain  of  the  circulating  medium  from 
the  country.  The  drafts  are  made,  prima- 
rily, on  the  commercial  cities.  They,  in 
turn,  draw  on  their  debtors  in  the  interior. 
As  long  as  the  supply  from  this  source  con- 
tinues, the  commercial  centres  can  maintain 
their  standing,  but  when  it  is  exhausted, 
suspension  and  bankruptcy,  and  all  the  evils 
which  follow  in  their   train,   are  inevitable. 

The  whole  supply  of  coin  in  the  United 
States  was  estimated,  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  (Mr.  Gruthrie,)  in  his  report 
to  Congress  on  the  finances,  in  1856-'7,  at 
from  ($-200,000,000)  two  hundred  millions 
of  dollars  to  ($250,000,000)  two  hundred 
and  fifty  millions.  If  the  export  shall  con- 
tinue to  exceed  the  import  as  it  has  done  in 
the  last  twelve  months,  it  is  plain  that  it 
will  not  require  many  years  to  exhaust  the 
stock  on  hand.  Need  I  pause  to  comment 
on  the  countless  mischiefs  that  would  result 
from  such  a  condition  of  things  ? 

When  will  our  farmers  begin  to  compre- 
hend their  true  interests,  and  to  adopt  the 
measures  necessary  to  protect  them  ?  When 
will  they  learn  that  their  prosperity  is  inti- 
mately— nay,  indissolubly — associated  with 


the  manufactures,  and  the  commerce,  and 
the  currency  of  the  country  ?  When  will 
they  understand  that  every  dollar  of  gold 
and  silver  exported  from  the  United  States 
contracts  the  scale  by  which  the  prices  of 
of  their  productions  are  to  be  regulated  ? 

Gold  is  the  medium  of  commerce,  as  well 
as  the  measure  of  value.  By  its  agency  all 
the  exchanges  of  the  subjects  of  commerce 
are  effected.  Withdraw  gold  from  the  coun- 
try, and  you  at  once  depress  the  value  of 
property — paralyze  the  arm  of  industry — 
stagnate  the  channels  of  commerce,  and 
prostrate  the  interests  of  agriculture. 

I  proceed  now  to  the  consideTation  of  the 
second  topic  to  which  I  propose  to  invite 
your  attention,  viz  :  the  relation  of  agricul- 
ture to  the  labor  of  the  country. 

In  treating  this  branch  of  my  subject,  I 
do  not  propose  to  limit  my  observations  to 
the  labor  which  is  directly  employed  in  ag- 
ricultural pursuits,  but  to  present  a  brief 
review  of  its  relations  to  the  whole  system 
of  American  labor,  in  all  its  departments. 
And,  in  this  connection,  I  desire  to  make 
some  remarks  on  the  two  systems  of  labor, 
free  and  slave,  which  exist  in  the  two  great 
geographical  divisions  of  our  confederacy ; 
and  to  enquire  whether  it  be  true,  as  has 
been  asserted  in  various  quarters,  and  on 
high  authority,  that  there  is  an  inherent,  ne- 
cessary, and  continuing  antagonism  between 
the  two  systems. 

As  preliminary  to  this  enquiry,  it  may  be 
proper  to  glance  at  the  origin  of  the  system 
of  slave-labor  in  the  United  States. 

History  informs  us,  that  more  than  a  cen- 
tury elapsed,  after  the  discovery  of  America, 
before  any  successful  effort  was  made  to  es- 
tablish permanent  settlements  of  the  white 
race  on  the  eastern  coast  of  our  country.  The 
first  Colony  was  founded  at  Jamestown,  in 
1607,  but  for  many  years  it  had  to  struggle 
against  such  discouraging  diflEiculties,  that 
it  barely  maintained  a  precarious  existence. 
A  few  years  later,  the  Pilgrims  landed  on 
Plymouth  rock,  and,  by  degrees,  sparsely 
populated  Colonies  spread  themselves  along 
the  coast,  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  The 
dangers  and  privations  incident  to  the  set- 
tlement and  subjugation  of  a  new  country 
prevented  rapid  immigration  to  it ;  and, 
notwithstanding:  the  f^tronj:  inducements  that 
were  ofi'ered,  in  the  form  of  liberal  grants 
of  land,  the  growth  of  the  Colonies  was, 
by  no  means,  satisfactory  to  those  inter- 
ested.     The  number  of   laborers  was   in- 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


327 


adequate  to  the  efficient  settlement  and 
cultivation  of  the  fertile  lands.  To  sup- 
ply this  demand,  the  Mother  Country, 
about  the  year  1620,  resorted  to  the  expe- 
dient of  introducing  into  these  Colonies  a 
class  of  involuntary  immigrants,  in  the  per- 
sons of  Africans,  who  had  been  captured  in 
the  wars  between  hostile  tribes,  in  their 
native  country,  and  according  to  their  usages, 
sold  into  slavery.  This  policy  was  approved 
and  practised  by  the  Colonies  for  more  than 
a  century. 

At  the  date  of  the  declaration  of  our  na- 
tional independence,  this  system  of  invol- 
untary servitude,  or  slavery,  hai  become 
engrafted  on  the  institutions  of  all  the 
Colonies.  I  use  the  term  all  the  Colonies, 
advisedly  ;  for,  although  an  impression  has 
very  generally  prevailed,  that  slavery  never 
existed  in  some  of  the  New  England  States, 
the  fact  is  otherwise,  as  may  be  seen  by 
reference  to  the  census  tables.  According 
to  the  census  of  1790,  there  were  158  slaves 
in  New  Hampshire,  and  17  in  Vermont,  and 
the  official  returns  of  1830  show  that  there 
were  slaves  at  that  time  in  every  New 
England  State,  except  Vermont. 

At  the  commencement  of  our  national 
existence,  therefore,  a  compound  system  of 
labor — partly  free  and  partly  slave — per- 
vaded the  whole  confederacy. 

This  system,  continued,  in  all  the  States, 
until  the  drudgery  of  subduing  the  prime- 
•  val  forests,  and  clearing  the  country  for  cul- 
tivation and  comfortable  habitation,  had 
been  accomplished.  Then  the  citizens  of 
the  northern  and  middle  States  began  to 
turn  their  attention  to  other  branches  of 
industry,  and  the  discovery  was  soon  mad^, 
that  while  negro  labor  may  be  profitably 
employed  in  pursuits  which  require  mere 
physical  strength,  it  cannot  compete,  suc- 
cessfully, with  white  labor,  in  those  avoca- 
tions in  which  skill,  ingenuity  and  intellect, 
constitute  important  elements.  Experience 
also  demonstrated,  at  an  early  day,  that  the 
negro  race  were  physically  unfitted  to  en- 
dure the  rigors  of  a  northern  climate. 
These  considerations  led  to  a  general  con- 
viction, in  the  Northern  Colonies,  that  ne- 
gro labor  was  unprofitable,  and  induced 
them  to  adopt  measures  to  rid  themselves  of 
the  incumbrance  of  an  unproductive  popu- 
lation. 

And  here,  it  may  be  instructive  to  pause, 
and  contemplate  the  means  by  which  that 
object  was  accomplished. 


Some  of  our  brethren  of  the  North  are 
disposed,  like  certain  of  the  Pharisees  of 
old,  to  thank  God  "  that  they  are  not  as 
other  men  are,"  and  to  assume  to  them- 
selves and  their  States  great  credit  for  dis- 
interestedness and  benevolence  in  liberating 
their  slaves.  I  am  as  little  disposed  as  any 
other  man  to  withhold  from  them  the  praise 
to  which  they  are  justly  entitled,  for  their 
many  acknowledged  virtues.  I  take  plea- 
sure in  bearing  testimony  to  their  intelli- 
gence, integrity,  industry,  frugality,  public 
spirit  and  general  benevolence.  But,  re- 
spect for  the  truth  of  history  constrains  me 
to  deny  their  right  to  be  regarded  as  the 
benefactors  of  the  negro  race. 

A  general  impression   prevails,   both   in 
the  North   and   South,  that  the   people  of 
the  Northern  States,  influenced  by  a  gene- 
jrous   spirit  of   philanthropy,   and  a    noble 
j  devotion    to  the   cause   of    human   liberty, 
voluntarily    emancipated    their    slaves,    by 
\  legislative  enactments.     If  their  legislation 
,  had  been  such  as  is   generally  supposed,  it 
I  might  well  be  questioned,  how  far  it  would 
establish  their  just   claim   to  any  high  de- 
gree of  merit,  in   a   moral  point  of  view; 
]  because,  as   I  have   already  stated,  it   had 
become  manifest,  before  any  such  laws  were 
;  adopted,   that   the  slaves  of  the   Northern 
I  States  were  a  burthen,  rather  than  a  benefit. 
The   policy   of  those   States   might,   there- 
\  fore,  be  fairly  attributed,  rather  to  a  dispo- 
!  sition  to  rid  themselves  of  an  ignorant,  im- 
provident and  unprofitable  population,  than 
,  to  a  desire  to  do  justice   to  a  "  down-trod- 
j  den  "  race. 

I      But  what  are  the  facts  of  the  case.     3Iy 
professional  duty  has  led  me  to  investigate 
the   legislation  of  some  four  or  five  of  the 
:  Northern  States,  on  the  subject  of  slavery  ; 
and  I  have  yet  to  find  a  law  of  any  one  of 
'  them,  by   which   a   single  slave    has    been 
made  free.     I  think  I  may  safely  challenge 
j  the  production  of  any  such   law,  from  the 
.archives  of  anytDolony  or  State  of  this  con- 
jfederacy.  "  This  is  a  bold  proposition,  but  I 
I  believe  it  to  be  true.     As  far  as  I  have  ob- 
served, the  whole  system  of  Northern  legis- 
lation has  been  directed,  not  to  the  emanci- 
I  pation  of  slaves,  but  to  the  removal  of  the 
slave  population  beyond  their  limits.     All 
their  laws  on  the  subject  were  prospective. 
None  of  them,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  discover,  operated  to  confer  freedom  on 
the    slaves   in   being.      They    simply   pro- 
vided, that  the  offspring  of  female  slaves. 


323 


THE    S  0  r  T  H  E  E  y    P  L  A  X  T  E  R . 


[June 


who  should  be  bom  within  the  u:;^:.::::::: '"siied  system  of  legislation,  freedom  ao- 
of  the  States  passing  soch  laws,  after  speci-  \  cmed  to  a  Terr  small  proportion  of  the 
fied  dates,  should  be  deemed  free.  All  who  slaves  of  the  Northern  States.  3Iach  the 
were  slaves  at  the  time  remained  slaves,  larger  number  were  sold  to  the  people  of 
The  laws  were  intended  to  operate  only  on  the  South,  and  the  descendents  of  those 
the  after-bom  children,  and  the  rights  se-  slaves,  now  held  under  the  warranty  of 
cured  to  these  were  altogether  contingent,  title  given  by  Northern  venders,  constitute 
and  could  never  vest  without  the  concur-  a  Wge  portion  of  the  slave  population  of 
rence  of  the  owner  of  the  female  sl&ve.  the  Southern  States;  and  the  purchase 
There  was  no  prohibition  of  the  removal  of  money  paid  for  them  by  citizens  of  the 
the  females.  If  the  owner  thought  proper  South,  contributed,  in  no  small  degree,  to 
to  retain  them  in  the  State  which  had  ibuUd  up  the  manufactores  and  commerce  of 
adopted  such  laws,  her  o&pring,  bom  after  tbe  Northern  and  Middle  Stat^. 
the  appointed  day,  became  free.  Freedom,  It  is  also  instructive  to  observe  how  the 
therefore,  even  to  the  after-bom  children,  anti-slavqjy  legislation  of  the  North  has 
was  not  the  effect  of  legislation  alone,  but  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  the  growth 
of  legislation  and  the  concurrent  action  of  j  of  the  great  staples  of  the  South, 
the  master,  in  retaining  the  female  in  the  It  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  the 
State,  until  the  law  could  take  effect  on  the  i  eighteenth  century,  after  Hargrave  and  Ark- 
children.  Without  the  consent  of  the  mas-|  wright  had  invented  the  spinoing-jennr  and 
ter,  indicated  by  retaining  her  in  the  State,  Whitney  the  cotton-gin,  that  cotton  became 
until  after  the  prescribed  date,  the  law  one  of  the  important  crops  of  the  Southern 
would  have  been  inoperative.  States.  As  late  as  1794,  when  Gren.  Pinkney, 

It  requires  no  great  sagacity  to  see  that  |  of  South  Carolina,  enumerated  to  John  Jay 
this  is  the  whole  object  and  tendency  of  j  the  exports  of  South  Carolina,  cotton  was 
their  legislation,  as  I  have  already  stated,  not  included  in  the  list. 

The  inventions  of  the  great  mechanics. 


not  to  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  but  their 
removal  to    other    States.     It    amounted. 


above  referred  to,  gave  a  vigorous  impulse 


simply,  to  a  notice  to  the  owner  to  sell  his  j!  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  and  it  has  now  be- 
female  slaves  before  a  given  day,  under .,  come  the  most  important  article  of  Ameii- 
penalty  of    forfeiting   her   increase.      The  can  commerce. 

practical  effects  were  such  as  might  have  Cotton  is  an  article  peculiarly  adapted  to 
been  reasonably  anticipated.  The  owners  i  negro  labor.  Its  culture  is  simple,  and  re- 
of  the  females  took  especial  care  to  sell  I'  quires  but  little  skilL  It  can  be  produced 
them  southward  before  the  laws  took  effect, !'  profitably  only  in  the  Southern  States, 
and  in  this  way  the  unprofitable  slaves  were  ( where  the  almost  vertical  rays  of  the  sun, 
transferred  to  the  South,  where  the  climated  and  the  debilitating  influences  of  the  cli- 


was  more  propitious,  and  the  productions 
better  adapted  to  their  peculiar  capacities 
for  labor. 


mate,  render  it  impossible  for  the  white 
ra^e  to  perform  the  labor  necessary  to  till 
and  secure  the  crop.     The  physical  peculi- 


This  view  of  the  effects  of  these  laws  is ,  arities  of  the  negro,  on  the  other  hand,  fit 
strongly  fortified  by  facts  derived  from  the  him  admirably  for  the  work.  Created  with 
census  tables.  We  have  no  authentic  means  I  a  system  of  pores  and  glands  adapted  to  the 
of  ascertaining  the  number  of  slaves  in  any  tropical  cliinate  of  his  native  country,  he 
of  the  States,  prior  to  1790,  and  we  cannot,  I  thrives  and  grows  strong  under  the  sultry 
therefore,  institute  aU  the  enquiries  which  heat  of  the  planting  States,  which  would 
we  might  desire,  but  we  do  know  that  the "  cause  the  most  athletic  of  the  Caucasian 
policy  of  removal,  miscalled  emancipation, '  race,  to  sink  into  hopeless  prostration, 
was  adopted  between  1776  and  1790,  andj  When  cotton  became  an  important  crop 
was  in  full  operation  at  the  latter  date.  A I  in  the  South,  it  opened  a  wide  field  for 
reference  to  the  c-ensus  of  1790  shows,  that  negro  labor,  and  created  a  large  demand  for 
the  whole  number  of  free  negroes  in  the ,  negro  laborers.  The  opposite  condition  of 
nine  Northern  States  (including  3Iaine)  at  things  in  the  Northern  States,  where  it  had 
that  date,  was  but  27,109.  The  fact  that  ^  been  ascertained  by  actual  experiment,  that 
the  number  of  fr%e  negroes  in  those  States  jn^ro  labor  could  not  be  profitably  em- 
was  so  small,  in  1 790,  is  very  persuasive,  { ployed,  naturally  led  both  sections  to  adopt 
at   least,  to  prove,  that  under  this  much  j  a  policy  which  would  tend  to  the  transfer  of 


^860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


J29 


the  slave  population  from  the  Northern  to 
the  Southern  States. 

In  view  of  these  historical  facts,  and  logi- 
cal deductions  from  them,  it  is  idle  to  pre- 
tend that  the  legislation  of  the  North  was 
dictated  by  any  sentiment  of  negrophilism. 
It  was  the  offspring  of  an  enlightened  self- 
interest,  and  of  those  natural  and  economic 
laws,  which  lead  to  the  adjustment  of  all 
things  according  to  their  just  relations  and 
affinities. 

Having  thus  examined  the  principles  by 
which  Northern  policy,  in  regard  to  slavery, 
was  guided,  it  is  proper  that  I  should  now 
advert  to  the  changes  which  haye  taken 
place  in  public  opinion  at  the  South,  on  the 
same  subject. 

At  the  date  of  our  Revolution,  the  agri- 
culture of  the  South  was  in  a  languishing 
condition,  and  many  of  our  wisest  men  at- 
tributed its  want  of  prosperity  to  the  ex- 
istence of  slavery.  Washington,  Jefferson, 
Madison,  Mason,  Edmund  Randolph,  and 
other  sages  of  that  day,  were  deeply  imbued 
with  anti-slavery  sentiments.  Jefferson,  in 
his  first  draft  of  the  Declaration  of  indepen- 
dence, and  George  Mason,  in  the  preamble 
to  the  Constitution  of  Virginia,  made  it  one 
of  the  grave  causes  of  complaint  against 
the  British  sovereign,  that  he  had,  "  by  an 
inhuman  use  of  his  negative,  refused  us 
permission  to  exclude  negroes,  by  law,  from 
Virginia."  In  his  Notes  on  Virginia,  and 
other  productions  of  his  pen,  Jefferson  ex- 
pressed his  opposition  to  slavery  in  the 
strongest  terms,  and,  faithful  to  his  princi- 
ples, after  long  and  untiring  efforts,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  excluding  it  from  the  North- 
western Territory,  by  the  ordinance  of  1787. 

In  1788,  George  Mason,  who  had  been 
a  member  of  the  Convention  which  framed 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  in  his 
letter  to  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  ex- 
plaining his  reasons  for  withholding  his  sig- 
nature from  that  instrument,  assigned,  as 
one  of  them,  its  failure  to  place  an  immedi- 
ate interdict  on  the  African  slave  trade. 

I  allude  to  these  facts  in  no  spirit  of  un- 
kindness  to  either  section,  but  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  that  neither  section  has 
been  governed  .in  its  policy  by  the  high 
principles  of  benevolence  to  which  they 
sometimes  lay  claim.  The  history  of  the 
world  will  prove  that,  while  individuals  may 
be,  and  often  are,  influenced  by  the  nobler 
impulses  of  our  nature,  communities  are 
controlled  by  their  interest.     The  Northern 


and  Southern  divisions  of  the  Union  con- 
stitute no  exception  to  this  rule.  This  fact 
should  teach  us  a  lesson  of  mutual  charity 
and  forbearance! 

The  fact  having  been  established,  that 
negro  labor  is  indispensable  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  cotton,  and  that  white  labor  can  be 
economically  substituted  for  it,  in  the  pro- 
duction of  cereals,  live-stock,  and  every- 
thing that  is  grown  in  the  Northern  and 
Middle  States,  there  has  been  a  uniform 
tendency  of  the  labor  of  the  country,  to 
adjust  itself  according  to  this  standard. 
Slave-labor  is  rapidly  concentrating  itself  in 
tbe  planting  States  ;  while  free-labor  is  fast 
taking  possession  of  the  grain-growing  and 
grazing  States. 

Planting  and  negro  labor  have  a  natural 
affinity,  which,  legislate  as  we  may,  will 
eventually  assert  its  power.  Labor,  like 
every  other  commodity,  will  seek  the  best 
market.  It  will  go  where  it  will  command 
the  highest  price.  This  great  principle  of 
political  economy  withdrew  slave-labor  from 
the  wheat  and  rye  fields  of  the  North,  and 
it  is  this  principle  which  is  now  draining 
the  slave  population  from  the  border  or  pro- 
visfon  States  to  the  planting  States. 

The  high  prices  of  the  products  of  South- 
ern plantations  enhances  the  value  of  slaves, 
and  they  are  being  rapidly  sold  to  the  plant- 
ers. The  interest  on  the  prices  they  now 
command  in  market  is  almost  equal  to  the 
annual  value  of  their  labor  when  employed 
in  farming,  and  hence  the  farmer  finds  it 
to  his  interest  to  sell  them. 

The  operation  of  this  cause  will  be  felt 
more  sensibly  every  day.  The  acquisition 
of  Texas,  and  the  reclamation  of  the  swamp 
lands  of  the  Southern  States,  by  enlarging 
the  area  of  the  cotton  and  sugar  region,  has 
tended  greatly  to  enhance  the  price  of  ne- 
groes, and  to  withdraw  them  from  Virginia, 
and  the  border  States.  Should  additional 
territory  be  acquired  in  that  quarter,  the 
exportation  of  slaves  will  be  accelerated, 
and  at  no  distant  day,  it  may  become  the 
pecuniary  interest  of  Virginia  to  follow  the 
lead  of  the  Northern  States,  and  send  her 
slaves  to  the  South.  Everything  seems  to  in- 
dicate a  steady  advance  in  the  price  of  ne- 
gi'oes.  The  demand  for  cotton  is  constantly 
increasing,  and  the  failure  of  all  attempts 
to  produce  it  elsewhere  has  shown,  that  the 
world  must  be  dependent  on  the  United 
States  for  its  supply.  By  a  wise  provision 
of  nature,  every  country  has  the  capacity 


330 


THE    SOUTHEEX     PL AX TEE. 


[JUXE 


to  produce  the  food  necessary  for  its  popu- 
lation. The  price  of  food  must,  therefore, 
be  regulated  and  restrained,  by  the  general 
production  of  the  world.  But  only  a  limit- 
ed district  of  country  is  adapted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  cotton.  It  can,  therefore,  have 
but  little  competition  in  the  market,  and  as 
the  demand  increases  more  rapidly  than  the 
supply,  the  price  of  cotton,  and  of  the  labor 
necessary  to  produce  it,  must  continue  to 
advance.  Xo  one  can  yet  predict  the  efifect 
■which  the  extension  of  commercial  rela- 
tions with  China,  Japan,  and  the  East  In- 
dies, is  to  have  on  the  prices  of  the  great 
staples  of  the  South. 

These  facts  lead  thoughtful  men  to  en- 
quire, whether,  at  a  future  day,  the  line  be- 
tween the  free  and  slave  States,  may  not  be 
more  sharply  and  distinctly  defined,  than  it 
is  at  present,  and  the  institution  of  slavery 
be  restricted  exclusively  to  the  planting 
States. 

The  tendency,  is,  certainly,  in  that  di- 
rection at  present,  and  a  rise  of  twenty  per 
cent,  on  the  present  value  of  slaves  will 
lead  to  such  an  exodus,  as  has  never  yet 
been  witnessed  in  Virginia,  and  the  other 
grain-growing  States.  In  this  aspect,  it  is 
time  that  our  people  should  consider  whe- 
ther the  interest  of  Virginia  will  be  ad- 
vanced by  the  acquisition  of  additional  ter- 
ritory adapted  to  the  culture  of  cotton, 
when  that  acquisition  is  to  be  followed  by 
the  loss  of  a  large  portion  of  her  effective 
labor. 

This  brief  review  of  the  history  and  pro- 
gress of  slavery  is,  I  think,  sufficient  to 
show,  that  for  the  last  seventy-five  years, 
the  tendency  of  labor  of  our  country  has 
been  to  adjust  itself  with  reference  to  the 
productions  of  the  different  sections — free 
labor  having  acquired  the  ascendency  in  all 
the  mechanical,  commercial  and  farming  de- 
partments of  industry,  and  slave  labor  in . 
those  connected  with  the  production  of  rice, 
sugar,  cotton  and  tobacco. 

And  here,  we  are  naturally  led  to  con- 
sider a  doctrine,  which  has  recently  been ' 
presented  to  the  country  under  the  most  im-, 
posing  circumstances.  About  a  year  ago,  a 
distinguished  Senator  from  the  State  of  Xew 
York,  in  an  address  to  the  people  of  that 
State,  expressed  his  deliberate  conviction, 
that  there  is  an  inherent,  and  irreconcilable 
antagonism  between  the  systems  of  free  and 
slave  labor.     He  said  : 

"  Hitherto  the  two  systems  have  existed  | 


in  different  States,  but  side  by  side  within 
the  American  Union.  This  has  happened 
because  the  Union  is  a  confederation  of 
States.  But,  in  another  aspect,  the  United 
States  constitute  only  one  nation.  Increase 
of  population,  which  is  filling  the  States  out 
to  their  very  borders,  together  with  a  new 
and  extended  network  of  railroads  and  other 
avenues,  and  an  internal  commerce  which 
daily  becomes  more  intimate,  is  rapidly 
bringing  the  States  into  a  higher  and  more 
perfect  .social  unity  or  consolidation.  Thus 
these  antagonistic  systems  are  continually 
coming  into  closer  contact,  and  cjliision  re- 
sults. 

"  Shall  I  tell  you  what  this  collision 
means  ?  They  who  think  that  it  is  acci- 
dental, unnecessary,  the  work  of  interested 
or  fanatical  agitators,  and  therefore  ephe- 
meral, mistake  the  case  altogether.  It  is 
an  irrepressible  conflict  between  opposing 
and  enduring  forces,  and  it  means  that  the 
United  States  must  and  will,  sooner  or  later, 
become  either  entirely  a  slave-holding  nation, 
or  entirely  a  free-labor  nation.  Either  the 
cotton  and  rice  fields  of  South  Carolina,  and 
the  sugar  plantations  of  Louisiana  will  ulti- 
mately be  tilled  by  free  labor,  and  Charles- 
ton and  Xew  Orleans  become  marts  for  le- 
gitimate merchandise  alone,  or  else  the  rye 
fields  and  wheat  fields  of  Massachusetts  and 
Xew  York  must  again  be  surrendered  by 
their  farmers  to  slave  culture  and  to  the 
production  of  tlaves,  and  Boston  and  Xew 
York  become  once  more  markets  for  trade 
in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men.  It  is  tne 
failure  to  apprehend  this  great  truth  that 
induces  so  many  unsuccessful  attempts  at 
final  compromise  between  the  slave  and  free 
States,  and  it  is  the  existence  of  this  great 
fact  that  renders  all  such  pretended  compro- 
mises when  made  vain  and  ephemeral. 
******** 

''  I  know,  and  you  know,  that  a  revolu- 
tion has  begun.  I  know,  and  all  the  world 
knows,  that  revolutions  never  go  back- 
wards." 

The  proposition  is  certainly  a  startling 
one,  and  it  took  the  country  by  surprise. 

It  involves  an  impeachment  of  the  wis- 
dom of  the  fathers  of  the  republic,  and  a 
condemnation  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  as  an  abortive  effort  to  blend 
together  in  harmonious  co-operation  ele- 
ments essentially  incongruous  and  antago- 
nistic. 

Is  this  proposition  true  ?    Does  it  em 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


331 


body  the  wisdom  of  a  ptatesman,  in  the 
highest  acceptation  of  the  term,  or  is  it  the 
plea  of  a  partizan,  addressed  to  the  jealous 
prejudices  of  a  section. 

If  the  two  systems  of  labor  existed  toge- 
ther, in  the  same  localities,  competing  and 
interfering  with  each  other,  maintaining  a 
constant  rivalry,  and  provoking  collisions, 
by  constant  efforts  to  supplant  each  other, 
there  might  be  some  ground  for  apprehend- 
ing a  conflict  between  them.*  But  do  the 
facts  of  the  case  justify  any  such  assump- 
tion ?  On  the  contrary,  does  not  the  whole 
past  history  of  the  country  negative  the 
idea,  and  show  that  the  tendency  of  the  two 
systems  is  to  separation, — to  the  withdrawal 
of  each  from  the  field  appropriate  to  the 
other,  rather  than  to  mutual  aggression,  col- 
lision and  conflict?  Where,  then,  is  the 
evidence  of  antagonism  between  them  ? — 
Upon  what  facts  does  this  orator,  who  is  so 
swift  to  pronounce  judgment  of  condemna- 
tion on  Washington  and  Hamilton,  and 
Madison,  and  Jay,  rely,  to  maintain  his  mis- 
chievous dogma?  If  it  be  true,  the  alter- 
native he  offers  is  submission  or  disunion  ; 
abolition  or  revolution  !  Is  the  country 
prepared  lor  such  an  alternative  ?  Do  our 
northern  brethren  desire  to  press  it  upon 
us  ?  The  events  of  the  nest  year  may  show,  j 
Their  decision  will  derive  new  and  fearful 
significance  from  events  that  have  recently 
occurred  within  our  borders.  Should  the 
sentiments  of  the  Senator  from  New  York 
be  endorsed  and  adopted  by  the  people  of 
the  North,  it  will  be  time  for  the  people  of 
the  South  to  decide  what  course  their  inte- 
rests, and  their  honor,  and  safety  may  re- 
quire them  to  pursue. 

I,  for  one,  cannot  believe  that  such  an  en- 
dorsement will  be  given.  The  solemn  ad- 
monitions of  Washington  have  not  yet  been 
forgotten  by  his  countrymen.  His  pro- 
phetic wisdom  foresaw  the  character  of  the 
appeals  which  "  designing  men "  would 
make  to  local  prejudices,  and,  in  his  farewell 
address,  he  warned  the  people  against  them 
in  these  impressive  words  : 

"  In  contemplating  the  causes  which 
may  disturb  our  Union,  it  occurs^as  matter 
of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should 
have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  par- 
ties by  geographical  discriminations,  North- 
ern and  Southern,  Atlantic  and  ^Yestern, 
whence  designing  men  may  endeavor  to  in- 
cite a  belief  that  there  is  a  real  difference 
of  local  interest  and  views.     One  of  the 


expedients  of  party,  to  acquire  influence 
with  particular  districts,  is  to  misrepresent 
the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts. 
You  cannot  shield  yourselves  too  much 
against  the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings 
which  spring  from  these  misrepresentations. 
They  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other 
those  who  ought  to  be  bound  together  by 
fraternal  affection." 

Let  the  people  of  the  United  States  look 
on  this  picture  and  on  that !  Here  are  the 
counsels  of  Washington — there  the  Senator 
from  New  York.  Let  the  people  choose 
between  them  ! 

Washington  teaches  that  while  it  may  be 
the  province  of  "designing  men"  to  foment 
local  jealousies — to  array  section  against 
section — to  divide,  that  they  may  rule,  as 
heads  of  dominant  factions,  it  is  the  higher, 
and  nobler,  and  holier  mission  of  the  pa- 
triotic statesman,  to  reconcile  differences  of 
opinion — to  bring  order  out  of  chaos — to 
blend  opposing  forces  into  harmonious  ac- 
tion, for  the  public  good. 

The  idea  that  the  tide  of  slavery,  which, 
for  three-quarters  of  a  century,  has  been 
constantly  receding  from  the  North,  is  about 
to  reverse  its  flow,  is  as  absurd  as  to  sup- 
pose that  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  will 
again  sweep  over  the  crests  of  the  Allegha- 
nies.  The  people  of  the  North  cannot  be 
imposed  on  by  any  such  shallow  sophistry. 

But  looking  at  the  question  in  another 
aspect — has  the  South  anything  to  fear  from 
Northern  ajjgression. 

I  answer,  unhesitatingly,  nothing  what- 
ever !  This  answer  is  dictated  not  only  by 
a  referenoe  to  the  provisions  of  the  federal 
constitution,  which  forbid  all  such  aggres- 
sions, but  by  other  and  still  more  cogent 
considerations.  I  know  that  constitutional 
restrictions,  and  parchment  guarantees,  and 
the  rights  intended  to  be  guarded  by  them, 
may  be  trampled  under  foot,  and  therefore 
do  not  always  present  a  safe  bulwark  of  de- 
fence. 

But  there  is  another,  and  in  deference  to 
the  nomenclature  of  the  author  of  the  doc- 
trine on  which  I  am  commenting,  I  will  call 
it  "  a  higher  law,"  which  men  never  violate 
wilfully,  and  which  will  ever  remain  sure 
and  steadfast :  I  mean,  the  law  of  self-inte- 
rest !  If  all  higher  considerations  should 
fail — if  the  men  of  the  North  should  be 
deaf  to  the  appeals  of  justice — if  they 
should  prove  regardless  of  all  their  con- 
stitutional  and  legal  obligationsj  and  feel 


332 


THE  SOTTHEEX  PLAXTER. 


[June 


disposed  to  violate  the  rights  of  the  South- 
ern States,  thej  would  be  restrained  from 
doing  so,  by  the  knowledge  of  the  fact,  that 
the  blow  which  prostrated  the  interests  of 
the  South  would  inflict  an  immedicable 
wound  on  the  prosperity  of  the  Xorth. 

Where,  then,  I  repeat,  is  the  evidence  of 
antagonism  between  the  interests  or  the  la- 
bor of  the  Xorth  and  of  the  South  ?  Those 
who  are  disposed  to  indulge  in  narrow  and 
contracted  views  of  subjects  may  fancy  they 
see  evidences  of  an  "  irrepressible  conflict " 
between  heat  and  cold  ;  light  and  darkness  ; 
summer  and  winter;  the  centripetal  and 
centrifugal  forces;  and  a  thousand  other 
objects  in  the  material  world,  which  seem 
to  be  irreconcilable ;  yet,  under  the  rule  of 
a  wise  and  benificent  Providence,  how  beau- 
tifully all  these  apparently  opposing  ele- 
ments work  together  in  harmony,  to  accom- 
plish the  wonderful  designs  of  Him  whose 
band  directs  the  machinery  of  the  universe  I 

When  the  scales  are  removed  from  the 
eyes  of  such  as  1  have  mentioned,  they  dis- 
cern that  the  only  discord  was  in  their  own 
wicked  hearts,  and  that  the  seeming  antag- 
onism in  the  elements  of  nature  was  but 
harmony  not  understood  !  i 

So,  it  often  happens,  in  regard  to  politi- ; 
cal  afi'airs,  that  men  whose  minds  are  mis- 
led by  local  interest,  or  distorted  by  party 
prejudices,  can  see  nothing  in  the  progress 
of  events  but  evidences  of  clashing  inte- 
rests and  "  irrepressible  conflicts,"  while, 
to  those' who  survey  the  same  objects,  from 
a  loftier  stand-point,  every  element  is  seen 
to  be  performing  its  appropriate  functions, 
for  the  development  of  some  wise  and  ben-| 
ificent  result.  j 

How  strangely  must  that  mind  be  consti- 
tuted, which  can  perceive  a  tendency  to  an- 
tagonism in  two  systems  which  move  in  dif- 
ferent orbits,  and  have  entirely  diflferent 
functions  to  perform  ;  systems  widely  sepa- 
rated, geogrophically,  and  whose  influence 
is  felt  only  in  the  benefits  which  they  re- 
ciprocally confer  on  each  other  I  ' 

Southern  labor  is  devoted  to  the  produc- 
tion of  articles  unsuited  to  the  climate  and 
labor  of  the  free  States.  Its  great  staples 
are  cotton,  sugar,  tobacco  and  rice.  Of 
these,  but  one,  tobacco,  and  that  to  a  small 
extent  only,  can  be  produced  north  of  the! 
Delaware. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  labor  of  the  free 
States  is  directed  to  the  cultivation  of  grain  . 
and  the  feeding  of  live-stock,  and  to  manu-j 


Jfactures  and  commerce,  and  other  pursuits 
which  are  better  adapted  to  the  habits  of 
their  people,  and  the  qualities  and  pecu- 
liarities of  their  soil  and  climate. 
■  How,  then,  can  the  labor  of  one  section 
'  come  into  competition  with  that  of  the 
other  ?  Do  not  the  productions  of  the 
Xorth  find  their  best  markets  in  the  South  ? 
Are  not  the  slaves  of  the  planting  States 
the  largest  consumers  of  the  coarse  woolens, 
'  and  cottons,  and  shoes,  and  hats  made  by  the 
labor  of  the  Xorth  ?  Do  not  the  planters  also 
buy  a  large  portion  of  the  finer  goods,  and  fur- 
niture, and  hardware,  and  machinery,  and 
carriages,  and  saddlery,  and  agricultural 
implements  manufactured  at  the  Xorth  ? 

And  does  not  the  the  South  supply  the 
Xorth  with  its  cotton,  and  sugar,  and  rice, 
and  tobacco,  and  other  commodities,  in  taeir 
crude  condition,  ready  to  be  converted  by 
the  labor  and  skill  of  the  Xorth,  into  the 
most  valuable  subjects  of  commerce  ?  How 
then  can  there  be  antagonism  between  twe 
sections  of  country,  and  two  systems  of  la- 
bor, whose  productions,  and  whose  avoca- 
tions, are  so  widely  different  ?  Antagnism 
implies  opposition,— rivalry, — competition, — 
the  interference  of  one  with  the  other.  But 
here,  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  Xeither 
produces  what  the  other  can  profitably  pro- 
duce— on  the  contrary,  each  produces  pre- 
cisely what  the  other  cannot  produce,  but  what 
the  other  needs.  Each  offers  to  the  other 
a  good  market  for  what  it  has  to  sell.  An 
exchange,  mutually  beneficial,  takes  place 
between  them.  Both  are  enriched  by  it. 
The  product  of  slave  labor  helps  to  pay  the 
wages  of  the  free  labor  of  the  Xorth,  and 
the  product  of  free  labor  helps  to  pay  to 
the  owner  of  slaves  the  expense  which  he 
incurs,  and  the  profit  which  he  makes,  by 
his  operations  on  his  plantation.  Each  sec- 
tion, and  each  system,  consequently,  eon- 
tributes  to  the  prosperity  and  wealtlvof  the 
other.  They  are  mutual  benefactors,  in- 
stead of  antagonists.  The  relations  between 
the  two  systems  have  become  so  intimate, 
and  so  interwoven  with  each  other,  that  they 
can  no  longer  be  regarded  as  separate,  inde- 
pendent systems,  but  are,  in  fact,  harmoni- 
ous elements  of  one  great  system  of  Ame- 
rican labor.  The  truth  of  this  proposition 
will  be  manifest,  if  we  will  turn  our  thoughts, 
for  a  moment,  to  the  consequences  which 
would  ensue  from  a  disturbance  of  the  re- 
lations, which  now  happily  subsist  between 
these  elements. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


333 


If    slavery    were,    by   common    consent, 
abolished    throughout  the    United    States, 
we    cannot    doubt    that    the   consequences 
would   be   similar   to    those    which    follow- 
ed emancipation  in  the   British  TVcst  India 
Islands.      Wherever    the    negro    is    found, 
his  nature  is  the  same.     Their  indisposition 
to  labor  has   become   proverbial.     It   exhi- 
bits itself,  not  only  in  their  native  country, 
and  in  the  sultry  climate  of  the  South,  but 
also  amidst  the  bustle   and   activity  of  the 
Northern  and  V\''estern  cities,  in  which  they 
congregate.     They    labor    only    under    the 
pressure  of  necessity,  and  only  to   the   ex- 
tent which  that  necessity  imperatively   re- 
quires.    As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  discip- 
line and  compulsory  authority  of  the  master 
was  withdrawn,  they  would  sink  into  habits 
of  idleness,  which  would  leave  the  plantations 
of  the  Southern  States,  like  those  of  Jamai- 
ca, desolate  and  uncultivated.     They  would 
seek  a  precarious  subsistence,  by  irregular 
effort,  and  by  depreciations  on  the  property 
of  those  around  them.     The  production   of 
the  great  staples  of  the  South,  would  rapidly 
diminish,  and  ultimately  they  would  cease 
to  be  articles  of  export.     White  labor  could 
not  be  substituted,  because   experience  has 
shown,  that  the   white  race   cannot  endure 
the   exposure   to   the   sun  and  atmosphere, 
which  is    necessary   for   the    production   of 
cotton,  tobacco,  sugar  and  rice.     The   abo- 
lition of  slavery  would,  therefore,  be  equiv- 
alent to  the  banishment  of  those  articles  from 
the  manufactures  and  commerce  of  the  coun- 
try.    And  what  mind  can  conceive,  or  what 
pen  portray,  the  consequences  to  the  business, 
and  comfort,  and  happiness  of  the  civilized 
world  !     It  would    involve  the    destruction 
of  countless  millions   of  dollars   of  capital 
in  the  South,  vested  in  lands,  and  in  slaves 
and  stock  and  machinery  necessary  to  cul- 
tivate them ;  and  in  the   North,  in  the  fac- 
tories erected  to  work   up   the  products    of 
Southern  labor,  and  to  jiroduce  all  the  fa- 
brics  necessary  to    supply    its    wants.     It 
would  involve  the  prostration   of  domestic 
trade,  manufactures,  and  the  mechanic  arts 
— the  stagnation  of  foreign  commerce — the 
derangement  of  the    balance  of  trade  and 
rates   of  exchange — disastrous   convulsions 
in  the  monetary  system — the  serious  injury 
of  our  shipping  interests — a  decline  in  our 
national  resources — the  paralysis  of  indus- 
try in   all   its   departments — a  general   de- 
pression   in    the    value    of    property,    and 
a  scene  of  bankruptcy  and  ruin  to  which 


the   history   of  our  country   affords   no  pa- 
rallel. 

Such  would  be  some  of  the  more  promi- 
nent and  direct  results  of  that  system  of 
emancipation  which  deluded  enthusiasts  and 
selfish  agitators   would  seek  to   accomplish. 

But  the  picture  is,  by  no  means  com- 
plete. It  is  plain  that  the  evils  I  hava 
enumerated,  would  fall  with  more  crushing 
force  on  the  interests  and  people  of  the 
North,  than  on  those  of  the  South.  But, 
there  are  others  peculiarly  affecting  the  free 
States,  which  should  not  be  passed  over  in 
silence.  '■* 

Who,  that  has  visited  the  Northern 
States,  has  failed  to  note,  with  pride  and 
pleasure,  the  evidences  of  prosperity  and 
comfort  that  greet  his  eye  at  every  turn  ? 
Well  cultivated  fields — neat  farm-houses — 
thriving  villages — cities  thronged  with  a 
busy  and  enterprising  population — fiicto- 
ries,  furnishing  employment  to  thousands — 
harbors  crowded  with  shipping — wharves 
loaded  with  the  merchandise  of  the  most 
distant  lands — all  bear  testimony,  which 
cannot  be  mistaken,  to  the  material  pros- 
perity of  the  people.  Innumerable  school- 
houses,  and  churches,  and  noble  institu- 
tions, devoted  to  literary  and  benevolent 
purposes,  in  like  manner  attest  the  atten- 
tion which  is  bestowed  on  the  culture  and 
development  of  the  moral  and  intellectual 
faculties  of  the  citizens. 

Explore  the  sources  of  all  this  wealth  and 
prosperity — enquire  what  stimulates  this 
industry  into  activity  ? — what  gives  vitality 
to  this  extensive  domestic  trade? — what 
freights  these  fleets  of  merchantmen,  on  their 
outward  voyages,  and  supplies  the  means  of 
buying  the  home-bound  cargoes? — in  a  word, 
what  sustains  this  whole  system  of  industry, 
and  equalizes  the  balance  of  trade  between 
our  own  and  foreign  countries  ?  Every  en- 
lightened man  will  answer  that  the  produc- 
tions of  the  planting  States,  the  fruits  of 
slave  labor,  contribute  more  than  all  other 
causes  to  these  great  results ! 

If,  then,  this  system  of  labor  should  be 
suddenly  overthrown,  by  emancipating  the 
slaves  of  the  South,  and  the  substitution  of 
a  worthless,  indolent,  pauper  population  in 
place  of  the  active,  well-disciplined,  and  vig- 
orous slaves  who  now  supply  the  productive 
power  of  the  South,  who  can  compute  the 
amount  of  injury  that  would  accrue  to 
the  North  ?     Strike   the  single  article    of 


334 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[June 


cotton  from  the  commercial  schedules,  and 
what  would  become  of  the  factories,  and 
commerce,  and  navigation  of  the  North  ; 
and  of  all  the  interests  dependent  on  them  ? 
Let  business  men  answer  the  question. 

But  these  are  not  the  only  evils,  that 
would  enure  to  the  people  of  the  non-slave- 
holding  States,  from  such  a  policy.  If  tbe 
Southern  slaves  were  liberated,  they  would, 
naturally,  desire  to  remove  from  the  scenes 
of  their  labor  and  humiliation,  and  seek 
abodes  among  the  people  of  the  North, 
whose  sympathy  had  cheered  them  in  their 
bondage,  and  whose  homes  and  hearts,  they 
would  reasonably  infer,  were  open  to  receive 
them.  The  three  millions  of  liberated 
slaves,  thus  left  free  to  choose  their  own 
places  of  residence,  would  soon  scatter  them- 
selves, in  the  Northern  and  Western  States, 
in  quest  of  the  means  of  subsistence.  The 
better  class  would  at  once  come  into  compe- 
tition with  the  laboring  population  of  the 
North,  in  all  the  more  simple  employments 
for  which  they  were  qualified,  and  the  dray- 
men, hackmen,  cartmen,  porters,  hotel-wait- 
ers, stevedores,  domestic  servants,  day-la- 
borers, and  others  of  like  occupations, 
would  doubtless  find  them  formidable  rivals, 
who  would  supplant  them,  or  greatly  re- 
duce the  profits  of  their  callings.  Much 
the  larger  proportion,  however,  from  their 
natural  aversion  to  labor,  would  refuse  to 
work,  and  with  their  families,  sink  into  the 
lowest  depths  of  destitution  and  wretched- 
ness ;  and  the  jails,  alms-houses,  and  peni- 
tentiaries of  the  North  would  be  their  only 
refuge  from  starvation.  They  would  become 
an  intolerable  burthen,  and  all  classes  of 
society  would  rise  up  to  expel  them.  Under 
these  circumstances,  I  can  readily  see  how 
the  tendency  to  a  "conflict"  between  the 
black  and  the  white  laborer  would  become 
"irrepressible."  The  white  laborer  whose 
avocation  had,"  heretofore,  been  respectable, 
and  who  had  been  accustomed  to  receive 
wages  adequate  for  the  support  of  his  family, 
would  not  tolerate  the  competition  of  those 
who  would  degrade  the  dignity  of  labor, 
and  underbid  him  in  his  business.  The  tax- 
payers would  not  submit  to  the  burthen  of 
maintaining*  an  idle  and  thriftless  popula- 
tion. The  land-holder  would  not  be  con- 
tent to  have  near  his  premises  a  class  whose 
subsistence  would  be  eked  out  by  pilfering. 
A  conflict  would  necessarily  ensue — a  con- 
flict of  clashing  interests,  and  hostile  races 
brought  into  immediate  collision — a  conflict 


which  must  necessarily  result  in  violence 
and  bloodshed. 

Is  this  picture  overdrawn  ?  I  refer  those 
who  think  so  to  the  riots  that  have  already 
occurred  from  these  causes,  in  Cincinnati, 
Philadelphia,  and  other  cities  and  townships 
in  the  non-slaveholding  States.  And  when 
it  is  remembered  that  but  a  few  hundreds  of 
free  negroes,  and  these  above  the  average  of 
their  race,  for  freedom  is  generally  conferred 
on  the  most  worthy,  or  acquired  by  the 
most  thrifty,  have  led  to  such  outbursts  of 
popular  indignation  and  violence,  what 
would  be  the  consequence  of  having  three 
MILLIONS  OF  THEM,  of  all  ages,  sizes, 
classes  and  conditions,  precipitated  on  the 
non-slaveholding  States  ! 

I  maintain,  therefore,  that  precisely  the 
opposite  of  the  proposition  of  the  distin- 
guished Senator  from  New  York  is  true. 
As  long  as  slavery  exists,  it  will  retain  the 
negro  population  in  the  Southern  States — ■ 
it  will  keep  them  separate  and  apart,  and 
prevent  their  coming  into  competition  with 
the  laboring  classes  of  the  North — and  the 
fruits  of  their  labor  will  be  auxiliary  to  the 
interests  of  the  white  race. 

But  the  moment  they  are  emancipated, 
the  present  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
two  systems  of  labor  will  be  eradicated. 
The  levee,  which  confines  the  negro  race 
within  the  Southern  States,  will  be  broken 
down,  and  a  deluge  of  free  negro  migration 
will  pour  its  desolating  flood  over  the  whole 
North  and  West,  sweeping  before  it  the 
peace  and  happiness  and  best  interests  of 
the  people.  The  Northern  States  will  then 
discover,  when  it  is  too  late  to  repair  the 
mischief,  that  they  have  rashly  and  wickedly 
undone  all  that  was  done  for  them  by  the 
wise  policy  of  their  earlier  statesmen. 

Were  I  a  Northern  man,  therefore,  and 
disposed  to  assume  the  championship  of 
Northern  interests,  I  would  admonish  my 
fellow  citizens  not  to  aid  in  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves  of  tbe  South,  but  to  remon- 
strate against  it,  and  to  resist  it  by  all  fair 
and  honorable  means,  as  fraught  with  incal- 
culable mischief  to  tlie  free  States.  I 
would  conjure  them  to  Icnve  the  whole  sub- 
ject in  the  hands  of  those  immediately  con- 
cerned, and  of  Him,  who,  although  his 
purposes  cannot  be  fathoratd  by  human 
sagacity,  we  know,  shapes  the  destiny  of 
nations,  and  ordereth  all  things  wisely  and 
well. 

Let  us,  then,  by  common  consent,  discard 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


335 


from  our  minds  and  our  hearts  all  these 
unfounded  notions  of  antagonism  between 
diflFerent  parts  of  our  common  country. 
Factious  agitators  have  existed  in  every 
age — sacred  history  teaches  us  an  instructive 
lesson  on  this  subject.  In  the  early  days  of 
Christianity,  we  are  informed,  the  members 
of  the  church  of  Corinth  were  blessed, 
above  all  others,  with  spiritual  gifts.  To 
one  was  given  wisdom,  to  another  know- 
ledge, to  another  faith,  to  another  the  gift 
of  healing,  to  another  the  working  of  mira- 
cles, to  another  prophecy,  to  another  dis- 
cerning of  spirits,  to  another  divers  kinds  of 
tongues,  to  another  the  interpretation  of 
tongues.  All  these  gifts  proceeded  from  the 
same  spirit,  and  all  were  intended  to  work 
together  for  one  common  object — the  salva- 
tion of  man  and  the  glory  of  God  !  But 
the  possessors  of  these  various  gifts,  mis- 
taking diversity  for  discord,  began  each  to 
exalt  himself  above  his  neighbor,  and  to 
vie  with  him  in  the  display  of  his  endow- 
ments. A  learned  biblical  commentator 
and  historian  (Thomas  Scott)  informs  us  I 
that  "this  gave  rise  to  vain  glory,  envy, 
corrupt  emulations  and  repinings,  which  were 
equally  opposed  to  piety  and  charity." 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  the  very  abun- 
dance of  the  gifts  bestowed  on  the  Corin- 
thians became  the  chief  source  of  danger  to 
their  spiritual  welfare. 

This  led  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles to  administer  to  them  a  rebuke  for 
their  dissensions,  full  of  wisdom  and  pro- 
fitable for  instruction.  After  adverting  to 
the  munificent  endowments  which  tbey  had 
received  at  the  hands  of  God,  and  the  im- 
proper use  they  were  disposed  to  make  of 
them,  he  said,  (1st  Corinthians,  chap.  12  :) 

"  For,  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many 
members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one 
body,  being  many,  are  one  body,  so  also  is 
Christ. 

"  For  by  one  spirit  we  are  all  baptised 
into  one  body — whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gen- 
tiles,— whether  we  be  bond  or  free,  and 
have  all  been  made  to  drink  into  one  spirit. 

"For  the  body  is  not  one  member,  but 
many. 

"  If  the  foot  shall  say,  because  I  am  not 
the  hand,  I  am  not  of  the  body,  is  it  there- 
fore not  of  the  body  ? 

"  x\nd  if  the  ear  shall  say,  because  I  am 
not  the  eye,  I  am  not  of  the  body,  is  it 
therefore  not  of  the  body  ? 

"  If  the  whole  body  were  an  eye,  where 


were  the  hearing?    If  the  whole  were  hear- 
ing, where  were  the  smelling  ? 

"  But  now  hath  God  set  the  members, 
every  one  of  them,  in  the  body  as  it  hath 
pleased  him. 

"  And  if  they  were  all  one  member,  where 
were  the  body  ? 

"  But  now  are  they  many  members,  yet 
but  one  body. 

"  And  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand, 
I  have  no  need  of  thee;  nor  again  the  head 
to  the  feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you." 

These  words  of  counsel  and  admanition 
were  addressed  by  St.  Paul,  -eighteen  centu- 
ries ago,  to  the  factious  Corinthians.  But 
they  were  written  and  incorporated  into  the 
Holy  Scripture,  for  the  instruction  of  all 
nations  and  all  ages.  May  not  the  people 
of  the  United  States  learn  a  lesson  of 
wisdom  from  them  ? 

No  nation  ever  possessed  such  a  heritage 
as  we  enjoy.  Providence  has  lavished  on 
us  every  blessing  in  the  richest  profusion. 
With  a  territory  stretching  from  the  xVtlan- 
tie  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  almost  from  the 
Tropical  to  the  Arctic  region,  we  embrace 
within  our  limits  every  variety  of  soil  and 
climate,  and  an  aptitude  for  every  produc- 
tion essential  to  the  comfort  and  happiness 
of  man.  If  We  were  isolated  from  all  the 
rest  of  the  world,  we  have  within  our  own 
borders  every  material  element  of  national 
prosperity  and  greatness.  And,  as  if  with 
the  design  of  securing  pei-petual  harmony 
and  union  between  the  different  parts,  Provi- 
dence has  wisely  ordained  a  natural  and  ne- 
cessary division  of  labor  between  them,  by 
adapting  each  to  particular  staples  and  occu- 
pjitions  which  are  unsuited  to  the  climate 
and  soil  of  the  others.  The  Southern  States 
produce  the  cotton,  sugar,  rice  and  tobacco 
necessary  for  the  whole  country.  The 
North  supplies  the  skill  and  labor  to  manu- 
facture the  raw  material  into  such  fabrics  as 
are  required  by  the  other  sections.  And 
the  Middle  States  furnish  the  food  for  the 
North  and  South.  Neither  can  successfully 
compete  with  the  other  in  its  peculiar  de- 
partment of  industry.  Each  is  benefitted 
by  the  exchange  of  its  surplus  productions 
for  those  of  the  others,  and  fhey  thus  re- 
ciprocally minister  to  each  others  wants. 
And  by  a  remakable  departure  from  the 
general  law  of  nature,  which  requires  large 
streams  to  seek  their  outlet  to  the  ocean,  by 
the  shortest  route,  the  great  father  of  rivers, 
instead  of  flowing  eastward  to  the  Atlantic, 


336 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[June 


pours  his  vast  volume  of  waters  in  an  al-  [ 
most  due  southward  course,  from  the  north-  [ 
em  limits  of  the  Confederacy  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  thus  passing  through  all  the 
great  divisions  of  our  country,  and  furnish-  j 
inc  a  highway  for  commerce  between  them ' 
unequalled  in  extent  and  excellence  on  the 
face  of  the  globe. 

If  the  climate,  soil  and  productions  of 
our  whole  country  were  similar,  competition 
and  rivalry  might  engender  ill  feeling  be- 
tween the  different  parts.  But  each  has  its 
separate  gift  and  their  natural  diversities, 
instead  of  being  elements  of  discord,  are 
sources  of  union,  harmony  and  strength. 

But,  like  the  foolish  Corinthians,  some  of 
our  people  are  disposed  to  indulge  "  in 
vain  glory,  envy,  corrupt  emulations  and 
repinings,"  which  are  alike  opposed  to  truth, 
charity  and  patriotism. 

To  all  such  may  we  not,  reverently  para- 
phrasing the   language  of  the  Apostle,  say 

"  For  as  the  body  is  one  and  hath  many 
members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one 
body,  being  many,  are  one  body,  so  also  is 

OUR  COUNTRY ! 

"  For  by  one  spirit  are  we  all  baptised 
into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jew  or  Gen- 
tile, bond  or  free,  and  have  all  been  made 
to  drink  into  one  spirit — the  spirit  of  the 
Constitution  ! 

"  For  our  Confederacy  is  not  one  mem- 
ber but  many.  If  the  North  shall  say,  be- 
cause I  am  not  the  South  I  am  not  of  the 
Union,  is  it,  therefore,  not  of  the  Union  ? 

"  And  if  the  East  shall  say,  because  I 
am  not  the  Vest^  I  am  not  of  the  Union,  is 
it,  therefore,  not  of  the  Union? 

"  If  the  ichole  country  were  manufac- 
turing,  where  were  the  cotton  and  sugar 
groicingf 

"  If  the  whole  were  agrictdtural,  where 
were  the  covwnercial  and  mamifactxiring  ? 

"  But  now  hath  the  icisdom  of  our  fa- 
thers set  the  separate  Slates,  every  one  of 
them,  in  the  Union  as  it  hath  pleased  them. 

"  And  if  they  were  all  one  State,  where 
were  the  Union  ? 

"  But  now  are  they  many  States,  yet  but 
one  Confedefacy . 

"  And  the  East  cannot  say  unto  the 
TTes/,  t  have  no  need  of  thee  ;  nor,  again, 
the  Northern  States  to  the  Southern,  we 
have  no  need  of  you. 

"  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all 
the  members  suffer  with  it ;  or  one  member 


be  honored,  all  the  members  rejoice  with 
it!" 

These  are  the  teachings  of  inspiration  ! 
And  I  appeal  to  my  fellow  citizens  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  if  they  do  not  convey 
to  us  an  instructive  lesson  of  practical  wis- 
dom and  patriotic  duty  ! 

Let  us,  then,  in  everything  that  affects 
the  interests  of  our  country,  cultivate  a 
comprehensive,  catholic,  national  sentiment ! 
Let  us  discard  from  our  confidence  and  our 
councils  all  "fanatical  agitators"  who  at- 
tempt, by  any  device  whatever,  to  array  one 
portion  of  the  L^nion  against  another.  Let 
us  remember  that,  while  each  section  has 
its  appropriate  function  to  perform,  each  is 
essential  to  the  welfare  and  security  of  the 
whole.  Let  us  bear  in  mind  that  "  the 
liberty  and  independence  we  possess  are  the 
work  of  joint  councils  and  joint  efforts — of 
common  dangers,  sufferings  and  success." 
Instead  of  fostering  local  jealouses,  and 
striving  to  inflame  one  section  against 
another,  let  me  urge  you,  fellow  citizens,  in 
the  impressive  language  of  Washington,  to 
raise  up  your  minds  and  your  hearts  to  a 
just  appreciation  "of  the  immense  value  of 
your  National  L^nion,  to  your  collective  and 
individual  happiness,  so  that  you  may 
cherish  a  cordial,  habitual  and  immovable 
attachment  to  it — accustoming  yourselves 
to  think  and  to  speak  of  it  as  a  palladium 
of  your  political  safety  and  prosperity — 
watching  for  its  preservation  with  jealous 
anxiety — discountenancing  whatever  may 
suggest  even  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any 
event  be  abandoned,  and  indignantly  frown- 
ing upon  the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt 
to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country  from 
the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which 
now  link  together  the  various  parts  !" 


To  Measure  Hay  Stacks. 

More  than  twenty  years  since,  the  fol- 
lowing method  for  measuring  hay,  was  taken 
from  an  old  publication.  I  have  both 
bought  and  sold  by  it,  and  I  believe  it  may 
be  useful  to  many  farmers :  Multiply  the 
length,  breadth,  and  height  into  eacb  other, 
and  if  the  hay  is  somewhat  settled,  ten  solid 
yards  make  a  ton.  Clover  will  take  from 
ten  to  twelve  solid  yards  per  ton. 

Five  hundred  and  twelve  cubic  feet  in  a 
compressed  or  well  settled  mow  is  regarded 
equal  to  a  ton  of  good  hay. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEEX    PLANTER. 


337 


Kentucky  University. 

[The  University  of  Kentucky  was 
duly  installed  on  the  21st  of  September, 
1859.  Among  the  interesting  proceedings 
on  the  occasion,  President  Milligan  de- 
livered his  inaugural  address,  the  introduc- 
tory part  of  which  contains  such  a  philo- 
sophical train  of  thought  upon  the  still 
comparatively  obscure  subject  of  education- 
al development,  that  we  cannot  resist  the  -,■  -.^  ■,  ,  •  •  •  •  -  ,  .  . 
•  r  i.-  t  1  -4.1,  f-  J  T?^  T  en liehtened  and  inquisitive  metaphysician, 
inclination  to  lay  It  before  our  readers. — Ed.  |  rr^,  "  ^-  -n  .  i.-  kv-'^':;"'- 
•'                                               -■   Ihe  question  still  occurs  to  him,  whence  this 

PRESIDENT  milligan's   ADDRESS.         |  great  improvement  in  political  science  ?     It 

xr    V      J    ^      ry    ^j  ^  ^j.     t>       j     ^|is  an   effect:  and   it  must  have  a  cause  as 

Mr.  r^resident ;    (jrentlemen  of  the  Board  or '      n        .i  .    •  ^    -  .     , 

n.      ,  7  TTT  77        />•.•  /•    r-  •  1  well  as  the  recent  improvements  in  airricul- 

(Juraiors :  ana  ±eUoic    Citizens  of  Ken-\.  i,     t-     u  i   »i,        i  ^        j 

■'  •'  ture,   horticulture,  and  the  other  arts  and 


in  all  the  elements  of  wealth,  power,  and 
civilization. 

This  question  has  been  very  differently 
answered  by  different  classes  of  individuals. 
The  mere  politician  who  is  wont  to  contem- 
plate every  thing  through  the  medium  of 
political  glasses,  has  usually  found  his  answer 
in  the  great  improvements  that  have  been 
recently  made  in  the  science  cf  govern- 
ment.    But  this  does  not  satisfy  the  more 


tncky. 


professions. 


It  has  already  become  a  proverb,  that  I  The  Christian  philosopher  who  stops  not 
"  The  present  is  the  age  of  improvement."  with  the  consideration  of  second  causes,  but 
There  is  not  a  branch  of  science  within  the 'who  is  accustomed  to  trace  every  event  in 
wide  range  of  human  knowledge,  that  has  the  history  of  human  progress  up  to  the  Di- 
not  been  more  or  less  enriched  by  contribu- j  vine  will,  or  rather  to  the  Divine  natui-e, 
tions  from  some  of  the  master  minds  of  the  I  where  all  true  philosophy  ends,  will,  of 
nineteenth  century.  course,  refer  all  this  to  the  agency  of  Him 

It  is  not,  however,  so  much  in  th'e  depart- [who  made  the  universe;  who  governs  it  j 
ment  of  the  sciences,  as  it  is  in  that  of  the  |  and  who  is  now  evidently  directing  all  things 
arts,  that  we  excel  our  predecessoi-s.  It  isjto  the  speedy  introduction  of  that  slurious 
not  so  much  in  the  discovery  of  truth,  as  in  'era,  when  "  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the 
its  varied  applications  to  the  practical  pur-  ■  lamb  :  and  the  leopard  ehall  lie  down  with 
poses  and  conveniences  of  life,  that  we  are  ■  the  kid;  and  the  calf,  and  the  young  lion, 
in  advance  of  all  past  generations.  Some 'and  the  fatliug  together,  and  a  little  child 
of  the   most  sublime*  discoveries  in  science  |  shall  lead  them." 

were  made  by  the  Galiloes,  the  Keplers,  the  i  To  this  general  solution  of  the  problem,  I 
Bacons,  the  Lockes,  and  the  Xewtons  of  have  no  objection.  It  certainly  presents  to 
even  the  seventeenth  century.  But  these; us  a  very  just  and  rational  conception  of 
discoveries  were  to  most  persons  of  that  age  the  whole  matter.  But  it  does  not  meet  the 
what  the  gold  mines  of  California  were  to, specific  object  of  our  present  inquiry.  Our 
the  wild  tribes  of  the  West.  Very  few  then  'question  does  not  refer  to  Divine  but  to  hu- 
knew  how  to  appropriate  them.  j  man  agency.     We  do  not  iisk,  what  has  God 

But  now  all  is  changed;  or  at  least,  is  j  done,  but  what  has  man  done,  under  the  Di- 
rapidly  changing.  Every  thing  is  now  as-  vine  guidance,  to  bring  about  this  happy 
suming  a  more  highly  practical  tendency,  j  state  of  society.  Or,  to  be  still  more  par- 
Agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  are:ticular,  what  is  the  first  link  in  the  chain  of 
greatly  improved  by  the  application  of  i  human  instrumentalities  that  has  given  rise 
science  ;  our  rivers,   lakes,  and  oceans  are  to  this   wonderful  progress  in   all   the   ele- 


navigated  by  the  ppwer  of  steam ;  informa- 
tion is  carried   from  city  to  city,  and   from 


ments  of  modern  civilization. 

"Waiving  for  the  present,  the  considera- 


eontinent  to  continent,  with  the  velocity  .of 'tion  of  all  the  merely  speculative  theories  of 


lightning ;  and  in   a  word,  every  thing 
onward  and  upward  and  Westward. 

A  question  then  rises  just  here  of  verv 
great  interest  to  every  true  philanthropist : 
What  is  the  cause   of  all  this  ?     To  what 


human  progress,  I  hesitate  not  to  affirm  my 
solemn  conviction,  that  the  true  answer  to 
this  question  is  to  be  found  only  in  the  su- 
perior education  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
This  is  the    crand   '■'■  primum  mobile''  the 


particular  agency  or  instrumentality  does  !  great  efficient  mainspring  of  all  the  schemes 
this  state  of  universal  improvement  owe  its  j  that  man  has  ever  devised  and  executed  for 
origin  and  its  progress  ?  Why  does  the  the  elevatiouj  civilization,  and  beatification 
nineteenth  surpass  every  preceding  century ;  of  his  race. 

99  ' 


338 


THE    SOU  THEE  X    PLANTER. 


[June 


But  let  me  not  be  misunderstood  here. 
We  often  differ  in  our  conclusions,  merely 
because  "we  use  different  nomenclatures. 
We  often  use  the  same  word  to  represent 
Terv  different  and  distinct  ideas.  This  is 
particularly  true  of  the  term  education.  But 
few  words  have  a  wider  currency ;  and  yet 
very  few  are  more  imperfectly  understood. 
The  popular  meaning  of  this  term  is  ex- 
tremely erroneous.  It  is  generally  used,  as 
you  are  all  aware,  in  the  sense  of  acquiring 
and  storing  away  ideas ;  which,  like  so  many 
Hieasures  of  wheat,  oats,  or  barely,  are  to  be 
retained  in  the  graneries  of  the  human  mind  ; 
or  to  be  dealt  out  to  the  highest  bidder  ac- 
cording to  the  wholesale  or  retail  prices  of 
such  gross  commodities. 

But  as  its  etymology  denotes,  it  primarily 
and  properly  signifies  a  process  just  the  re- 
verse of  all  this.     It  is  not  the  treasuring  up  ] "  i '  "iV^ 
in  the  mind  of  any  thing  "ah  extra;''  but! 


any 
It  1?  the  developing,  moulding,  harmonizing, 
adjusting,  polishing,  and    refining  of  that 
which  is  within  the  man  himself. 

This  idea  is  so  fundamental,  that  I  beg  to 


complex  of  all  created  constitutions.  He  is 
a  perfect  microcosm  within  himself.  He 
has  a  material  body  ;  an  animal  soul ;  and  a 
god-like  spirit.  These  again  are  endowed 
with  numerous  and  various  faculties,  each  of 
which,  by  the  use  and  application  of  proper 
stimuli,  is  susceptible  of  the  most  wonderful 
and  astonishing  development.  How  amaz- 
ing for  example,  is  the  difference  between 
the  muscular  powers  of  the  child  and  of  the 
full  grown  Goliah  !  Or  between  the  mental 
powers  of  the  infant  Xewton,  and  those  of 
the  philosopher  Sir  Isaac,  whom  God 

"To  mortals  lent,  to  trace  his  boundless  works 
From  laws  sublimely  simple."' 

We  do  not  of  cotxrse  pretend,  by  any  sys- 
tem of  education,  to  make  every   man  a 
Xewton.     There  is  a  natural  limit  to  the 
development  of  every  organized  substance, 
er  vegetable  or  animal,  beyond  which 


no  created  power  can  extend  it. 

For  education  ne'er  supplied 
What  ruling  nature  has  denied.' 

The  educator  creates  nothing.     He  pro- 


illustrate  it  with  all  possible  simplicity,  even  i  duces  neither  mind  nor  matter.  He  merely 
before  this  very  intelligent  audience.  As  develops,  moulds,  and  polishes  the  raw  ma- 
tbe  occasion  is  somewhat  elementary,  I  will ;  terial.  But  if  he  cannot  make  the  moss 
EC  doubt  be  excused  for  introducing,  at  this! bloom  as  the  rose,  if  he   cannot  cause   the 


point,  a  few  very  plain  and  elementary  sug 
gestions. 
Allow  me  then  in  the  first  place,  and  by 


daisy  to  tower  aloft  like  an  oak  of  Bashan, 
or  like  a  cedar  of  Lebanon,  he  may  never- 
theless develop   every  faculty  in  each   par- 


way  of  illustration,  to  call  your  attention  tolticular  individual,  to  the  full  extent  of  its 
the  world  of  wonders,  that  lies  concealed  be- !  own  natural  capacity, 
neath  the  surface  of  even  the  most  simple}  This,  then,  for  the  sake  of  distinction,  we 
organized  substance.  Who,  for  example, 'may  call  the  fii^t  element  of  education, 
that  has  never  witnessed  the  mysterious  pro-'  But  it  is  only  in  theory  that  we  can  separate 
cessof  vegetation,  could  imagine,  "  a  prjVvri',"  ;  the  developing  from  the  moulding,  polish- 
that  a  single  grain  of  corn  is  susceptible  of  ing,  and  refining  process.  While  our  latent 
such  a  development  a.s  we  every  year  be-  powers,  energies,  and  susceptibilities  are 
hold  ?  True,  indeed,  without  the  influence  being  brought  out  from  the  deep  recesses  of 
of  certain  external  agencies,  its  vital  ener-  our  being,  by  each  one's  being  exercised  on 
gies  would  remain  forever  latent.  This  may  its  own  appropriate  objects,  they  all  receive 
be  well  illustrated  by  the  grains  of  corn  that  at  the  same  time  a  particular  cast ;  they  are, 
are  sometimes  found  in  the  Egyptian  pyra-  as  it  were,  moulded  in  the  types  of  the  edu- 
mids,  and  among  the  ruins  of  ancient  cities. '  cator  :  they  are  either  Jjrought  into  a  state 
But,  by  the  application  of  heat,  light,  mois- ''  of  more  active  and  sympathetic  harmony,  or 
ture.  and  electricity,  the  germ  is  quickened  they  are  crushed  beneath  the  fetters  of  the 
into  life.  We  have  first  the  root ;  next  the  most  inexorable  and  oppressive  despotisms, 
blade ;  then  the  stalk ;  after  that  the  bios- ;  This  is  so  very  obvious  that  it  scarcely 
som ;  then  the  ear;  and  finally  the  full-  needs  any  illustration.  It  is  a  matter  of 
grown  com  in  the  ear.  It  is  now,  allow  me  daily  consciousness,  with  every  youth,  that 
to  say,  an  educated  grain  of  corn.  Whether  the  performance  of  any  one  action  begets  in 
it  has  been  properly  educated  or  not,  de-  his  .system  an  increased  facility  for  its  repe- 
pends  of  course,  on  circumstances.  j  tition.       This  again,  strengthens  the  same 

Now  all  this  is  very  analogous  to  the  .edu- !  tendency,    and    so   on  till  a  corresponding 
eation  of  the  infant  man.     His  is  the  most, habit  is  formed.     We  all  remember  with 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


339 


what  fear  and  trembling  we  made  our  first 
essay  in  the  simple  art  of  ehirography.  To 
form  the  first  letter  of  the  alphabet  required 
at  that  time  a  very  considerable  effort.  But 
now  it  almost  forms  itself;  that  is,  it  forms 
itself,  if  we  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
form  a  habit  in  harmony  with  the  natural 
laws  and  constitution  of  our  chirographic 
organs.  But  otherwise,  the  die  is  cast.  The 
decree  of  habit  is,  Let  the  fully  developed 
hand  that  is  cramped  now^  be  cramped  for- 
ever. 

This  is  a  very  simple  and  familiar  illus- 
tration of  the  force  and  power  of  habit  over 
all  our  faculties  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit. 
So  plastic  indeed  is  the  infant  constitution, 
that  it  may  be  easily  cast  into  almost  any 
mould  whatever.  We  do  not,  of  course,  by 
this,  intend  to  indorse  the  absurd  dogma 
that  "  Man  is  a  mere  creature  of  circum- 
stances." Not  at  all.  Such  a  hypothesis 
has  no  foundation  whatever  in  fact.  There 
is  evidently  in  the  mind  of  every  man  a 
natural  affinity  for  truth,  just  as  there  is  in 


his  body  a  natural  tendency  to  assume  the  deed,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  the  premi 


upright  position.  But  we  all  know  that  the 
human  frame  has  in  its  infancy  been  distort- 
ed into  a  thousand  hideous  forms ;  and  we 
are  just  as  painfully  conscious  that  the  in- 
fant mind  has  been  as  often  cast  into  false 
systems  of  politics,  philosophy,  morality,  and 
religion.  The  present  chart  of  the  civilized 
world  is  a  melancholy  illustration  of  this 
fact. 

How  exceedingly  important,  then,  it  is 
that  during  the  process  of  education  all  the 
faculties  of  every  youth  should  be  so  exer- 
cised on  their  corresponding  and  appropriate 
objects  as  to  secure  their  full  and  complete 
development,  and  so  as  to  form,  at  the  same 
time,  habits  in  harmony  with  his  own  primi- 
tive constitution,  and  with  the  relations  that 
he  sustains  to  the  entire  universe.  This  is 
a  matter  on  which  there  is  no  room  for  ex- 
aggeration. Here  it  is  that  all  the  powers 
of  language  become  utterly  bankrupt,  and 
every  attempt  at  hyperbole  falls  fir  short  of 
expressing  the  simple,  eternal  realities  and 
consequences  that  are  involved  in  the  educa- 
tion of  every  sou  and  daughter  of  humanity. 

The  third  object  or  element  of  education, 
is  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge. 
Knowledge  is  the  food  of  the  soul : 

"  JMan  loves  it  dearly  :  and  the  beams  of  truth 
More  welcome  touch  his  understanding's  eye 
Than  all  the  blandishments  of  sound,  his  ear, 
Than  all  of  taste,  his  tongue." 


"When,  therefore,  a  man's  whole  constituj 
tion  has  been  developed,  moulded,  polished- 
and  refined  to  the  fullest  extent  of  its  ca 
pabilities  ;  when  all  his  faculties  have  been 
made  to  harmonize  with  each  other,  and  with 
the  laws  and  principles  of  the  physical,  in- 
tellectual, and  moral  universe ;  when  his 
mind  has  been  filled  with  knowledge,  and 
his  heart  with  wisdom ;  then,  and  not  till 
then,  can  it  be  said  with  propriety  that  he 
has  been  perfectly  educated.  He  may  in- 
deed have  a  strong  and  athletic  physical  con- 
stitution; he  may  have  been  well  instructed 
in  many  of  the  arts  and  sciences ;  but  a  per- 
fectly rational  and  complete  education  he 
has  not  received,  while  any  of  the  things 
specified  are  wanting. 

You  now  comprehend  what  I  mean,  when 
I  say  that  educatim,  in  its  proper  and  com- 
prehensive sense,  is  the  basis  of  all  that 
tends  to  elevate,  enrich,  adorn,  and  refine 
human  nature.  And  not  only  so,  but  I  am 
sure  that  you  also  now  fully  acquiesce  with 
me  in   the  justness  of  the  sentiment.     In- 


ses,  and  the  truth  of  our  proposition  follows 
with  all  the  clearness  and  force  of  a  mathe- 
matical inference.  For  if  matter  is  not  ca- 
pable of  self-improvement,  if  it  is  mind  that 
discovers  and  that  applies  all  the  elements  of 
wealth,  power,  and  whatever  else  pertains  to 
the  individual,  the  social,  and  the  general 
good  of  mankind,  then  it  clearly  follows  that 
its  success  in  all  this  must  ever  be  in  the 
ratio  of  its  own  education.  Of  what  use,, 
for  example,  is  the  gold  of  California,  the 
coal  and  iron  of  Kentucky,  or  tbe  diamonds 
of  Golconda,  to  the  man  who  has  neither 
the  intelligence  nor  the  wisdom  that  is  ne- 
cessary to  appropriate  them  ? 

We  boast  of  our  civil  and  political  insti- 
tutions ;  and  well  we  may,  for  they  are  the 
very  best  under  the  broad  heavens.  But  of 
what  use  would  they  be,  with  all  their  varied 
and  multiplied  excellences,  to  the  savage 
tribes  of  the  West !  or  even  to  our  Mexican 
neighbors  ?  The  fact  is,  that  men  always 
have  had,  and  that  they  always  must  and 
will  have,  laws  and  institutions  correspond- 
ing to  their  own  mental  and  moral  develop- 
ment. Deprive  the  rising  generation,  there- 
fore, of  what  is  properly  implied  in  the  art 
and  mystery  of  education,  and  you  at  once 
render  worthless  all  that  was  ever  purchased 
by  the  blood  of  our  Revolutionary  fathers ; 
you  virtually  annihilate  our  whole  scheme  of 
civil  government;  you  destroy  our  system  of 


340 


THE    SOU  THE  EX    PLAN  TEE. 


[JrNE 


internal  improvemente.  with  all  the  varied  selves  a  name  and  a  repntation  as  endurir?g 
comforts  and  conveniences  of  social  life  :  j  as  the  annals  of  our  Republic. 
vou  seal  the  Bible  :  shut  up  the  fountains  of  |  But  these  men  forget  that  the  sage  of 
human  happiness;  and  convert  this  whole  j  Boston,  the  hero  of  Mount  Temon,  and  the 
land,  which  is  now  beautiful  as  the  rose  of  j  orator  of  Ashland  were  nature's  favorite 
summer,  and  delightful  as  the  fragrance  of  sons.  They  also  forget  that  each  of  these 
autumn,  into  one  vast,  dreary,  and  howling  illustrious  patriots  and  statesmen  deeply  de- 
wilderness,  jplored  his  own  want  of  a  thorough  course  of 

m  +    ^        VI  «    +-k^„   +i,«f™„«  ^oc- 1  coUesiate  instruction  and  discipline.     They 

The  greatest  problem,  then,  that  man  was   „       'i -i    .. -r.      1 1-       .        i  j  j 

^  ■     j,^     ,      •     ^1  VI  ,,    fv     lor^et  that  frankhn,  stromrlv  recommended 

ever  required  to  solve  is  the  problem  ot  his!  ,   -  ^    ,        ^  ^i  •     ^   "i      •  •  n 

j^-         rrvvv„  4 :thestudv  or  the  ancient  classics.  espeeiaUy 

own  education.   To  show  how  human  nature :  c  '  •       ^  i_       -n-    i.- 

,,,j       ,       J       1         Til        j-ito  proiessionai  men  ;  that    >\  ashinsrton  was 

may  be  best  developed  and  moulded,  and  m  j  ,  ^  „       ,         „        - ,,  ,  .  ,     ^,,    , 

i,-'  J     X  J       ..1  -•         TV*  'the  tounder  or  a  collese  which  still  di^es 

all  respects  adapted  to  the  enas  ana  objects ;,  _^     ,.  ,-  j  .i.  ■ 

^  .^   t  .  J    J    ^-        •    i     J  Vp-   '  honor  to  his  name  and  memorv ;  and  that 

of  its  bemg  and  destmv,  is  to  do  more  for,,^     „,  ,  ,       .  *  A.-     j       j 

,       1       ^.^         J  'I        J     ^         1-    J  iMr.  Clav  was  alwavs  the  sincere  friend  and 

the  elevation  and  general  good  oi  mankind :   ,  -     ,         ^    '  c      \^  v       'i  rv      i 


^1        -i-i    n^      \    ~    V      »v     J-  -^     f      eloquent  advocate  of  a  thorough  ana  liberal 

than  did   Columbus  by  the  discovery  of  a        7         „       vi-    •     .^ *• 

.    J    ,      •         ,     J  if      svstem  of  public  instruction. 

And  the  man  who  does  most  tor    '  -n  ^  jt.^^-  jj 

But  we  need  not   the  testimonv  and  ad- 


continent 

the  execution  of  the  plan  is,  next  to  its  pro- 
jector, the  greatest  benefactt»r  of  his  race. 

I  have  not  the  vanity  to  suppose  that  I 
have  made  the  great  discovery.  An  expe- 
rience of  more  than  twenty  years  in  this 
most  difficult  of  all  the  arts,  has  convinced 
me  that  the.  problem  is  not  yet  folly  solved. 
It  remains  for  a  second  Peter,  bearing  tlte 
keys  of  the  Kingdom,  to  reveal  the  mys- 
tery. 

Some  things,  however,  follow  very  clearly 
-from  the  premises  now  before  us.  If  edu- 
cation consists,  as  I  have  said,  not  merely  in 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  but  primarily 
and  chiefly  in  the  development  and  propter 
discipline  of  all  our  faculties,  then  it  is  evi- 
dent, for  example,  that  it  must  of  necessity 
be  a  verv  long,  laborious,  and  expensive  pro- 
cess ;  that  there  is  in  fact  no  royal  road  to 
it;  but  that  it  requires  the  combined  in- 
fluence of  the  nursery,  the  common-school, 
the  academy,  the  college,  the  church,  and 
the  university  io  complete  it.  These,  I  re- 
peat, are  all  essentials.     Take  away  any  one 


vocacy  of  even  a  Franklin,  a  Washington,  or 
a  Clay,  in  behalf  of  our  colleges  and  our 
universities.  To  test  their  real  value  and 
importance  in  a  scheme  of  education,  we 
have  only  to  look  into  their  own  intrinsic 
merits :  we  have  only  to  inquire  what  has 
already  been  accomplished  through  their  in- 
strumentality, and  how  much  of  the  world's 
comfort,  happiness,  and  prospective  civiliza- 
tion still  depends  on  them. 

For  if  education  is  a  blessing  to  society, 
why  should  it  not  be  made  as  general  and  as 
thorough  as  possible  ?  Why  stop  with  the 
instruction  and  discipline  of  the  common- 
school  and  the  academy,  while  there  is  so 
great  a  demand  for  the  very  best  educated 
mind  in  all  the  relations  of  life  ? — What 
would  now  be  the  condition  of  the  world, 
had  colleges  and  universities  never  been  es- 
tablished as  a  means  of  education  ?  How 
many  would  now  have  the  Bible  faithfully 
translated  into  their  own  living  vernacular  ? 
Where  would  now  be  the  fifty  million  copies 
of  the  Word  of  Life  that  have  revealed  to 


of  them,  and  the  chain  of  means  is  broken  ;  jail  nations  the  strait  and  narrow  way  that 
our  whole  system  of  education  is  rendered 
inefficient ;  and  the  feeble,  irregular  pulsa- 
tions of  society  wUl  soon  indicate  that  a 
fountain  of  life  has  been  exhausted,  or,  at 
least,  that  the  stream  has  been  diverted  from 
its  proper  channel. 

I  am  aware  that  all  do  not  think  so.  I 
know  there  are  some  very  honourable  men, 
even  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky, 
who  seem  to  regard  our  colleges  and  univer- 


leads  to  honor,  to  glory,  and  to  immortality  ? 
What  would  we  now  know  of  th(Ke  polished 
arts  and  inventions  that 

"  have  humanized  mankind. 

Softened  ihe   rude,  and  calmed  the  boisterous 
raind?" 

Where  would  now  be  most  of  those  stand- 
ard works  of  literature  and  science  which 
are  at  once  the  guide  of  the  farmer,  the  me- 
chanic, the  pedagogue,  the  lawyer,  the  phy- 


sities  as  non-essentials,  if  not  indeed  as  pub-  sician,  and   the  statesman  ? — Is  it  not  per 


lie  nuisances.  They  refer  us  to  a  Franklin, 
a  Washington,  and  a  Clay,  who,  without  a 
collegiate  education,  have  gained  for  them- 


fectly  obvious  to  every  student  of  history, 
that  nearly  all  the  great  improvements  that 
have  recently  been  made  in  the  arts  and  in 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


341 


the  sciences  may  be  traced,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  to  minds  that  have  been 
thoroughly  trained  and  disciplined  in  the 
halls  ot"  our  colleges  and  universities  ?  And 
is  it  not  just  as  obvious  to  every  man  of  re- 
flection, that  upoR  such  minds  we  must  al- 
ways rely  even  for  the  preparation  of  text 
books  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  nursery 
and  the  common-school,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  solution  of  those  higher  and  more  com- 
plicated problems  on  the  demonstration  of 
which  must  ever  depend  the  progress  of 
Christian  civilization  ? — Take,  for  example, 
the  most  popular  text-books  that  are  now 
used  in  the  common-schools  of  Kentucky. 
^Yho  are  their  authors  and  compilers?  Is 
not  almost  every. child  in  this  Commonwealth 
familiar  with  the  names  of  a  Webster,  a 
Goodrich,  an  Olmsted,  a  Davies,  a  McGuffey, 
and  many  others  who,  having  graduated  with 
the  highest  collegiate  honors,  devoted  much 
of  their  subsequent  labors  to  the  preparation 
of  text-books  for  the  education  of  youth  ? 
Regard  this  question,  then,  as  we  may,  it  is 
evident  that  the  common-school  is  just  as 
dependent  on  the  university  as  the  univer- 
sity is  on  the  common-school. 

But  I  have  no  desire  to  introduce  invidu- 
ous  comparisons.  I  do  not  wish  to  array 
the  higher  against  the  lower  classes  of  our 
literary  institutions ;  nor  to  discuss  their 
comparative  value  as  elementary  parts  of  our 
social  system.  As  well  might  we  array  the 
head  against  the  heart,  and  contrast  their 
influence  on  the  life,  the  health,  and  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  body.  No,  my  fellow-citizens, 
let  there  be  no  antagonism  between  the  nur- 
sery, the  common-school,  the  academy,  the 
college,  the  church,  and  the  university. 
Let  them  ever  be  united ;  and  let  them  al- 
ways co-operate  in  the  great  work  of  quali- 
fying each  successive  generation  for  more 
enlarged  spheres  of  usefulness  and  happi- 
ness on  earth,  as  well  as  for  the  higher, 
purer,  and  holier  enjoyments  of  heaven. 


now  proposes  a  mixture  which  yields  a  coat 
of  paint  that  will  dry  as  fast  as  whitewash, 
but  leave  as  durable  and  elastic  a  coat  as 
that  of  oil.  To  prepare  it,  instead  of  more 
linseed  oil,  as  usually,  he  adds  to  the  paint, 
ground  in  oil,  a  solution  of  wax  and  rosin 
in  spirits  of  terpentine.  The  mixture  thus 
prepared  has  the  appearance  of  common  oil 
and  paint,  and  acts  like  such.  On 
the  evaporation  of  turpentine,  it  leaves  a 
coat  sufliciently  hard  to  bear  gentle  rubbing 
without  coming  ofi".  Barreswil  has  reported 
some  experiments  with  this  mixture,  and 
finds,  that  although  it  becomes  sufliciently 
dry  and  hard  after  a  time,  it  does  not  equal 
a  good  oil  coating  in  this  respect  j  but  he 
has  no  doubt  that  for  some  purposes  it  will 
be  found  quite  desirable.  He  gives  the 
following  formula  for  its  preparation :  10 
parts  of  pure  yellow  w^ax  are  dissolved  in 
the  same  quantity  of  linseed  oil,  and  5 
parts  of  rosin  in  8  of  spirits  of  turpentine, 
at  a  slow  heat,  (in  separate  vessels,)  until 
quite  liquid,  when  they  are  taken  from  the 
fire  and  mixed,  with  constant  stirring,  until 
they  thicken.  In  this  condition  the  mix- 
ture serves  for  out-door  and  store  work.  If 
to  be  applied  with  ground  paints,  it  is  thin- 
ned with  spirits  of  turpentine,  as  required. 

Dingier^ s  Poli/technic  Journal. 


Wax  and  Rosin  for  Painting. 

To  oil  coats  there  is  this  objection,  that 
they  require  a  comparatively  long  time  to 
dry.  When  oil  of  turpentine  is  used, 
though  it  evaporates  fast  enough,  it  leaves 
the  painting  soft ;  and  although,  by  the  ad- 
dition of  some  other  substances,  the  drying 
may  be  hastened,  it  even  then  takes  up  too 
much  time,  and  leads  to  the  substitution  of 
whitewash   and  other   water.     Mr.   Alluys 


A  Timely  Warning-. 

A  short  time  ago,  we  were  sitting  in  our 
oflce,  cogitating  upon  the  depravity  of 
mankind,  when  there  came  a  loud  and  pe- 
culiar rapping  at  the  door.  Very  politely 
we  gave  the  invitation  to  'come  in,'  the  door 
opened,  and  a  gentleman  in  black  entered, 
and  handed  us  his  card.  The  gentleman  in 
black,  the  card  informed  us,  was  Mr.  Satan  '. 

"How  dy'e  do  now-a-days?"  said  he. 
"Just  tolerable  thank  you,"  we  answered. 
"About  to  get  up  some  local  and  miscella- 
neous?" he  asked. 

"Yes,"  we  responded;  "about  to  write 
an  article  to  delinquent  patrons." 

"Why  are  your  subscribers  delinquent? 
You  publish  an  excellent  paper*,"  he  re- 
marked. 

We  felt  flattered  by  a  so  distinguished 
opinion,  and  answered:  "I'es,  we  feel  proud 
of  our  paper;  but  cannot  say  the  same  of  a 
majority  of  our  subscribers.  More  than 
half  of  them  owe  us." 


342 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[June 


"  You  astonish  me/'  he  exclaimed.  "And," 
he  continued,  "  can't  you  do  anything  with 
them  ?" 

"  It  seems  not,"  we  answered. 

"  Well,"  said  Satan,  "  I  am  sorry  I  hav'nt 
made  their  acquaintance  ere  this.  They'll 
just  suit  me  !  Make  out  the  list :  "  I'll 
take  them  !"  And  with  a  polite  bow.  His 
Majesty  of  the  "  Iron-works"  departed. 

— Delinquent  reader,  this  may  be  fiction, 
but  we  fear  it  will  prove  to  be  a  reality. 
Take  warning  thereof,  and  pay  the  printer. 


Dress  of  the  Japanese  Women. 

The  dress  of  the  Japanese  women  is  sim- 
ple, but  graceful.  The  robe  which  crosses  the 
breast,  close  up  to  the  neck,  or  a  little  lower, 
according  to  the  taste  of  wearer,  reaches 
nearly  to  the  ground,  and  hiis  loose  sleeves, 
leaving  the  waist  free.  This  robe  is  con- 
fined round  the  body  by  a  shawl,  which  is 
tied  behind  in  a  bow,  the  ends  flowing. — 
Everything  in  Japan,  even  to  dress,  is  regu- 
lated by  law ;  and  the  sumptuary  laws  have 
been  very  strict  until  lately,  when  contact 
with  Europeans  appears  to  be  bringing 
about  a  slight  relaxation.  The  color  worn 
by  all  classes  of  men  in  their  usual  dress  is 
black,  or  dark  blue,  of  varied  patterns ;  but 
the  women  very  properly  are  allowed,  and 
of  course  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege, 
to  wear  brighter  dresses.  Yet  their  taste  is 
so  good  that  noisy  colors  are  generally 
eschewed.  Their  robes  are  generally  striped 
silks  of  gray,  blue,  or  black ,  the  shawl 
some  beautiful  bright  color — crimson,  for 
instance — and  their  fine  jet-black  hair  is 
tastefully  set  ofi"  by  having  crimson  crape,  of 
a  very  beautiful  texture,  thrown  in  among 
it.  Of  course  we  speak  of  the  outdoor 
dress  of  the  women — their  full  dress  with- 
in doors  is  far  more  gay. — Amer.  Ruralist. 


clover.  If  the  clover  was  not  introduced 
by  the  agency  of  the  ashes,  we  know  not 
how  it  was  introduced ;  for  four  years  none 
was  seen  there  before,  or  in  any  other  part 
of  the  field,  and  this  was  the  only  clover 
seen  in  said  field  the  past  season.  Both 
grass  and  clover  was  more  vigorous,  green 
and  lively  within  the  top-dressed  square, 
and  just  as  visible  all  around  was  the  ex- 
hausted crop,  which  said  as  audibly  as  grass 
could  say,  in  its  declining  state,  that  it  had 
received  no  such  assistance  from  this  indi- 
vidual fertilizer. 

"  On  the  hill-side  not  at  all  renowed  for 
its  wealthy  properties  in  soil,  we  planted 
the  Davis  Seedlings  and  Jenny  Lind  pota- 
toes, in  clear  coal  ashes,  half  a  shovel  full 
in  a  hill.  Below,  on  equally  as  good  ground, 
we  planted  the  same  kinds  of  potatoes  in 
compost  manure,  and  the  coal  ashes,  single 
handed,  turned  out  the  largest,  best,  fairest, 
and  most  numerous  quantity  of  potatoes. 
In  reality,  they  were  the  best  raised  on  the 
farm.  Almost  side  by  side,  in  compost  ma- 
nure, our  potatoes  were  somewhat  infected 
with  rot ;  in  the  ashes  they  were  all  healthy 
and  sound  almost  to  a  potato." 


Coal  Ashes  as  a  Fertilizer. 

Wm.  Leonard  of  South  Grroton,  Mass., 
gives  the  following  statement  in  the  N.  E. 
Farmer,  of  his  experience  with  this  mate- 
rial as  a  manure  : 

"  On  an  old  mowing  field  too  much  run 
down,  we  top-dressed  a  square  piece  of 
ground  fairly  with  clear  coal  ashes,  early  in 
the  spring.  While  the  crop  was  growing, 
at  all  stages  the  difference  was  perceptible. 
When  ready  for  the  scythe,  it  was  more  in 
quantity;  and  as  to  quality,  it  produced 
about  equal  parts  of  herds  grass  and  red 


Renovating  Orchards. 

The  Gardners^  Monthly  says :  "  Estab- 
lished orchards,  on  thin  or  impoverished 
soil  may  be  renovated  in  the  following  man- 
ner :  If  a  tree  has  been  planted,  say  fif- 
teen years,  and  attained  the  size  we 
might  expect  in  that  time,  get,  say  ten  feet 
from  the  trunk,  and  dig  a  circle  two  feet 
deep  all  around  it,  and  fill  in  with  a  good 
compost ;  the  effect  the  next  season  will  be 
quite  marked.  If  the  tree  is  older  or 
younger,  the  distance  to  start  with  the  cir- 
cle from  the  trunk,  will  of  course  be  propor- 
tionate. A  top  dressing  will  also  be  of 
great  assistance,  as  .well  as  a  vigorous  pru- 
ning out  of  all  weak  or  stunted  branches. 
Moss  and  old  bark  should  also  be  scraped 
off,  and  if  the  trunk  and  main  branches 
can  be  washed  with  a  mixture  of  sulphur 
and  soft  soap,  much   advantage  will  follow. 

"  Old  decayed  bark  on  fruit  trees  is 
always  a  sign  of  a  want  of  vigor.  When  a 
tree  is  growing  thriftily  it  cracks  this  old 
bark  so  freely,  as  to  make  it  easily  fall  off; 
but  when  the  tree  is  weak  and  enfeebled, 
the  bark  often  becomes  indurated  before  it 
has  got  cracked,  and  in  this  state  the  tree 
becomes  what  gardners  call  *  hide-bound,' 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


O-fC 


and  artificial  means  must  be  aborded  to  aid 
the  tree  to  recover. 

In  the  cherry  and  plum  trees  this  is  easi- 
ly done,  by  making  longitudinal  incisions, 
through  the  bark  with  a  sharp  knife.  In 
the  peach  and  apricot,  also,  I  have  employ- 
ed this  process  with  advantage,  in  spite  of 
learned  theories,  which  have  attempted  to 
show  up  the  absurdity  of  the  practice." 


The  SeckelPear. 

A  writer  in  the  Minnesota  Times,  speak- 
ing of  the  fruits,  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  Seckel  Pear : 

About  the  year  1761,  a  Frenchman  was 
banished  from  his  native  country,  and  set- 
tled on  the  "  neck"  below  Philadelphia. 
This  point  of  land,  then  deemed  valueless, 
is  a  low  marsh,  lying  between  the  Delaware 
and  Schuylkill  rivers,  immediately  above 
their  confluence.  He  built  his  "  cabin"  on 
the  bank  of  the  Delaware.  Some  years 
after  taking  possession,  he  observed  a  small 
tree  growing  up  near  his  door.  He  guard- 
ed it  with  scrupulous  care.  It  proved  to  be 
a  pear  tree.  When  of  sufficient  age  to  bear 
fruit,  he  found,  much  to  his  suprise,  that 
the  pears  were  of  a  superior  quality  and 
lusciousness.  Carying  some  to  market  they 
attracted  attention,  and  were  speedily  sold. 
For  two  score  years  he  derived  quite  a  reve- 
nue from  that  source,  obtaining  fabulous 
prices. 

I  have  been  told  by  persons  fully.aequaint- 
ed  with  the  facts,  that  in  some  instances  he 
obtained  thirty  dollars  a  bushel.  From  the 
fact  that  ''  Peter,"  (his  name)  was  in  the 
habit  of  hanging  his  "  sickle,"  a  useful  har- 
vest implement,  on  a  branch  of  said  tree,  it 
took  the  name  of  the  ''  sickle"  tree.  Mod- 
ern parlance  has  refined  said  vulgarity  into 
"  Seckel."  The  art  of  grafting  not  being- 
practised  then  to  any  considerable  extent, 
and  "  Peter"  not  wishing  to  impair  his  ex- 
clusive monopoly,  permitted  no  one  to  ob- 
tain shoots.  When  he  died,  in  1821,  he  be- 
queathed his  possession  to  Stephen  Girard. 

These  strange  beings  had  long  been 
neighbors ;  but  a  portion  of  the  time  invet- 
erate enemies.  A  reconciliation  was  brought 
about  in  the  following  singular  manner : 
Girard  had  a  trench  cut  near  the  boundary 
line  of  "  Peter"  of  considerable  depth,  for 
the  purpose  of  draining  his  land.  When  a 
"  high  tide"  was  in,  this  trench  was  nearly 
full  of  water.     It  so  happened,  one   day, 


that  "  Girard"  tumbled  in  said  ditch,  and 
was  unable  to  extricate  himself  and  called 
loudly  for  help. 

His  enemy  Peter  heard  the  dolorous  cry 
and  cautiously  approached  to  ascertain  the 
cause.  Girard  was  almost  sufibcated  by  the 
muddy  water.  It  occurred  to  his  mind 
that  it  was  a  happy  time  to  exovt/avorahh 
peace.  He  accordingly  proposed  his  own 
somewhat  selfish  terms.  The  well  nigh 
drowned  Stephen  gladly  acceded,  and  Peter 
signed  and  sealed  the  provisions  thereof  by 
pulling  his  heretofore  litter  adversary  out 
of  the  awful  ditch.  The  peace  bo  unauspi- 
ciously  inaugurated,  was  preserved  inviolate, 
to  the  death"  of  "  Old  Peter/'  and  Stephen 
Girard  became  his  sole  heir. 

After  Stephen  Girard  became  the  fortu- 
nate possessor  of  old  Peter's  heritage  he 
permitted  grafts  to  be  taken  from  the  old 
Seckel  tree.  By  this  means  the  variety  was 
extended.  From  this  one  tree  all  the  nu- 
merous Seckel  pear  trees,  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  Union  at  the 
present  day,  originated.  Probably  but  few 
even  of  our  intelligent  fruit  growers  are 
aware  of  this  indisputable  fact. 


From  the  American  Agriculturisz. 

Horses  Need  Air  and  Light. 

If  anything  can  be  done  to  add  to  the 
comfort  and  health  of  the  horse,  no  animal 
deserves  more  to  have  such  an  effort  made. 
Our  stables  should  be  constructed  with  spe- 
cial reference  to  his  comfort  and  health,  and 
to  these  all  other  accessories  must  yield. 

Our  fathers'  and  grandfathers'  barns  were 
of  the  wide,  old-fashioned  sort,  with  all 
manner  of  loop-holes  and  air-holes :  between 
the  vertical  boarding  you  could  put  your 
whole  hand.  They  were  originally  tight, 
but  when  well  seasoned,  there  was  light 
without  windows,  and  the  pure  air  circu- 
lated freely.  Here  was  perfect  ventilation,- 
and  yet  talk  with  those  same  men  about  the 
necessity  of  ventilating  a  stable,  and  they 
are  ready  to  prove  that  they  have  kept 
horses  all  their  lives,  who  did  well,  worked 
well,  were  always  in  fine  health,  and  spirits, 
and  that  a  ventilator  is  only  a  fancy  idea — 
one  of  the  new-fixngled  notions  of  the  pre- 
sent generation. 

Our  stables  have  been  improved  in  archi- 
tectural beauty,  and  in  more  permanent 
form  of  construction  ;  they  are  pleasing  to 
the  eye,  tight,  proof  against  the  wind  and 


344 


THE    SOUTHERN 
1 


PLANTER, 


[June 


weather,  and  with  solid  walls  of  brick  and' 
stone — all  of  whieli  the  poor  horse  would  | 
gladly  exchange  for  the  pure,  fresh  air,  of; 
which  he  is  now  deprived. 

In  providing  for  the  necessities  of  a  horse,  j 
it  would  be  well  to  ask  ourselves,  how  we ' 
should  like'to  be  placed  in  the  same  situa-j 
tion.  If  it  is  healthy  for  a  man  to  live  day. 
and  night  in  a  close,  damp  cellar  or  xmder- 1 
ground  apartment,  then  it  is  healthy  for  a 
horse.  If  it  is  healthy  for  a  man  to  live  on ' 
the  lower  floor,  in  an  unventilated  apai't- 
ment,  with  a  manure  and  root  cellar  beneath ' 
him,  whose  pestiferous  miasmas  are  pene-t 
trtiting  every  crack,  mingling  with  the  foul' 
air  he  breathes,  and  rising  still  higher,  per-j 
meating  the  food  he  consumes,  then  it  is' 
healthy  for  a  horse.  But  why  argue  against 
barn  cellars  and  ill-ventilated  apartments? — 
the  proof  is  abundant  to  all  who  want  it,  i 
and  he  that  cannot  be  convinced,  must  cease ; 
to  wonder  why  his  horses  have  diseases  of 
the  skin,  the  lungs,  the  eye,  etc.,  or  the 
glanders,  the  grease,  the  scratches,  and  other 
diseases  that  are  directly  traceable  to  the 
impure  atmosphere  in  which  he  compels, 
them  to  stand  and  breathe.  ! 

We  would,  therefore,  in  the  construction ; 
of  a  stable,  endeavor  to  provide  against; 
these  evils.  Build  root  cellars  and  other' 
cellars  entirely  distinct  from  the  barn — at] 
least  not  directly  under  the  horse  stalls;  let 
there  be  a  free  circulation  of  air  under  the 
floor,  and  particularly  so  throughout  the 
stable  apartments.  Ventilate  the  horse  sta- 
ble through  the  roof,  and  entirely  indepen- 
dent of  the  other  portions  of  the  barn ;  let 
the  connection  between  the  horse  stable  and 
the  hay  mow  be  closed  tight,  except  when 
hay  is  being  delivered.  Ventilate  the  car- 
riage-house through  the  hay  mow  and  roof. 

Let  your  horses'  heads  be  towards  the 
side  or  end  of  the  barn,  and  provide  the 
head  of  each  stall  with  a  fair  sized  window: 
a  horse  wants,  under  all  circumstances,  whe- 
ther tired,  sick,  or  well,  plenty  of  light. 
When  there  is  light  and  plenty  of  fresh  air, 
it  is  a  common  practice  to  turn  the  stalls 
the  other  way,  and  keep  the  horse  some- 
what in  the  dark.  A  good  horseman  knows 
that  a  horse  enjoys  light  and  air  as  much  as 
he  does  himself,  and  he  will  thrive  better 
in  the  coldest  winter  on  the  lee  side  of  a 
hay  stack,  thau  he  will  in  a  badly  ventilated 
barn,  however  comfortable  it  may  be  other- 
wise. It  is  stated  that,  if  the  gases  exhaled 
from  a  horse's  body  were  confined  around 


him  by  a  gas-tight  bag,  they  would  cause 
his  death  in  twenty-four  hours,  allowing  him 
at  the  same  time  to  have  his  head  out  and 
to  breathe  the  pure  air. 

If  you  want  satin-skinned  horses,  in  fine 
health  and  spirits,  ready  at  all  times  to  work 
or  to  drive,  a  thorough  system  of  ventilla- 
tion  will  be  one  very  important  step  to- 
wards it- 

A  manure  shed  should  be  built  outside 
the  stable,  and  sufficient  only  to  afford  pro- 
tection from  wind  and  rain,  with  a  door 
connecting  with  the  barn,  and  running  to 
the  floor  of  the  stable,  which  should  only 
be  open  when  the  stable  is  being  cleaned. 
The  exhalations  of  the  manure  heap  are 
then  not  permitted  to  return  to  the  stable — 
nor  should  any  of  the  gases  generated  in 
the  stable,  be  allowed  to  pass  into  the  car- 
riage room  or  hay  mow. 

As  a  matter  of  economy,  it  is  just  as 
cheap  to  build  a  stable  calculated  to  give  a 
horse  the  greatest  amount  of  comfort,  as  to 
build  it  in  any  other  way.  Cellars  are  handy 
arrangements,  and  in  the  first  cost  it  may 
be  cheaper  to  put  them  under  the  barn,  but 
a  few  years'  experience  will  show  the  hea- 
viest balance  on  the  debit  side. 

Geo.  E.  Woodward, 
Xeic  York,  April  1860. 


Geological 

INFUSORIAL  DEPOSITS  WITHIN  THE  CORPO- 
RATE LIMITS  OF  THE  CITY  OF  RICHMOND. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Boston  Xat. 
Hist.  Society,  Prof.  W.  B.  Rogers  presented 
some  masses  of  infusorial  earth  from  the 
tertiary  strata  of  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
and  gave  a  description  of  the  geological  and 
other  conditions  in  which  this  and  the  asso- 
ciated deposits  exhibit  themselves  in  and 
near  Richmond,  in  the  former  of  these 
States. 

The  tertiary  formations  which  underlie 
the  wide  plain  extending  from  the  seaboard 
to  the  eastern  margin  of  the  granitic  and 
gneissoid  rocks,  appi'oach  their  termination 
along  this  meridian,  in  a  series  of  strata, 
which  are  separated  by  only  a  short  inter- 
val from  the  irregular  granitic  floor.  A  lit- 
tle further  towards  the  west  they  reach  their 
boundary,  partly  by  a  rapid  thinning  away, 
and  in  part  by  abutting,  along  the  hill-sides, 
against  the  indented  shore  of  these  ancient 
rocks,  here  rising  to  the  level  of  the  general 
upland  surface. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


345 


In  the  deep  ravines  leading  into  the  val- 
ley of  Shockoe  Creek,  especially  on  its  west- 
ern side,  we  meet  with  several  extensive 
exposures  of  the  tertiary  strata,  one  of  which 
embraces  nearly  the  whole  thickness  of  both 
the  Eocine  and  3Icocine  formations,  as  local- 
ly developed  in  this  neighborhood.  In  all 
these  localities,  the  Infusorial  deposit  is 
found  occu})ying  a  position  imsiediately 
above  the  upper  limit  of  the  Eocine  stra- 
tum, or  separated  from  it  by  a  thin  layer  of 
whitish  or  of  more  or  less  ferruginous  clay. 
Like  the  associated  beds,  it  fluctuates  in 
thickness,  as  traced  from  one  neighboring- 
exposure  to  another,  varying  from  twenty  to 
upwards  of  thirty  feet  at  the  different  locali- 
ties on  the  north  side  of  the  valley,  and  pre- 
senting, when  measured  some  years  ago  on 
the  opposite  or  Church  Hill  side,  a  thickness 
of  nearly  fifty  feet.  In  addtion  to  the  mi- 
croscopic fossils,  which,  in  a  more  or  less 
perfect  condition,  make  up  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  the  mass,  this  deposit  presents  a  few 
casts  of  shells  of  well-known  Meocine  forms, 
of  which  the  Astarte  undulata  may  be  men- 
tioned as  of  the  most  frequent  occurrence. 
It  also  contains  imperfectly  preserved  re- 
mains of  a  slender  creeping  plant,  as  well 
as  fragments  of  woody  stems  and  branches, 
flattened  and  converted  into  lignite,  and  in 
some  cases  filled  in  all  directions  with  the 
perforations  of  a  Teredo. 

The  material  of  the  Infusorial  stratum  is 
generally  of  a  very  fine  tetxture,  admitting 
of  being  bruised  between  the  fingers  into 
an  almost  impalpable  powder,  singularly 
free  from  gritty  particles. 

Although  usually  of  a  light-gray,  almost 
white  color,  it  includes  in  some  localities 
layers  of  an  ashy  tinge,  which  are,  however, 
not  inferior  to  the  rest  of  the  deposit  in  the 
abundance  of  their  minute  organic  forms. 
It  has  throughout  a  tendency  to  lamination > 
in  a  horizontal  direction,  and  towards  its 
upper  limit  is  so  distinct  as  to  cause  it  rea- 
dily to  separate  in  their  crumbly  plates. 
But  of  all  its  mechanical  peculiarities,  its 
great  lightness  is  the  most  characteristic. 
From  experiments  made  many  years  ago. 
Prof.  .Rogers  found  that,  when  pure  and 
quite  free  from  moisture,  this  material,  in 
its  ordinary  state  of  compactness,  has  a 
weight  only  one-third  as  great  as  an  equal 
bulk  of  water.  The  minute  silicious  fossils 
for  which  this  deposit  has  long  been  noted, 
belong,  as  is  well  known,  almost  entirely  to 
the  family  of  Diatomacew,  and  includes  a 


very  large  proportion  of  Cosinodiscus  and 
allied  forms,  where  exquisitely  thin  plates, 
lying  in  parallel  positions  in  the  mass,  have 
probably  contributed  to  the  laminated»struc- 
ture  before  referred  to.  The  number  of 
such  frustules  and  other  silicious  skeletons 
in  each  cubic  inch  of  the  pure  material  can 
only  be  reckoned  by  millions,  and  a  cubic 
foot  would  contain  a  nmltitude  far  exceed- 
ing in  number  the  entire  human  population 
of  the  globe. — Annual  of  Scientific  Dis- 
covery for  1860. 

Action  of  the  Soil  on  Vegetation. 

The  late  Professor  Gregory  left  the  fol- 
lowing summary  of  recent  views  relative  to 
the  action  of  soil  on  vegetation  : 

1.  Way,  and  after  him,  Liebig,  has  shown 
that  every  soil  absorbs  ammonia,  and  also 
potash,  from  solutions  containing  them  or 
their  salts,  generally  leaving  the  acid,  which 
takes  up  lime,  &c.,  from  the  soil  in  solution. 
The  ammonia  and  potash,  which  are  absorb- 
ed in  very  large  proportion  by  arable  soils, 
are  rendered  thereby  quite  insoluble. 

2.  Arable  soils  absorb  also  silicic  acid  in 
very  considerable  proportion,  and  it  also  be- 
comes insoluble. 

8.  Arable  soils  also  absorb  the  phosphoric 
acid  of  phosphate  of  lime,  or  of  ammoniaco- 
magnesian  phosphate,  apparently  soluting 
the  acid,  which  also  becomes  insoluble. 

4.  Hence  the  soluble  ingredients  of  ma- 
nures cannot  be  conveyed  to  the  plants  in 
the  form  of  a  solution  percolating  the  soil, 
(such  as  liquid  manure,  or  a  solution  formed 
by  rain-water  with  the  acid  of  carbonic 
acid,)  since  such  a  solution  is  deprived  of 
its  dissolved  ingredients  by  filtering  through 
a  very  moderate  amount  of  soil. 

5.  Hence,  also,  as  the  food  of  plants  must 
thus  be  fixed  in  the  soil  in  an  insoluble 
form,  it  is  plain  that  it  can  only  enter  the 
plant  in  virtue  of  some  power  or  agency  in 
the  roots,  which  decomposes  the  insoluble 
compounds  in  the  soil,  and  thus  renders 
soluble  the  necessary  matter. 

6.  The  absorbent  power  of  soils  is  partly 
chemical  and  partly  mechanical,  as  is  the 
case  with  charcoal. 

7.  The  quantities  of  alkalies,  of  phos- 
phates of  ammonia,  &c.,  capable  of  being 
supplied  to  plants  by  rain-water,  after  it  has 
been  percolated  through  the  soil,  even  sup- 
posing the  whole  to  be  assimilated,  does  not 
amount  to  more  than  a  mere  fraction  of 
what  the  plants  contain. 


346 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[June 


8.  The  theory  of  the  transference  of  am- 
monia, potash,  silica,  phosphates,  &c.,  from 
the  soil  to  the  plant,  is  not  yet  understood; 
hut  th^old  theory,  that  the  rain  conveys  the 
food  to  the  plant  directly-,  is  certainly  not 
the  true  one. — Edin.  Xeio  Phil.  Journal. 


Diseases  of  Plants. 

Great  obscurity  attends  this  department 
of  botany,  and  much  remains  to  be  done  ere 
a  system  of  vegetable  nosology,  {nosos  dis- 
ease Gr.)  can  be  completed.  It  is,  however, 
of  great  importance,  whether  we  regard  its 
bearing  on  the  productions  of  the  garden  or 
the  field.  Some  have  divided  the  diseases 
of  plants  into  gpiieral,  or  those  affecting  the 
whole  plant  and  local,  or  those  afiecting  a 
part  only.  A  better  arrangement  seems  to 
be  founded  on  their  apparent  causes,  and  in 
this  way  have  been  divided  by  Lankester 
into  four  groups.  1.  Diseases  produced  by 
changes  in  the  external  conditions  of  life ; 
as  by  redundancy  or  deficiency  of  the  in- 
gredients of  the  soil,  of  light,  heat,  air,  and 
moisture.  2.  Diseases  produced  by  poison- 
ous agents,  as  by  injurious  gasses,  or  mias- 
mata in  the  atmosphere,  or  poisonous  mat- 
ter in  the  soil.  3.  Diseases  arising  from  the 
growth  of  parasitic  plants,  as  Fungi,  Dod- 
der, etc.  4.  Disea.ses  arising  from  mechani- 
cal injuries,  as  wounds  and  attacks  of  in- 
sects. 

Plants  are  often  rendered  liable  to  the  at- 
tacks of  disease  by  the  state  of  their  growth. 
Thus  cultivated  plants,  especially  such  as 
become  succulent  by  the  increase  of  cellu- 
lar tissue,  appear  to  be  more  predisposed  to 
certain  diseases  than  others.  Concerninst  the 
first  two  causes  of  disease,  very  little  is 
known.  Absence  of  light  causes  llancliing, 
which  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  diseased 
state  of  the  tissues.  Excess  of  light  may 
cause  disease  in  plants,  whose  natural  habit- 
at is  shady  places.  Excess  of  heat  is  some- 
times the  occasion  of  a  barren  or  diseased 
state  of  some  of  the  organs  of  the  flowers, 
and  frost  acts  prejudicially  on  the  leaves, 
stem  and  flowers.  By  excess  of  moisture, 
a  dropsical  state  of  the  tissue  is  induced. 

Concerning  the  influence  of  atmospheric 
changes  on  plants,  very  little  has  been  de- 
termined. Many  extensive  epidemics  seem 
to  depend  on  this  cause.  Thus,  the  late 
potato  disease  must  be  traced,  apparently,  to 
some  unknown  miasma  conveyed  by  the  air, 
and  operating  over  large  tracts  of  country ; 


the  disease  probably  afi"ecting  some  plants 
more  than  others,  according  to  their  state  of 
predisposition,  and  in  its  progress  leading  to 
disorganization  of  the  textures,  alteration  in 
the  contents  of  the  cells  and  vessels,  and  the 
production  of  Fungi,  &c.  In  the  early  stage 
of  the  disease,  a  brown  granular  matter  was 
deposited  in  the  interior  of  the  cells,  begin- 
ning with  those  near  the  surface.  For  some 
time  the  cell  walls  and  starch-grains  remained 
uninjured,  but  were  ultimately  attacked,  the 
former  losing  their  transparency,  and  the 
latter  becoming  agglomerated  in  masses. 
Subsequently  to  this,  parasitic  organisms  of 
various  kinds  made  their  appearance,  cavi- 
ties were  formed,  and  rapid  decay  took 
place.  Among  the  vegetable  parasities  were 
detected  species  of  Fusisporium,  Oidium, 
Botrytis,  Capillaria,  Polyactis,  &c.  The 
prevalence  of  hot  or  cold  weather,  the 
amount  of  light  and  moisture,  changes  in 
the  atmosphere,  and  electrical  conditions  of 
the  air  and  earth,  are  in  all  probability  con- 
nected with  epidemic  diseases.  By  some, 
the  late  potato  disease  is  attributed  to  sup- 
posed evaporation  and  transporation,  depend- 
ing on  the  hygi'ometric  state  of  the  atmos- 
phere. The  vessels  and  cells  are  said  to  be- 
come charged  with  fluid,  stagnation  of  the 
circulation  takes  place,  and  thus  disease  and 
death  are  induced. 

Gangrene  in  plants,  is  caused  by  the  al- 
terations in  the  contents  of  the  cells,  leading 
to  death  of  a  part.  In  succulent  plants,  as 
Cactuses,  this  disease  is  apt  to  occur.  Some- 
times excision  of  the  diseased  part  checks 
the  progress  of  the  gangrene.  Canlcer, 
which  attacks  apple  and  pear  trees,  is  a 
kind  of  gangrene.  Some  of  the  most  im- 
portant diseases  of  corn  and  other  agricultu- 
ral crops,  are  owing  to  the  production  of 
Fungi.  These  have  been  divided  into  :  1. 
Those  attacking  the  grain,  as  Uredo  foetida 
or  pepper-brand.  2.  Those  attacking  the 
flower,  as  Uredo  segetum  or  smut.  3.  Those 
attacking  the  leaves  and  chaff",  as  Uredo  Ru- 
bigo  or  rust.  4.  Those  attacking  the  straw, 
as  Puccinia  graminis  or  corn  mildew. 

Smut-halls,  pejyjjer-hrand  or  hligJit  is  a 
powdery  matter,  occupying  the  interior  of 
the  grain  of  wheat,  &c.  When  examined 
under  the  microscope,  it  consists  of  minute 
balls,  four  millions  of  which  may  exist  in  a 
single  grain,  and  each  of  these  contains  nu- 
merous excessively  minute  sporules.  It  is 
caused  by  the  attack  of  the  Uredo  Caries,  or 
foetida.     In  this  disease  the  seed  retains  its 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN   PLANTER. 


u: 


form  and  appearance,  and  the  parasitic  fun- 
gns  has  a  peculiarly  foetid  odour,  hence  call- 
ed stinA-tiit^  ntsf. 

Smuf,  or  dtist-brand,  is  a  sooty  powder, 
having  no  odour,  found  in  oats  and  barley, 
and  produced  by  Uredo  segetum.  The  dis- 
ease shows  itself  conspicuously  before  the 
ripening  of  the  crop.  Bauer  says  that  in 
l-lG0,000th  part  of  a  square  inch,  he  count- 
ed 49  spores  of  the  uredo. 

Rust,  is  an  orange  powder,  exuding  from 
the  inner  chaff  scales,  and  forming  yellow 
or  brown  spots  and  blotches  in  various  parts 
of  corn  plants.  It  owes  its  presence  to  the 
attack  of  Uredo  Rubigo.  It  is  sometimes 
called  red  gum,  red  robin,  red  nist,  and  red 
rag.  Some  consider  Mildew  (Uredo  linea- 
ris) as  another  state  of  the  same  disease. 

Those  Fungi  which  are  developed  in  the 
interior  of  plants,  and  appear  afterwards  on 
the  surface,  are  called  entophytk  (^enfos  with- 
in, and  Phuton  a  plant  Gr.)  Their  minute 
sporules  are  either  directly  applied  to  the 
plants  entering  their  stomata,  or  they  are 
taken  up  from  the  soil.  3Iany  other  Fungi 
grow  parasitically  on  plants,  and  either  give 
rise  to  disea.se,  or  modify  it  in  a  peculiar 
way.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned 
species  of  Botrytis,  Fusisporium,  Depazia, 
Sderotium,  Fusarium  and  Erysiphe.  Fusis- 
porium  solani  is  considered  by  Martius  as  the 
cause  of  a  certain  disease  in  the  potato.  In 
the  recent  potato  disease  the  Botrytis  infes- 
tans,  a  species  of  Fusarium  and  other  Fun- 
gi, committed  great  ravages,  spreading  their 
mycelium  or  spawn  through  the  cells  of  the 
leaves  and  the  tubers,  and  thus  accelerating 
their  destruction.  Berkeley,  Morren,  and 
Townley  consider  the  Bot.ytis  as  the  cause 
of  the  disease.  Various  species  of  Botrytis 
also  attack  the  Tomato,  Beet,  Turnip  and 
Carrot.  A  species  of  Depazia  sometimes 
causes  disease  in  the  knots  (joints)  of  Wheat. 
A  diseased  state  of  Rye  and  other  grasses, 
called  ergrjt,  owes  its  production  to  the  pres- 
ence of  a  species  of  Spermoedia.  By  the 
action  of  the  fungus  the  ovary  becomes  dis- 
eased and  altered  in  its  appearance,  so  as  to 
be  dark-coloured,  und  project  from  the  chaff 
in  the  form  of  a  spur.  Hence  the  name  of 
spurred  rye.  The  nutritious  part  of  the  grain 
is  destroyed,  and  it  acquires  certain  qualities 
of  an  injurious  nature.  Spontaneous  gan- 
grene is  the  consequence  of  living  for  some 
time  on  diseased  rye.  Ergot  has  been  seen 
in  Lolium,  perenne  and  arvense,  Festuca 
prat«nsis,  Phleum,  pratense,  Dactylis  glome- 


rata.    Anthoxanthum     odoratum,    Phalaris 
arundinacea,  &c. 

Fruits  when  over-ripe  are  liable  to  attacks 
of  Fungi,  which  cause  rapid  decay ;  wood 
also,  especially  Alburnum  or  sap-wood,  is  in- 
jured by  the  production  of  Fungi.  Dry  rot 
is  the  result  of  the  attack  of  Merulius  lacry- 
mans,  which  in  the  progress  of  growth,  de- 
stroys its  texture,  and  makes  it  crumble  to 
pieces.  Some  kinds  of  wood  are  much  more 
liable  to  decay  than  other?. 

The  diseases  caused  by  attacks  of  Fungi 
may  be  propagated  by  direct  contact,  or  by 
the  diffusion  of  the  minute  spores  through 
the  atmosphere-  When  we  reflect  on  the 
smallness  of  the  spores,  the  millions  produc- 
ed by  a  single  plant,  and  the  facility  with 
which  they  are  wafted  by  the  wind  in  the 
form  of  the  most  impalpable  powder,  we  can 
easily  understand  that  they  may  be  uaiver- 
sally  diffused  and  ready  to  be  developed  in 
any  place  where  a  nidus  is  afforded.  Perhaps 
some  of  the  diseases  affecting  man  and  ani- 
mals may  be  traced  to  such  a  source.  Que- 
kett  found  that  he  could  propagate  the  ergot 
by  mixing  the  sporules  with  water,  and  ap- 
plying this  to  the  roots. 

In  order  to  prevent  these  diseases,  it  has 
been  proposed  to  steep  the  grains  in  various 
solutions  previously  to  being  sown.  For  this 
purpose,  alkaline  matters  and  sulphate  of 
copper  have  been  used.  In  all  cases,  the 
seed  should  be  thoroughly  cleansed.  Smut 
and  pepper-brand  have  been  averted  by 
these  means.  In  the  case  of  the  latter,  dis- 
eased grains  are  easily  removed  by  being  al- 
lowed to  float  in  water,  and  the  grains  that 
remain  are  washed  with  a  solution  of  lime, 
common  potash,  or  substances  containing 
ammonia,  which  form  a  soapy  matter  with 
the  oil  in  the  fungus.  A  weak  solution  of 
sulphate  of  copper  acts  by  destroying  the 
fungus.  To  prevent  wood  from  dry  rot,  the 
process  of  kyanizing  and  burnetizing  have 
been  adopted  :  the  former  consists  in  making 
a  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate  enter  into 
the  cells  and  vessels ;  the  latter,  in  impreg- 
nating the  wood  with  a  solution  of  chloride 
of  zinc.  Creosote  has  also  been  used  to 
preserve  wood.  Boucherie  proposed  that  a 
solution  of  pyrolignite  of  iron  should  be  in- 
.  troduced  into  trees  before  being  felled,  by 
making  perforations  at  the  base  of  the 
trunk,  and  allowing  the  absorbing  power  of 
the  cells  and  vessels  to  operate.  This  plan 
jdoes  not  appear  to  have  been  successful, 
although  reported  favourably  to  the  French 


348 


THE    SOUTHEEX    PLAXTER. 


[June 


Academy,  and  also  recommended  by  3Ir. 
Hyett. 

Other  diseases  in  plants  owe  their  origin 
to  insects.  Earcockhs,  purples,  or  ppepper- 
corn,  is  a  disease  affecting  especially  the 
grains  of  wheat.  The  infected  grains  be- 
come first  of  a  dark  green,  ar;d  ultimately  of 
a  black  colour.  They  become  rounded  like 
a  small  penner-corn,  but  with  one  or  more 
deep  furrows  on  their  surface.  The  glumes 
spread  open,  and  the  awns  become  twisted. 
The  blighted  grains  are  full  of  moist  white 
cottony  matter,  which,  when  moistened  and 
put  under  the  miscroscope,  is  seen  to  con.sist 
of  a  multitude  of  minute  individuals  of  the 
Vibrio  triciti,  or  eel  of  the  wheat.  The 
animalcules  deposits  their  eggs  in  the  ovary, 
and  their  young  are  hatched  in  eight  or  ten 
days.  Henslow  calculates  that  50.000  of 
the  young  might  be  packed  in  a  moderately 
sixed  grain  of  wheat.  The  Vibrio  retains 
its  vitality  long.  It  will  remain  in  a  dry 
state  for  six  or  seven  years,  and  when  mois- 
tened with  water  will  revive.  The  ^heat- 
fly,  or  Cecidomyia  tritici,  is  another  destruc- 
tive insect.  It  deposits  it  oggs  by  means  of 
a  very  long  retractile  ovipositor,  and  is  seen 
abundantly  in  warm  evenings.  The  Cecido- 
myia destructor,  or  Hessian  fly,  also  causes 
injury,  and  is  said  to  be  very  destructive  to 
wheat  in  America.  These  insects  are  de- 
stroyed in  numbers  by  the  Inchneuraons, 
which  deposits  their  ova  in  their  bodies. 
The  Apple-tree  mussel,  or  dry-scale  Aspido- 
tus  conehiformis,  attacks  the  bark  of  Ap- 
ples, Pears,  Plums,  Apricots,  and  Peaches. 
Many  of  the  Coccus  tribe  are  highly  inju- 
rious to  plants.  One  of  this  tribe,  in  1843, ' 
destroyed  the  whole  orange  trees  in  the  is- 1 
land  of  Fayal,  one  of  the  Azores.  3Ianyj 
insects  cause  the  rolling  up  of  leaves.  Tor- 1 
tricida  viridana  acts  thus  on  the  leaves  of  | 
the  Oak,  and  various  species  of  Losotaenia 
do  so  with  other  trees.  Sacchiphantes  abi- : 
etis  is  the  aphis  which  causes  the  leaves  of  ■ 
the  Spruce-fir  to  be  united  together,  so  as  to ' 
have  the  appearance  of  a  cone. 

Many  insects,  called  miners,  make  their , 
way  into  the  interior  of  leaves,  and  hollow 
out  tortuous  galleries,  sometimes  causing  an  ', 
alteration  in  the  colour  of  the  leaves.  Galls 
are  caused  by  the  attacks  of  species  of  Cy- 
nips,  which  are  provided  with  ovipositors,  by 
means  of  which  they  pierce  the  bark  or 
leaves  with  the  view  of  having  a  nidus  for 
their  ova.  These  galls  are  very  common  on 
the  Oak,  and  are  called  oak-apples.     Some- 


times they  have  one  cavity,  at  other  times 
they  are  divided  into  numerous  chambers, 
each  containing  a  grub,  pupo,  or  perfect  fly, 
according  to  the  season.  Galls  are  produced 
on  the  twigs,  catkins  and  leaves  of  the  Oak. 
The  artichoke  gall  of  the  Oak  depends  on 
an  irregular  development  of  a  bud,  caused  by 
the  attack  of  insects,  and  con.sistsof  a  num- 
ber of  leafy  imbricated  scales  resembling 
a  3'oung  cone.  On  examining  the  galls  of 
commerce,  the  produce  of  the  Quercus  in- 
fectoria,  some  are  of  a  blue  colour,  contain- 
ing the  larva  of  the  insect ;  others  are  pale, 
and  are  marked  with  a  perforation  by  which 
the  insect  has  escaped.  Extensive  ravages 
are  committed  in  Elms  and  other  trees  by 
the  attacks  of  Scolyti.  The  presence  of 
much  moisture,  such  as  the  rapid  flow  of 
sap,  destroys  them.  Mr.  Robert  found  that 
the  flow  of  sap  might  be  promoted  by  taking 
off  the  suberous  layer  of  the  bark,  and  he 
proposes  this  as  a  method  of  getting  rid  of 
the  insects.  Some  galls  are  formed  in  the 
substance  of  leaves,  and  burst  through  the 
cuticle  in  the  form  of  ovate  bodies,  with  cre- 
nate  borders  and  opercula,  which  are  perfo- 
rated in  the  centre.  These  galls  resemble 
parasitic  fungi.  Oak-spanghs  are  galls  of 
this  nature.  They  are  attached  by  a  central 
point  to  the  under  surface  of  the  leaf,  the 
inner  side  being  smooth — the  outer  red, 
hairy,  and  fringed.  Each  contains  a  single 
insect,  which  retains  its  habitation  till  March, 
long  after  the  leaves  have  fallen  to  the 
ground. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  place  to  enumerate 
all  the  insects  which  attack  plants.  Almost 
every  species  has  certain  insects  peculiar  to 
it,  which  feed  on  its  leaves,  juices,  &c.,  and 
often  cause  great  injury.  Those  which  are 
common  to  hothouses  and  greenhouses,  have 
called  for  the  special  attention  of  horticul- 
turists, and  various  means  have  been  sug- 
gested for  their  removal  or  prevention. 
Among  them  may  be  enumerated,  vapour  of 
tobacco,  and  ammoniacal  liquor  of  gas- 
works, to  kill  aphides;  vapour  of  sulphur, 
for  the  red  spider  j  vapour  of  turpentine,  for 
the  wasp  ;  vapour  of  crushed  laurel  leaves, 
for  the  white- bug;  coal-tar,  for  the  wire- 
worm,  &c. — Balfour's  Botany. 


Every  one  that  asketh,  receiveth ;  and  he 
that  seeketh  findeth ;  and  to  him  that  knock- 
eth,  it  shall  be  opened. 

The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  in  every  place, 
beholdine:  the  evil  and  the  good. 


I860.] 


THE    SOU THEE X    PL AX TEE 


349 


From  the  British  Farmer's  Magazine. 

Feeding  Statistics. 

Sir, — Agriculturists  have  been  called  up- 
on to  believe  that  great  discoveries  have  re- 
cently been  made  in  the  science  and  prac- 
tice of  the  feeding  of  animals.  To  use  the 
words  of  one  of  the  most  notorious  of  the 
new  lights  on  this  subject: — "The  manu- 
facture of  an  alimentary  and  condimental 
compound  for  the  seasoning  of  the  food  of 
live  stock,  is  one  of  the  most  important  ad- 
vances in  applied  science  which  the  pen  of 
the  agi'iculturist  has  to  record." 

Being  largely  interested  in  the  feeding  of 
stock  for  profit,  and  having  devoted  a  great 
deal  of  time  and  money  in  inquiries  to  ob- 
tain fixed  data  relating  to  the  feeding  of 
aniiuals,  the  conclusion  to  which  I  have  ar- 
rived is,  that  no  proof  has  yet  been  given 
that  these  new  foods  have  any  practical  va- 
lue whatever  in  an  economical  point  of 
view.  X'or  does  a  knowledge  of  the  compo- 
sition of  these  foods  add  anything  to  what 
was  previously  known  on  the  subject  of 
feeding. 

To  enable  those  who  arc  practically  en- 
gaged in  feeding  stock  to  judge  for  them- 
selves what  profit  they  are  likely  to  derive 
from  the  use  of  food  costing  from  £40  to 
£50  per  ton,  I  propose  to  call  attention  to  a 
few  facts  connected  with  the  subject  of  feed- 
ing, which  have  been  established  by  the  re- 
sults of  my  own  experiments. 

The  first  question  to  consider  is,  what  is 
the  probable  amount  of  saleable  increase,  or 
meat,  that  may  be  calculated  upon  as  the 
produce  of  a  given  amount  of  ordinary  good 
fattening  food  ?  The  second  is,  what  is  the  pro- 
bable value  of  the  manure  ?  In  oft'eriug  a  very 
few  brief  observations  on  these  two  points, 
I  shall  not  attempt  here  to  give  any  exact 
estimates  of  the  comparative  feeding  pro- 
perties of  different  foods,  but  merely  state 
the  average  quantity  of  ordinary  mixed 
foods  of  recognised  good  quality,  required 
to  produce  a  given  amount  of  gross  increase 
or  of  carcass  weight.  I  shall,  however,  give 
estimates  of  the  comparative  value  of  the 
residue  remaining  for  manure,  from  a  given 
weight  of  a  number  of  the  most  important 
of  our  stock-foods. 

If  feeding  experiments  are  conducted 
over  a  sufiiciently  long  period  of  time — if 
they  include  a  sufficiently  large  number  of 
animals  to  neutralize  the  influence  of  indi- 
vidual peculiarities,  and  if  they  are   in  all^ 


other  respects  performed  with  sufficient  care? 
results  will  be  obtained  from  which  there 
would  be  but  little  deviation  whenever  the 
experiment  was  repeated.  Eesults  so  ob- 
tained may  be  expressed  in  a  few  figures, 
which,  for  all  the  practical  purposes  of  gen- 
eral estimates,  may  be  safely  taken  to  repre- 
sent the  average  result  of  well  managed 
stock-feeding. 

My  own  experiments  show  that  oxen  and  ' 
sheep,  fed  liberally  upon  good  flittening  food 
composed  of  a  moderate  proportion  of  cake 
or  corn,  a  little  hay  or  straw  chaff,  together 
with  roots  or  other  succulent  food,  will  yield 
over  a  considerable  period  of  time,  one  part 
of  increase  in  live  weight,  for  from  eight  to 
ten  parts  of  dry  substance  supplied  in  such 
mixed  food.  The  quantity  of  dry  substance 
of  food  required  will  vary  between  these 
limits  according  to  the  exact  character  of 
the  food  and  other  circumstances;  but  nine 
parts  of  di-y  substance  of  food,  for  one  of 
increase  in  live  weight,  may  be  taken  as  a 
very  fair  average  result  for  oxen  and  sheep 
with  good  food  and  good  management.  The 
dry  substance  of  the  fattening  food  of  pigs 
contains  much  less  indigestible  woody  fibre, 
and  a  larger  proportion  of  assimilable  con- 
stituents than  that  of  oxen  and  sheep,  and 
in  their  case  one  part  of  increase  in  live 
weight  should  be  obtained  from  the  con- 
sumption of  four  to  five  parts  of  dry  sub- 
stance in  their  fattening  food.  By  the  '•'  dry 
substance "  of  food  is  meant  that  portion 
which  would  remain  after  driving  off,  by  a 
suitable  heat,  all  the  water  which  in  their 
natural  state  they  contain.  For  practical 
purposes  it  may  be  assumed  that  oil  cakes 
and  foreign  corn  will,  on  the  average,  eon- 
tain  rather  less  than  one-seventh,  and  home- 
grown corn,  hay,  <Jcc.,  rather  more  than  one- 
seventh  of  their  weight  of  water,  the  re- 
mainder being  the  so-called  *'  dri/  substance" 
of  the  food.  In  the  same  sense  the  com- 
moner sorts  of  turnips  will,  on  the  average, 
contain  more  than  nine-tenths,  and  swedes, 
mangolds,  kc,  less  than  nine-tenths  of  the'r 
weight  of  water,  the  remainder  being  dry 
substance.  Potatoes  consist  of  about  one- 
fourth  dry  substance  and  three-foui-ths  wa- 
ter. From  these  data  the  farmer  will  be 
able  to  judge  for  himself  whether  or  not  he 
gets  a  proper  increase  in  weight  or  live  stock 
fur  the  food  consumed ;  and  from  compara- 
tive experiments  he  can  decide  whether  or 
not  he  gets  an  adequately  greater  rate  of  in- 
crease by  mixing  with  his  other  food  some 


350 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[June 


of  the  mixtures  offered  to  him  at  £40  or 
£50  per  ton.  To  aid  him  still  further  in 
his  calculations  on  this  point,  it  ma}  be 
stated,  that  owing  to  the  fact  that  during 
the  fattening  process  the  saleable  carcass  in- 
creases very  much  more  rapidly  than  the 
internal  and  other  offal  parts,  it  may  be  reck- 
oned that  nearly  70  per  cent,  of  the  gross 
increase  of  oxen  and  sheep  fattening  over  a 
considerable  period  of  tune  will  be  saleable 
carcass.  Calculations  of  a  similar  kind,  in 
regard  to  pigs,  show,  that  of  their  increase 
in  weight  whilst  fattening,  little  pigs  less 
than  90  per  cent,  may  be  reckoned  as  sale- 
able carcass. 

So  much  for  the  means  of  estimating  the 
value  of  the  increase  in  live  weight  of  fat- 
tening food  stock.  I  now  turn  to  the  ques- 
tion of  the  probable  average  value  of  the 
manure  obtained  from  the  consumption  of 
descriptions  of  food. 

The  valuation  of  the  manure  resulting 
from  the  consumption  of  different  foods  is 
founded  upon  estimates  of  their  composition, 
and  upon  a  knowledge,  experimentally  ac- 
quired, of  the  probable  average  amount  of 
those  constituents  of  the  food  valuable  for 
manure,  which  will  be  obtained  in  the  solid 
and  liquid  excrements  of  the  animals.  In 
the  estimates  of  the  value  of  the  manure 
from  different  foods,  given  in  the  following 
table,  I  have  based  my  calculations  upon 
what  I  consider  the  average  composition  of 
several  articles,  when  of  good  quality. 

TABLE, 

Showing  the  estimated  value  of  the  Manure  obtain- 
ed from  the  consumption  of  1  ton  of  different  ar- 
ticles of  Food  :  each  supposed  to  be  of  good  quality 
of  its  kind. 

Estimated  money  value 
of  the  Manure  from  1 
ton  of  each  Food, 

1.  Decorticated  Cotton-seed  Cake,  £6  10  0 

2.  Rape  Cake, 4  18  0 

3.  Linseed  Cake, 112  0 

4.  Malt-dust, 4     5  0 

5.  Lentils, 3  17  0 

6.  Linseed, 3   13  0 

7.  Tares, 3  13  6 

8.  Beans, 3  13  6 

9.  Peas, 3     2  6 

10.  Locust  Beans; 1     2  6(?) 

11.  Oats, 1   14  6 

12.  Wheat, 113  0 

13.  Indian  Corn, 1116 

14.  Malt, 1116 

15.  Barley, 1     9  6 

16.  Clover  Hay, 2     5  0 

17.  Meadow  Hay, 1  10  0 


Description  of  Food. 


18.  Oat  Straw, £0  13  6 

19.  Wheat  Straw, 0  12  6 

20.  Barley  Straw, 0  10  6 

21.  Potatoes, 0     7  0 

22.  Mangolds, 0     5  0 

23.  Swedish  Turnips, 0     43 

24.  Common  Turnips 0     4  0 

25.  Carrots, 0     4  0 

It  will  be  seen  how  enormously  the  value 
of  the  manure  from  one  ton  of  different  foods 
varies  according  to  the  composition  of  the 
food  itself.  Now,  from  the  actual  analyses 
that  have  been  made  of  several  of  the  ex- 
pensive "  condimental"  compound  foods,  as 
well  as  from  a  knowledge  of  the  chief  arti- 
cles used  in  their  manufacture,  it  may  be 
safely  asserted  that  a  ton  of  few,  if  any  of 
them,  would  yield  a  manure  of  anything 
like  the  value  of  either  of  the  first  nine 
articles  in  the  above  list.  In  the  case  of  the 
majority  of  these  new  foods,  the  value  of 
the  manure  from  a  ton  of  the  food  would 
certainly  be  much  less  than  that  from  a  ton 
of  any  one  of  those  nine  articles. 

To  conclude :  No  experimental  evidence 
upon  indubitably  trustworthy  authority  has 
yet  been  brought  forward  to  prove  that  the 
use  of  the  foods,  costing  from  £40  to  £50 
per  ton,  will  so  improve  the  rate  of  increase 
of  fattening  stock  upon  a  given  weight  of 
dry  substance  of  food,  as  to  compensate  for 
the  heavy  cost  of  these  condimental  addi- 
tions. Any  intelligent  farmer  can,  how- 
ever, by  the  aid  of  the  information  which 
has  been  given  above,  satisfy  himftclf  on 
the  point,  if  he  will  rigidly  rely  upon  scales 
and  weights,  instead  of  upon  merely  casual 
observation.  And  with  regard  to  the  value 
of  the  manure,  the  figures  in  the  above  table, 
and  the  obseiTations  we  have  made  upon 
them,  will  show  him  how  much  of  his  £40 
or  £50  he  may  expect  to  recover  in  the 
form  of  manure. 

J.  B.  Lawes. 

RotJiamsted,  Jan.  18^A. 

A  GENTLEMAN  once  introduced  his  son 
to  Rowland  Hill,  by  letter,  as  a  youth  of 
great  promise,  and  likely  to  do  honor  to  the 
University  of  which  he  was  a  member ; 
"  but  he  is  shy,"  added  the  father,  "  and  I 
fear  buries  his  talents  in  a  napkin."  A 
short  time  afterwards  the  parent,  anxious  for 
his  opinion,  inquired  what  he  thought  of 
his  son  ?  "I  have  shaken  the  napkin," 
said  Rowland,  "  at  all  the  corners,  and  there 
is  nothing  in  it." 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLAXTEE 


351 


Did'nt  Think.  ,  Parasite  Plants. 

Walking  in  the  country  one  morning,  in  Parasite  plants,  as  the  name  imports  {Pa- 
earlj  spring-time  near  an  orchard  gate,  very:  w,  beside,  and  sitos,  food — Gr.)  are  those 
soon  we  observed  a  large  man  hanging  to  the  which  derive  their  food  from  other  plants — 
top-most  limbs  of  a  small  apple  tree  with  ^  sending  prolongations  of  their  tissue  into 
one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  was  cut-  other  plants,  and  preying  upon  them.    3Iany 


ting  off  twigs  and  bnanches.  We  bade  him 
good  morning.  He  answered  cheerfully; 
and. we  ventured  to  hint  that  the  tree  he 
had  climbed,  bore  a  heavy  burden.  "Yes,"' 
he  said,  the  trees  all  need  pruning,  but  I 
can  only  attend  to  a  few  of  them.  The 
others  would'nt  bear  my  weight." 

"  Why  don't  you  fasten  your  saw  to  a  pole, 
stand  on  the  ground,  and  prune  such  limbs 
as  most  require  it  ?"  we  asked. 

"Well,  I  declare,"  he  answered,  that 
would  do — I  did'nt  think  o^  it."' 

There  was  a  valuable  lesson  in  that  con- 
fession— "  did'nt  think  of  it."  It  explained 
why  in  many  respects,  the  farmer  was  not 
prosperous.  He  was  a  hard  worker.  He 
endeavored  to  be  economical ;  but  he  was 
always  behind.  His  orchard  did'nt  yield 
abundantly — his  cattle  had  diseases — his 
grain  was  often  poor — and  he  could  only 
sell  at  a  low  price,  because  he  didn't  think. 
He  had  never  learned  fore-thought- — he  did 
not  understand  how  judicious  head-work 
assists  hand  work. 

Did'nt  think — that  is  the  sorry  explana- 
tion of  much  error — of  many  a  crime — of 
many  a  failure — of  many  a  hardship,  and 
many  an  abuse. 

Little  boys  and  girls,  bear  in  mind  that 
whatever  advantages  you  may  have  at  home, 
in  school,  in  business,  or  in  society,  unless 
you  think,  your  lives  will  be  sad  and  your 
efforts  unsuccessful.  Learn,  then,  while 
you  are  young,  the  art  of  thinking.  To  be 
great  and  good,  you  must  understand  the 
art  of  reflection,  as  well  as  appreciate  the 
pleasure  of  memory. — Rural  Register. 
<  <  >  »  > 

New  Agricultural  Product. — Mr. 
Louis  Baker,  of  this  city,  has  succeeded  in 
raising  the  ''  Japan  pea,"  a  desideratum 
which  has  not  before  been  obtained.  The 
seed  which  h,e  planted  were  brought  to  the 
United  States  by  Commodore  Porter,  but 
have  heretofore  always  failed  to  germinate. 
The  pea  which  has  just  been  raised  has  a 
pod  of  all  varieties  of  length  up  to  thirty- 
one  inches,  the  whole  of  which  is  palatable 
and  rich.  It  is  very  prolific,  and  when  in- 
troduced will  form  a  valuable  agricultural 
product. —  Wash.  States. 


fungi,  for  instance,  develop  their  spores 
(seeds),  and  spawn  (mycelium)  in  the  inte- 
rior of  living  or  dead  plants,  and  thus  cause 
rapid  decay.  The  disease  of  corn  (edible 
grains  in  general,  and  wheat  in  particular), 
called  smut  and  rust,  and  the  dry  rot  in 
wood,  are  due  to  the  attacks  of  these  para- 
sitic fungi.  The  minute  dust,  or  powder 
produced  by  these  plants,  consists  of  millions 
of  germs,  which  are  easily  carried  about  in 
the  atmosphere,  ready  to  fix  themselves  on 
any  plants  where  they  can  find  a  nidus. 
There  are  also  flowering  plants  which  grow 
parasitically,  and  they  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes  : — 1.  Those  which  are  of  a  pale 
or  brownish  color,  and  have  scales  in  place 
of  leaves;  and  2.  Those  which  are  of  a 
green  color,  and  have  leaves.  The  former, 
including  Orobanche,  or  broom-rapes,  Lath- 
rsea,  or  tooth-wort,  Cuscuta,  or  dodder,  de- 
rive their  nourishment  entirely  from  the 
plant  to  which  they  are  united,  and  seem  to 
have  little  power  of  elaborating  a  peculiar 
sap;  while  the  latter,  as  Loranthus,  Yiscum 
or  Misletoe,  Myzodendron,Thesium,  Euphra- 
sia, Milampyrum,  and  Buchnera,  expose  the 
sap  to  the  action  of  air  and  light  in  their 
leaves,  and  thus  allow  certain  changes  to 
take  place  in  it.  The  Misletoe,  from  its 
power  of  elaboration,  is  able  to  grow  on  dif- 
ferent species  of  plants,  as  on  the  apple, 
beech,  oak,  &c.  Some  of  these  parasites 
are  attached  to  the  roots  of  plants  by  means 
of  suckers,  as  in  the  case  of  Broom-rapes, 
Tooth-wort  and  Thesium;  while  others,  as 
Doddei-,  Misletoe,  &c.,  feed  upon  the  stems. 
The  plants  to  which  the  parasites  are  at- 
tached give  origin  frequently  to  their  specific 
names.  The  species  of  Cuscuta,  or  Dodder, 
inhabit  all  the  temperate  and  warm  parts  of 
the  globe,  and  are  peculiarly  destructive  to 
clover  and  lint  (flax).  They  are  produced 
from  seed  which  at  first  germinates  in  the 
soil  like  other  plants;  but  afttr  the  stem 
has  coiled  closely  round  another  plant,  and 
becomes  attached  to  it  by  means  of  suckers, 
then  all  connection  with  the  soil  ceases,  and 
the  Dodder  continues  its  life  as  a  parasite. 
A  remarkable  tribe  of  parasites,  called  Baf- 
flesias,  has  been  found  in  Sumatra  and  Java. 
They  are  leafless,  and  produce  brown-colored 


iJol' 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLAXTER 


[June 


flowers,  which  are  sometimes  three  feet  in 
diameter.  On  account  of  their  only  pro- 
ducing a  flower  and  root,  they  are  denomi- 
nated Ritzanths,  (ritza,  a  root,  and  anthos,  a 
flower — Gt.j — Bolfov.r's  Botony. 


On  the  Essential  Manuring:  Constituents 
of  Certain  Crops. 

At  the  Aberdeen  Meeting  of  the  British 
Association,  Professor  Yoelcker  detailed  the 
results  of  certain  field  experiments,  having 
special  reference  to  the  turnip  crop,  which 
had  extended  over  a  period  of  four  years. 
Tliese  are  the  most  important  points  cited : 

1.  That  fertilizers  destitute  of  phosphoric 
acid,  do  not  increase  the  yield  of  this  crop. 

2.  That  phosphate  of  lime  applied  to  the 
soil,  in  the  shape  of  soluble  phosphate  (su- 
per-phophate),  increases  this  crop  in  an 
especial  manner,  and  that  the  practical  value 
of  artificial  manures  for  root  crops  chiefly 
dep»ends  on  the  relative  amount  of  available 
phosphates  which  they  contain.  Thus  it 
wa^  shown  that  three  cwt.  of  super-phosphate 
per  acre  produced  as  large  an  increase  of 
turnips  as  fifteen  tons  of  farm-yard  manure. 

3.  That  ammoniacal  salts  and  nitrogenized 
constituents,  yielding  ammonia  on  decompo- 
sition, have  no  beneficial  efiect  upon  turnips, 
but  rather  the  reverse.  4.  That  ammonia- 
cal salts,  applied  alone,  do  not  piromote,  as 
maintained  erroneously,  the  luxuriant  devel- 
opment of  leaves;  but  that  they  produce 
this  eflFect  to  a  certain  extent  when  salts  of 
ammonia  are  applied  to  the  land  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  mineral  constituents  found  in 
the  ashes  of  turnips. 

The  report  likewise  states  that  numerous 
analyses  of  turnips  have  been  made,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  more  nutritious 
and  best  ripened  roots  invariably  contain 
less  nitrogen  than  half-ripened  roots,  or  tur- 
nips of  low  feeding  qualities.  In  the  latter 
the  proportion  of  nitrogen  was  found,  in 
several  instances,  two  to  two  and  a  half 
times  as  high  as  roots  distinguished  for  their 
good  feeding  qualities.  Similar  experiments 
upon  wheat  showed  that  nitrogenized  ammo- 
niacal matters,  which  proved  inefficacious  in 
relation  to  turnips,  increase  the  yield  in  corn 
(grain)  and  straw  very  materially,  and  that 
the  increase  of  wheat  was  largest  when  the 
ammoniacal  con.stituents  were  as.sociated  with 
mineral  matters. — AnnvAil  af  Scientific  Dis- 
covery, 1860. 


Open  rebuke  is  better  than  secret  love. 


Farmers— Take  a  Hint. 

It  is  very  surprising  to  see  how  slow  men 
are  to  take  a  hint.  The  frost  destroys  about 
jhalf  the  bloom  of  the  fruit  trees  ;  everbody 
i  prognosticates  the  loss  of  fruit ;  instead  of 
1  that,  the  half  that  remains  is  larger,  fairer, 
and  higher  flavored  than  usual,  and  the 
'  trees,  instead  of  being  exhausted,  are  ready 
for  another  crop  the  next  year.  "Why  don't 
,the  owner  take  thie  }dnt  and  thin  out  his 
fruit  every  bearing  year  ?  But  no :  the 
next  season  sees  his  orchard  overloaded, 
{fruit  small,  and  not  well  formed;  yet  he 
always  hoaats  of  that  flrst-mentioned  crop 
without  profiting  by  the  lesson  it  teaches. 

We  heard  a  man  saying,  "  the  best  crop 
of    celery  I  eter  saw,  was  raised   by  old 

John ,  on  a  spot  of  ground  where  the 

wash  from  the  barn-yard  ran  into  it  after  a 
:  hard  shower."  Did  he  take  the  hint,  and 
convey  such  liquid  manure  into  trenches  to 
his  garden '?  Not  all;  he  bragged  about 
ithat  wonderful  crop  of  celery,  but  would 
not  take  the  hint. 

j     TVe  knew  a  case  where  a  farmer  subsoiled 

:  a  field,  and  raised  crops  in  consequence, 

'which  were  the  admiration  of  the  neighbor- 

jhood;  and  for  years  the  field  showed   the 

advantage  of  deep  handling.     But  we  could 

I  not  learn  that  a  single  farmer  in  the  neigh- 

j  borhood  took  the  hint.'    The  man,  who  acted 

I  thus  wisely,  sold  his  farm,  and  his  successor 

pursued  the  old  system  of  surface  scratching. 

A  staunch  farmer  complained  to  us  of  his 

;  soil  as  too  loose  and  light ;  we  mentioned 

j  ashes  as  worth  trying.     "  Well,  now,  you 

mention  it,"  said  he,  ''  I  believe  it  will  do 

I  good.  I  bought  a  part  of  my  farm  from  a 
'.  man  who  was  a  wonderful  fellow  to  save  up 
!  ashes,  and  around  his  cabin  it  lay  in  heaps. 

I I  took  away  the  house  and  ordered  the  ashes 
to  be  scattered,  and  to  this  day  I  notice  that 
when  the  plow  runs  along  through  that  spot, 
the  ground  turns  up  moist  and  close-grain- 
ed." 

j  It  is  strange  that  he  never  took  the  hint  ! 
i  There  are  thousands  of   bushels  of  ashes 

lying  not  far  from  his  farm,  about  an  old 
i  soap   and    candle    factory,   with   which   he 

might  have  dressed  his  whole  farm. 
I     A  farmer  gets  a  splendid  crop  of  com  or 
'grain  from  ofF  a  grass  or  clover  lay. 

Does  he  take  the  hint?     Does  he  adopt 

the  system  which  shall  allow  him  every  year 

just  such  a  sward  to  put  his  grain  on  ?    No ; 

he  hates  book  farming  and  scientific  farm- 


1860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


oOo 


ing,  and  this  "  notion  of  rotation,"  and  jogs 
on  the  old  way. 

A  few  years  ago  our  facmers  got  roundly 
in  debt,  and  they  have  worried  and  sweated 
under  it,  till  some  of  them  have  grown 
grayer,  and  added  not  a  few  wrinkles  to 
their  faces.  Do  they  take  the  hint  ?  Arc 
they  not  pitching  into  debt  again  ? — Fruit, 
fhicers,  and  Farming. 


A  Good  "Way  to  Grow  Potatoes. 

I  plant  medium-sized  sets  in  good  dry 
loam,  about  the  first  of  April,  and  do  not 
cover  them  more  than  two  inches.  As  scon 
as  the  tops  come  through  the  ground,  I  com- 
mence moulding,  and  never  allow  the  top? 
their  free  liberty  to  the  light  of  night  till 
the  month  of  May  is  about  to  say  farewell, 
by  which  time  my  crops  are  nearly  or  en- 
tirely moulded  up,  and  no  more  labor  is  re- 
quired from  me  on  their  account,  till  I  find 
it  necessary  to  pick  off  the  blossom.  So 
now  the  green  tops  are  generally  appearing 
over  the  face  of  the  ground,  let  me  recom- 
mend to  hand- scarify  or  fork  the  ground 
lightly  between  the  rows;  and  as  this  is 
proceeded  with,  cover  those  young  tops 
which  show  themselves  completely,  though 
slightly,  over  head  with  mould,  and  by  con- 
stantly attending  to  this  earthing  over  head 
and  ears,  the  mere  chance  of  frost  pinching 
them  is  done  away  with  ;  and  another  con- 
sideration, by  frequently  attending  to  this, 
is  also  of  immense  advantage  to  the  future 
of  the  plants  in  regard  to  the  openness  of 
the  soil  and  the  circulation  of  air  to  their 
roots;  the  earthing  over  process  thus  be- 
comes by  degrees  completed  when  in  the 
generality  of  cases  we  see  it  about  to  be  be- 
gun. 

Besides,  the  early  earthing-over  plan,  as 
I  will  call  it,  offers  another  great  advantage, 
by  securing  a  vigorous  growth  in  the  tubers. 
It  is  easily  to  be  supposed  that  roots  should 
necessarily  be  formed  before  their  leaves,  as 
should  those  of  a  hyacinth,  in  order  to  in- 
sure a  first-rate  flower,  but  when  the  tops  are 
allowed  to  take  an  undue  precocity  they  are 
drawing  too  hard  upon  the  supplies,  and 
nearly  ruining  the  prospects  of  a  crop  in 
order  to  satisfy  an  extravagant  ambition. — 
Now,  by  repeatedly  earthing  them  over  head 
in  their  infancy,  this  growing  parade  is 
checked  and  smothered,  and  the  formation 
of  young  tubers  consequently  accelerated, 
and  by  the  latter  end  of  May,  when  the 
23 


tops  are  allowed  their  full  freedom,  the  tu- 
bers also  begin  to  insist  on  their  share  of 
nourishment  from  the  roots  and  stems  com- 
biued,  which  check  all  undue  extravagance 
in  the  branch,  and  the  result  becomes  a  re- 
ciprocal action  for  both  ?  Is  it  not  so  ?  At 
any  rate,  I  have  never  had  grander  tops 
since  I  adopted  this  method.. 

In  finishing  off  the  earthing  over,  make 
them  to  present  broad  shoulders,  slightly  in- 
clining towards  the  stems  ;  thus  iasuring 
moisture,  and  the  largest  body  of  soil  pos- 
sible for  the  tubers  to  form  and  grow  in 
within  reach  of  atmospherical  warmth  and 
its  influence,  for  by  the  delectable  pointed 
right  angular  mouldings  generally  seen,  this 
is  rendered  impossible.  And  so  we  will 
now  suppose  ourselves  well  on  in  June,  with 
young  potatoes  every  day  for  dinner,  which, 
between  ourselves,  is  by  no  means  an  un- 
pleasant idea. —  Correspondent  America?! 
Agricidturiiit. 


Underdrainage. 

WHY  IT  MAKES  SOIL  MOISTER  IN  PRY  TVEA- 
i  THER. 

I  Every  one  can  understand  why  the  drain- 
lage  of  land  should  leave  it  dryer  after  rains. 
lit  is  because  the  excess  of  water  is  carried 
off  through  the  tiles.  Farmers  experienced 
;in  the  cultivation  of  drained  lands,  who 
have  drained  extensivel}'  and  tried  the  ef- 
jfects,  agree,  nc7n.  con.,  that  it  makes  the 
'soil  moister  in  times  of  drouth.  But  wby^. 
;  this  is  so,  they  cannot  exactly  see.  If  wa^ 
j  can  make  the  following  understood,  they 
j  will  see  that,  by  the  laws  of  nature,  aa  in- 
i  crease  of  moisture  in  dry  times,  is  just  as 
'  much  a  natural  consequence  of  drainage,  as 
'a  diminution  of  water  in  wet  times. 

All  soils  have,  in  different  degrees^a  reten-- 
.  tive  power  over  water;  that  is,  they  hold  a 
\  certain  portion  of  water,  after  all  has  drained 
out  that  will.     Sands  hold  the  least.     A  mo- 
derately compact  loam  holds  twiea  as  much 
as  sand  ;   a  stiff  clay  three  times  as  much, 
and  some  peaty  soils  four  times  as  much. — 
When  you  supply  a  soil  with  water  beyond 
its  capacity  to  hold  it,  the   escrss  flows  off, 
if  unobstructed,    and   leaves  the  soil  with 
I  only  so  much  water  as  it   has  a  capacity  for 
! — in  other  words,  leaves  it  saturated,  and 
no  more.     Thus,   if  you   pack  your  pails, 
each  with  a  hole  in   its  bottom,  one   with 
a  common  loam,  one  with  clay,  and  one  with 
peat,  each  of  these  soils  having  been  tho- 


!54 


THE    SOUTHERN   PLANTER. 


[June 


roughly  dried,  and  then  by  slow  degrees 
pour  a  pailfull  of  water  on  each,  you  will 
find  that  nearly  all  the  water  will  pass 
through  the  sand;  less  through  the  loam, 
still  less  through  the  clay,  and  very  little 
or  none  through  the  peat. 

In  a  heavy  rain  any  soil  is  more  than  sa- 
turated— has  in  it  for  a  time  more  water 
than  it  can  hold — but  the  water  soon  drains 
off,  in  case  no  obstruction  is  presented,  and 
leaves  the  soil  with  its  appropriate  quantity 
of  water;  that  is,  so  much  as  it  can  hold 
and  yet  be  in  a  sound  condition,  such  as  to 
feel  solid  under  your  feet,  and  not  to  poach 
when  the  cattle  walk  over  it. 

But  while  the  soil  remains  full  of  water, 
as  while  a  heavy  rain  is  falling,  the  air  is 
pressed  out,  and  then,  as  fast  as  the  excess 
of  water  settles  away  into  the  earth,  the  air 
follows,  and  occupies  its  place.  The  soil 
examined  in  this  state  would  appear  to  be 
made  up  of  particles,  each  particle  moistened 
with  water,  and  air  circulating  through  the 
intervening  spaces.  The  difference  between 
this  and  a  soil  that  is  water  soaked,  is  that 
the  spaces  in  one  case  are  completely  filled 
with  air,  in  the  other  with  water. 

It  is  a  well   established  fact,  that  air  al- 
ways contains  more  or   less  watery  vapor, 
-varying  from  half  to  one  and  a  half  per  cent, 
and    averaging  about    one  per   cent.     The 
more  air  is  heated,  the  more  water  it  can 
hold  in  solution ;  and  if  it  is  suddenly  cooled, 
it  gives  up  a  portion  of  its  water  to  an}'  oh-  j 
ject  it  conies  in  contact  with.     For  illustra- 
tion, you  set  a  tumbler  of  cold  water  upon 
your  dinner  table,  ou  a  dry  summer's  day. 
You   may  wipe  the  outside  as  dry  as  you  i 
please,  but  soon  it  will   be  wet.     The  chil- 
dren say  the  tumbler  sweats.     But  the  truth  l 
is,  the  heated  air  coming  in  at  the  door  and  < 
windows,  as   it   passes    by  the  tumbler   is 
•cooled;  its  capacity  for  water  is  lessened; 
and  it  deposits  a  portion  of  its  water  on  the ' 
•  .cool  surface  of  the  tumbler. 

Just  so,  when  a  soil  is  open  and  porous, 
with  a  free  circulation  of  air  among  its  par- 
ticles, the  air  coming  into  the  soil  in  a  heat- 
ed state,  is  cooled  by  contact  with  the  par- 
ticles, and  deposits  on  their  surface  a  por- 
tion of  its  watery  vapor,  precisely  as  on  the 
tumbler,  in  the  other  case.  It  will  not  do 
to  say  that  these  particles  of  water,  thus 
■deposited,  are  too  small  to  amount  to  any- 
thing. On  the  millions  of  particles  in  a 
.-single  spadeful  of  soil,  they  amount  to  a 
^reat  deal,  equal,  throughout  the  body  of 


the  soil ;  in  the  course  of  a  day,  to  a  pretty 
good  shower;  and  this  is  the  reason  why 
farmers  who  underdrain,  and  plow  deep,  and 
stir  the  soil  often,  seldom  or  never  suffer 
from  drouth. — Ind.  Farmer. 


From  tlic  CharlottesviUe  Revicv:. 
Tobacco  Fertilizers. 

HoLKHAM,  April  19,  186G. — You  were 
so  polite  as  to  solicit  me  to  say  something 
occasionally  through  your  paper  on  the  sub- 
ject of  agriculture,  and  I  embrace  this  op- 
portunity of  urging  upon  the  growers  of  to- 
bacco the  propriety,  I  might  say  the  abso- 
lute necessity,  of  selecting  good  soil  only, 
and  cultivating  at  least  one-third  less  ;  con- 
centrating their  manures,  home-made  and 
bought,  on  a  smaller  surface,  and  making 
larger,  heavier  and  richer  tobacco,  which  in- 
variably commands  a  remunerative  price, 
because  so  few  planters  have  the  sagacity  to 
adopt  the  only  sure  mode  of  raising  this  de- 
scription of  tobacco. 

At  this  time  the  price  of  ordinary  tobacco 
is  so  low,  that  no  one  can  afford  to  grow  it, 
while  large,  rich,  heavy  tobacco  pays  well. 
Some  planters  will  doubtless  say  their  soil 
is  too  poor  to  produce  tobacco  of  this  de- 
scription, not  so,  however,  except  in  but 
few  instances.  The  writer  of  this  has  gen- 
erally as  good  tobacco  as  his  neighbors, 
whose  lands  are  held  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  dollars  per  acre  higher — overcoming 
the  great  inferiority  of  soil  which  this  fact 
will  indicate,  by  a  greater  concentration  of 
manures  and  given  to  its  cultivation  and 
general  management,  that  attention,  which 
could  not  be  given  to  a  Lrgeand  fallcrop. 

It  may  be  said  that  if  every  one  adopts 
this  plan,  the  best  tobacco  will  likewise 
come  down  to  a  ruinously  low  price.  I 
grant  it;  but  this  can  never  be  the  case,  as 
the  farmers  (generally  with  but  few  excep- 
tions) seem  to  prefer  groping  in  Egyptian 
darkness,  and  rarely  abandon  the  error  of 
their  ways. .  Having  i-eceivod  a  great  nuai- 
bcr  of  inquiries  by  letter  and  otherwise,  as 
to  the  fertilizers  I  shall  use  on  my  soil  for 
tobacco,  to  save  much  trouble  I  will  here 
state,  that  I  shall  apply  one  half-barrel  io 
the  acre,  of  plaster,  containing  10  per  cent, 
potash,  which  I  procure  of  Samuel  Sands, 
Esq,,  of  Baltimore,  editor  of  the  Rural  Re- 
gister; and  in  addition  to  this,  from  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  of  a  preparation  made  by  R.  H.  Sta- 


1S60.] 


THE    SOUTHEKX    PLAXTEK, 


ooo 


Cooking  by  the  Sun's  Rays. 


BY   PROFESSOR   JOSEPH   HENRY. 

"Were  it  not  for  the  aerial  envelope  which 


bier,  Esq.,  for  Messrs.  Fowle  &  Co.,  Alex-I 
andriu,  containing  two-thirds  Peruvian  Gu-. 
ano,  ond  one-third  Soluble  Phosphate,  made, 
by  treating  Sombrero  Guano,  with  sulphric! 

acid.  I  used  this  last,  on  my  wheat  last  \  surrounds  our  earth,  all  parts  of  its  sur- 
Fall,  as  did  several  of  my  neighbors,  and '.  face  would  probably  become  as  cold  at 
from  present  appearances,  I  consider  it  an  night,  by  radiation  into  space,  as  the  polar 
exceedingly  valuable  fertilizer.  All  of  the  |  regions  are  during  six  months'  absence  of 
simple  phosphates,  unless  treated  with  sul-' the  sun.  The  mode  in  which  the  atmos- 
phuric  acid,  are  too  insoluble,  I  fear,  to  pro-,  phere  retains  the  heat  and  increases  the  tem- 
duce  any  perceptible  eflfect  on  the  irame-;  perature  of  the  earth's  surface  may  be  illus- 
diate  crop,  and  especially  those  grown  en- '  trated  by  an  experiment  originally  made  by 
tirely  during  the  Summer  and  Fall.  jSuassure.     This   physicist  lined   a  cubical 

Experiments  have  been  repeatedly  made ',  wooden  box  with  blackened  cork,  and,  after 
in  England,  (where  there  is  so  much  more  'placing  within  it  a  thermometer,  closely  cov- 
humidity  than  here,)  establishing  the  fact  ered  i.t  with  a  top  of  two  panes  of  glass, 
that  one  bushel  of  soluble  phosphate  wilP  separated  from  each  other  by  a  thin  stratum 
produce  as  great  an  effect  on  the  crop  as  five  of  air.  When  this  box  was  exposed  to  the 
in  the  crude  insoluble  state.  '  perpendicular  rays  of  the  sun,  the  thermome- 

3Iany  short-sighted  farmers  will  doubt- 1  ter  indicated  a  temperature  within  the  box 
less  be  deterred  from  using  the  above  fer-' above  that  of  boiling  water.  The  same  ex- 
tilizer  to  the  extent  which  I  have  recom- 1  periment  was  repeated  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
mended;  but  who  should  hesitate  one  mo-  Hope,  by  Sir  John  Herschel,  with  a  similar 
ment,  when  an  expenditure  of  from  eight  result,  which  was  rendered,  however,  more 
to  ten  dollars  per  acre,  will  ensure  a  crop,  impressive  by  employing  the  heat  thus  ac- 
in  ordinary  seasons,  worth  from  Sr2.5  to  cumulated  in  cooking  the  viands  of  a  fes- 
§150  per  acre,  and  afterwards  a  good  crop  tive  dinner.  The  explanation  of  the  result 
of  wheat  and  stand  of  grass.  i  thus  produced  is  not  difficult,   when  we  un- 

I  shalU  experiment,  also,  with  some  Elide  derstand  that  a  body  heated  to  different  de- 
or  California  Guano,  applying  at  the  sameigrees  of  intensity  gives  off  rays  of  different 
time  the  preparation  of  Plaster  and  Potash,  i  quality.  Thus,  if  an  iron  ball  be  suspended 
which  I  consider  highly  important,  what-  in  free  space,  and  heated  to  the  temperature 
ever  else  may  be  preferred.  of  boiling  water,  it  emits  rays  of  dark  heat, 

In  writing  the  above,  no  one,  I  trust,  of  little  penetrating  power,  which  are  en- 
will  be  induced  to  suspect  even  that  I  wish  \  tirely  intercepted  by  glass.     As  the  body  is 


to  disparage  other  preparations,  of  which 
there  are  now  such  a  number,  nearly  all  of 
which  seem  to  have  produced  good  effects 
on  some  soils,  and  with  some  persons.     As 


heated  to  a  higher  degree,  the  penetrating 
power  of  the  rays  increase,  and  finally,  when 
the  temperature  of  the  ball  reaches  that 
of  a  glowing  white  heat,  it  emits  ravs  which 


an  humble  faraer,  in  my  plain   way  I  have  readily  penetrate  glass  and  other  transparent 
endeavored   to  respond  to  those   who   have  I  substances.     The  heat  which  comes  from  the 


been  so  kind  as   to  deem   my   opinion   and 
practice  of  some  value. 

Such  as  they  are,  very  hurriedly  written, 
I  send  them  for  publication,  trusting  that 
those,  at  least,  who  have  induced  me  to  pre- 
pare them,  will  properly  appreciate  my  mo- 
tives. 

If  acceptable  to  your  readers,  I  may  per- 
haps say  more  to  them,  occasionally,  on  sub- 
jects interesting  to  Agriculture. 
In  haste  most  truly  yours, 

JOHN  R.  WOODS. 


Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that 
they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
your  Father  which  is  in  Heaven. 


un,  consists  principally  of  rays  of  hi^h  in- 
tensity and  great  penetrating  power.  They 
readily  pass  through  glass,  are  absorbed  by  the 
blackened  surface  of  the  cork,  and  as  this  sub- 
stance is  a  bad  conductor  of  heat  its  tepera- 
ture  is  soon  elevated,  and  it  in  turn  radiates 
heat,  but  the  rays  which  it  gives  off  are  of 
a  different  character  from  those  which  it  re- 
ceives. They  are  voluminous,  and  have  lit- 
tle penetrating  power;  they  cannot  pass 
through  the  glass,  and  arc  retained  within 
the  box,  and  thus  give  rise  to  the  accumula- 
tion of  the  heat.  The  limit  of  the  increase 
of  temperature  will  be  attained  when  the 
radiation  from  the  cork  is  of  such  an  inten- 
sity that  it  can  pass  through  the  glass,  and 


356 


THE  SOUTHEKN  PLANTER 


[June 


the  cooliDg  from  this  source  becomes  just 
equal  to  the  heating  from  the  sun.  The 
atmosphere  which  surrounds  the  earth  pro- 
duces a  similar  eflFect.  It  transmits  the 
rays  from  the  sun  and  heats  the  earth  be- 
neath, which  in  its  turn  emits  rays  that  do 
not  readily  penetrate  the  air,  but  give  rise 
to  an  accumulation  of  heat  at  the  surface. 
The  resistance  of  the  transmission  of  heat 
of  low  intensity  depends  upon  the  quantity 
of  vapor  contained  in  the  atmosphere,  and 
perhaps  also  on  the  density  of  the  air.  The 
radit>tion  of  the  earth,  therefore,  differs  very 
much  on  different  nights  and  in  different 
localities.  In  very  dry  places,  as  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  African  deserts  and  our  own 
western  plains,  the  heat  of  the  day  is  ex- 
cessive, and  the  night  commensurably  cool. 
Colonel  Emory  states,  in  his  Report  of  the 
Mexican  Boundary  Survey,  that,  in  some 
cases,  on  the  arid  plains,  there  was  a  differ- 
ence of  60"  between  the  temperature  of 
the  day  and  that  of  the  night.  Indeed,  the 
air  is  so  permeable  to  heat,  even  of  low  in- 
tensities, in  this  region,  that  a  very  remarka- 
ble difference  was  observed  on  some  occa- 
sions when  the  camp  ground  was  chosen  in  a 
gorge  between  two  steep  hills.  The  inter- 
radiation  between. the  hills  prevented  in  a 
measure  the  usual  diminution  of  tempera- 
ture, and  the  thermometer  in  such  a  situa- 
tion stood  several  degrees  higher  than  on 
the  open  plain. — Scientific  American. 


The  Tendency  of  Inventions  to  Mitigate 
Human  Toil. 

The  application  of  machinery  is  the  ex- 
tension of  man's  mechanical  powers.  With 
the  levers  and  pullics  of  his  own  mechani- 
cal frame,  he  can  raise  a  given  weight,  or 
transport  a  burden  through  a  given  space. 
But  how  limited  the  extent  of  his  unaided 
efforts  ?  How  soon  must  all  his  native  en- 
ergies be  exhausted  ?  But  seizing  nature's 
elements,  and  applying  nature's  mechanical 
laws,  he  extends  his  powers  to  inanimate  ob- 
jects, so  that  instead  of  his  mind  directing 
the  machinery  of  his  own  hands,  or  his  own 
mechanical  system  only,  it  becomes  the  di- 
recting agency  of  a  vast  and  complicated 
machinery,  effecting  results  beyond  the  ca- 
pability of  thousands  of  his  species.  With- 
out artificial  machinery,  the  efforts  of  the 
buman  mind  must  be  limited  by  the  efforts 
of  the  human  hands;  but  with  the  full  de- 
velopment  of    mechanical   inventions,    the 


mind  will  be  enabled  to  establish  a  most 
comprehensive  supremacy  over  the  world  of 
matter.  How  feeble  the  power  of  the  hu- 
man hand,  compared  with  the  stroke  of  the 
steam-engine,  and  yet  these  hands  can  direct 
all  its  movements.  How  diminutive  is  the 
helmsman  when  contrasted  with  the  mighty 
ship,  which  he  directs  in  her  course  through 
the  waste  of  waters ;  and  yet  it  is  but  the 
extension  of  his  moral  and  physical  power 
over  the  varied  parts  and  movements  of  this 
vast  machine.  How  apparently  insignificant 
are  the  operations  in  a  spinning  mill,  com- 
pared with  the  magnitude  of  the  machinery 
by  which  they  are  surrounded  ;  and  yet  all 
these  wheels,  and  shafts,  and  spindles,  are 
but  an  extension  of  their  own  mechanical 
system,  presided  over,  and  directed  by  men- 
tal being.  The  desired  results  are  increased 
ten  thousand-fold,  and  yet,  the  amount  of 
manual  and  mental  exhaustion  is  proportion- 
ally diminished.  It  is  thus,  that  by  me- 
chanical inventions,  man  establishes  his  su- 
premacy over  elements  of  nature,  in  order 
to  employ  them  in  his  service,  and  render 
them  subservient  to  his  interests. 

How  diffei'ent  is  the  amount  of  physical 
force  required  in  a  modern  quarry,  with 
powder  for  rending  the  hardest  rocks,  with 
levers  and  cranes  for  lifting  the  huge  masses 
— with  railway  tracks  to  remove  them  to  a 
distance,  and  machinery  to  prepare  and  place 
on  the  building — compared  with  ancient 
times,  when  hundreds  of  slaves  were  yoked 
to  a  l)lock  of  stone,  to  remove  it  from  the 
quarry  to  the  destined  building  !  gimilar 
changes  have  occurred  in  every  other  de- 
partment of  operative  production.  The 
plow  rapidly  effects  what  a  whole  community 
cculd  not  accomplish  with  the  spade.  The 
sickle,  the  scythe,  and  the  modern  reaper 
cut  down  the  yellow  grain  with  a  velocity 
which  the  hands  of  the  whole  population, 
unfurnished  with  an  implement,  could  never 
have  attained.  Thus  labor  is  set  free  from 
the  agricultural  world,  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  commercial,  without  a  diminution  of 
the  food  raised,  or  the  capability  of  preserv- 
ing it.  Nay,  so  divinely  regulated  have 
been  the  agricultural  and  manufiicturing 
implements,  that  modern  draining,  sub-soil 
plowing,  reaping,  threshing,  grinding  and 
baking  machinery,  stand  contemporary  with 
the  steamship,  the  spinning  mill,  the  power 
loom  and  the  railway.  And  thus,  there  is 
division  of  labor  upon  an  extensive  scale, 
each  department  is  found  keeping  pace  with 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHEKN    PLANTER, 


357 


every  other.  Consequently,  the  increase  of 
the  human  family,  or  their  advancement  in 
one  or  other  department  of  civilized  comfort 
never  outstrips  the  amount  of  requisite  pro- 
vision yielded  by  the  soil.  Nor  even  where 
that  provision  is  increased  a  thousand-fold, 
does  the  burden  of  toil  press  heavier  upon 
the  peasant  or  the  agriculturist.  Progres- 
sive discovery  and  invention  are  constantly 
balancing  between  the  amount  of  produce 
required,  and  the  amount  of  toil ;  so  that 
the  latter  is  gradually  diminishing  in  each 
department,  while  the  former  is  steadily  in- 
creasing throughout  the  whole. 

Thus,  it  is  manifest,  that  in  every  depart- 
ment of  labor,  machinery  is  taking  the  place 
and  performing  the  office  of  human  hands. 
The  products  of  the  mineral,  vegetable,  and 
animal  kingdoms  are  assuming  the  place,  in 
the  region  of  toil  and  accomplishing  the 
purpose  of  men  under  a  former  system.  In 
the  spinning  mill,  the  power-loom,  and  the 
railway,  the  steam-engine  is  the  substitute 
for  animal  strength.  A  pint  of  water  and 
a  pound  of  coal  originate  a  power  and  sus- 
tain a  motion  which  would  soon  wear  out 
the  human  system  of  the  strongest  operative. 
The  metal  fingers  moved  with  exhaustless 
energy  and  devouring  speed,  set  at  defiance 
all  attempts  at  manual  competition.  A  steam 
engine  of  one  hundred  horse  power  has  been 
computed  at  the  strength  of  eight  hundred 
and  eighty  men.*  This  is  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce and  sustain  the  motion  of  fifty  thous- 
and spindles  each  producing  a  separate 
thread  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter  in  length  in 
twelve  hours.  Thus  every  twelve  hours  of 
fifty  thousand  spindles  will  produce  sixty- 
two  thousand  five  hundred  miles  of  thread, 
a  length  sufficient  to  go  two-and-a-half  times 
round  the  globe.  In  ordinary  practice  these 
fifty  thousand  spindles  require  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  persons  to  superintend  their 
operations ;  but,  by  the  aid  of  this  machi- 
nery, propelled  by  the  power  of  steam,  they 
can  convert  as  much  raw  cotton  into  yarn  as 
Would  have  required  two  hundred  thousand 
persons  by  the  former  method  of  spinning. 
Thus,  by  the  aid  of  inventions,  which  is 
simply  the  employment  of  so  much  water, 
and  coal,  and  iron,  the  labor  of  one  indi- 
vidual is  made  equal  to  the  combined  eflForts 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty-six.  This  holds 
true  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  every  other 
department  of  machinery  where  steam  is  era- 

*  Instincts  of  Industry. 


ployed ;  the  rapidity  of  production  is  ac- 
complished by  the  decrease  of  human  toil- 
How  remarkably  is  this  illustrated  by  the 
railway,  which  is,  indeed,  the  great  conser- 
vator of  human  strength  !  Where  the 
same  distance  is  traversed  by  walking,  or 
even  by  the  best  modes  of  locomotion  pre- 
viously introduced,  how  soon  would  the  hu- 
man system  wear  down  under  the  operation  ? 
But  the  entire  sum  of  physical  strength 
would  be  utterly  inadequate  to  meet  modern 
demands ;  hence,  all  that  has  been  obtained 
beyond  the  powers  of  walking,  must  be  put 
to  the  account  of  human  inventions.  Nor 
is  the  amount  alone  affected;  this  entire  in- 
crease of  locomotive  power  has  been  obtain- 
ed while  there  has  been  a  corresponding  de- 
crease of  bodily  fatigue. 

The  reduction  of  human  labor  might  be 
illustrated  by  the  history  of  each  individual 
mechanic,  as  well  as  by  the  productive 
power  of  all  combined.  The  human  mind 
is  gradually  planning  and  constructing  some 
implement  of  industry  which  may  release 
the  human  hands.  Thus  the  mind  is  gain- 
ing supremacy  over  matter — the  mental  is 
directing  and  controlling  the  material.  The 
higher  and  nobler  faculties  of  man  are  ex- 
panding, while  the  physical  powers  are  re- 
lieved and  his  toil  diminished.  But  this 
process  will  not  be  completed  by  merely 
transferring  the  burden  of  toil  from  the 
physical  to  the  mental.  The  ultimate  ten- 
dency is  to  relieve  the  whole  man  from  toil 
as  a  burden,  and  to  make  necessary  labor  a 
pleasant  exercise.  In  the  rapid  progress  of 
the  present  age  may  be  seen  signs  of  ap- 
proaching deliverance  from  the  evils  inci- 
dent to  manual  labor.  Already  are  the  hea- 
vier kinds  of  work  transferred  to  untiring 
machinery,  so  that  by  mere  direction,  one 
man  can  accompilsh  what  previously  hun- 
dreds could  not  have  effected. 

OBJECTION. 

"  Why  has  not  the  introduction  of  mod- 
ern inventions  already  produced  the  results 
specified  ?"  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  popula- 
tion of  our  cities  is  as  busily  occupied  as  be 
fore  the  introduction  of  spinning  mills  and 
railways  ?"  It  is  fully  admitted  that  the 
fruits  of  modern  inventions  are  but  partially 
developed,  and  the  community  as  a  whole, 
is  more  busily  occupied  than  even  under  the 
former  system.  But  there  are  both  moral 
and  social  reasons  sufficient  to  account  for 
the  fact.     The  moral  state  of  the  masses  is 


358 


THE  SOUTHEKN  PLANTER. 


[June 


not  yet  such  as  to  admit  of  that  full  measure 
of  relaxation  whicli  machinery  is  calculated 
to  afford,  while  there  are  social  revolutions 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  seeming  paradox, 
thatwhilemachinery^isdoingthe  work"of  man, 
humanity  itself  should  be  more  occupied. 
It  must  be  observed  that  in  connection  with 
this  rapidl}-  increasing  power  of  production 
at  home,  new  nations  have  been  springing 
up  abroad,  at  once  absorbing  the  operative 
classes  and  increasing  the  demand,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  powers  of  production ; 
while  national  wealth  and  comfort  have  been 
increased  to  all  Besides,  the  covetous  spirit 
of  man  may  and  will  pervert  the  choicest 
blessings.  The  race  for  riches  has  kept 
pace  with  the  newly  developed  means  of  ac- 
quisition, and  consequently,  that  release  from 
grinding  toil,  which  ought  legitimately  to  be 
awarded  to  the  operative,  has  been  either 
wasted  in  fruitless  competition  or  turned  into 
channels  of  personal  aggrandisement.  But 
though,  in  the  present  pi'ogressive  state  of 
transition,  in  the  social  history  of  the  world, 
and  in  the  earlier  efforts  of  mechanical  in- 
vention, the  demand  may  seem  to  keep 
ahead  of  the  increasing  speed  of  produc- 
tion ;  and  though  this  at  first  sight  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  no  release  from  toil 
can  be  expected  by  the  introduction  of  me- 
chanical inventions,  yet,  viewing  the  subject 
as  a  whole,  it  is  evident,  that  when  machi- 
nery has  attained  its  climax,  and  when  the 
various  departments  have  been  balanced  and 
adjusted,  and  when  the  entire  system  of 
manufacture  and  commerce  shall  be  directed 
and  regulated  by  sound  moral  principles,  the 
necessary  tendency  of  machinery  must  be  to 
emancipate  the  operative  classes,  and  thus  to 
equalize  the  privileges  of  those  who  employ, 
and  those  who  labor.  Even  under  all  the 
disadvantages  resulting  from  a  transition 
state,  and  in  spite  of  the  covetousness  of  the 
age,  the  hours  of  toil  are  already  abridged, 
and  the  physical  system  so  far  relieved  as  to 
encourage  mental  culture.  The  ultimate 
result  of  this  must  be  the  revival  of  social 
and  domestic  affections,  which  are  ready  to 
expire  under  the  exhaustion  of  phj'sical 
slavery.  Enlightened  legislation  has  judi- 
ciousl}'  fixed  the  age  as  well  as  the  time,  be- 
neath and  beyond  which  grasping  employers 
shall  not  be  permitted  to  protract  the  hours 
of  toil  in  public  factories.  This  legal 
movement  has  been  succeeded  hy  another, 
still  more  praiseworthy,  as  it  presents  a  no- 
bler aspect  of  mutual  interest  between  em- 


ployees and  employed,  in  which  merchants 
and  shopmen  have  voluntarily  agreed  to 
abridge  the  hours  of  daily  attendance,  be- 
sides, in  many  notable  cases,  adding  the  Sat- 
urday half-holiday  as  preparatory-  to  the  Sab- 
bath. Let  the  covetous  learn  that  "a  man's 
life  consisteth  not  in  the  things  that  he  pos- 
sesseth ;"  and  let  the  avaricious  be  taught 
the  benevolence  of  the  gospel ;  then  shall 
the  Saviour's  definition  of  a  day  be  taken 
as  a  standard,  and  all  classes  shall  enjoy 
the  domestic  bliss  of  the  evening.  "  xVre 
there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day  ?"  was  the 
interrogation  of  Him  who  set  the  sun  in  the 
firmament.  Will  any  man  be  prepared  to 
say,  that  this  is  not  a  sufficient  time  to  de- 
vote to  the  pursuits  and  objects  of  this  pres- 
ent world  ?  The  aid  of  machinery  renders 
the  abridgment  of  the  period  of  labor  prac- 
ticable. It  is  avarice  alone  that  gives  rise 
to  a  spurious  competition,  and  encroaches 
upon  the  privileges  of  domestic  life.  It  is 
evident  that  even  now  the  long-hour  system, 
opposed  as  it  is  to  the  claims  if  nature  and 
grace,  is  doomed.  That  God  who  made  the 
sun  to  rule  the  day,  also  framed  the  human 
constitution  in  accordance  with  this  physical 
arrangement,  and  that  which  the  introduc- 
ticm  of  sin  has  deranged  in  the  past  history 
of  man,  the  grace  of  the  gospel  will  rectify 
in  the  coming  Millennium.       *     *     * 

THE    TENDENCY    OF    INVENTIONS    TO   ALLE- 
VIATE HUMAN  MISERY. 

It  has  been  previously  established  that  the 
whole  tendency  of  machinery,  legitimately 
applied,  is  to  reduce  the  quantity,  and  im- 
prove the  character  of  manual  labor.  The 
transferrence  of  the  heavier  portions  of  hu- 
man toil  to  mechanical  inventions,  is  the  di- 
rect method  of  cutting  off  a  vast  amount  of 
physical  suffering.  Indeed,  under  proper 
regulation,  machinery  it  is  possible  to  remove 
all  that  constitutes  actual  suffering  in  legiti- 
mate labor.  But  it  is  very  evident  that  the 
mitigation  of  mental  and  physrcal  exhaustion 
must  be  accompanied  by  a  reduction  of  dis- 
ease. The  substitution  of  activity  in  super- 
intending machinery  for  the  patient  endur- 
ance of  grinding  toil,  must  necessarily  tend 
to  the  health  of  the  mental  and  physical 
system. 

3Iechanical  inventions  also  tend  to  pro- 
mote health,  and  to  alleviate  human  misery, 
by  removing  these  ph^'sical  causes  which 
produce  disease,  especially  in  towns  and 
cities.     The  improvements  of  modern  times 


1S60.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


3.39 


^n  architecture,  in  tlie  formation  of  streets. 
in  the  introduction  of  water,  the  subterra- 
nean sewerage,  the  burning  of  smoke,  the 
disinfection  of  putrid  substances,  the  light- 
ing, ventilation  and  construction  of  public 
buildings  and  private  habitations,  must  all 
tend  to  improve  health,  prevent  disease,  and 
mitigate  suffering.  The  progress  of  medi- 
cal science,  aided  by  chemical  investigations, 
gives  even  increasing  success  to  the  pharma- 
eopfeia  of  Nature,  while,  already,  the  im- 
provement of  surgical  instruments,  in  con- 
junction with  the  use  of  chloroform,  and 
other  narcotic  agents,  has  mitigated  the  ex- 
cruciating pain  formerly  endured  under  sur- 
gical operations.  Besides,  the  discovery  of 
this  agent,  has  marked  a  new  epoch  in  the 
healing  arts,  by  giving  a  wider  range  to  hu- 
man ingenuity,  by  sparing  the  feelings  of 
the  operator,  as  well  as  the  pangs  of  the 
subject.  Is  it  not  a  remarkable  fact  that 
this  secret  should  be  disclosed  in  Britain  at 
the  very  time  when  it  may  be  most  extensive- 
ly employed  in  dressing  the  wounds,  and  am- 
putating the  shattered  limbs  of  her  soldiers, 
upon  a  distant  field  of  battle  ?  Are  these 
not  signs  of  coming  deliverance  from  a  vast 
amount  of  physical  evil?  What  the  achiev- 
ments  of  the  future  may  be,  none  can  pre- 
dict, but  enough  has.  already  been  realized 
to  warrant  the  hope  that  agents  such  as 
these  may  be  rendered  available  in  mitigat- 
ing all  those  forms  of  suffering  which  are  in- 
cident to  the  nature  of  man  in  a  fallen  state. 
The  mind  must  be  skeptical  indeed,  that  re- 
cognizes not  the  hand  of  God  in  the  discov- 
eries and  improvements  of  medical  science,  as 
readily  as  that  hand  is  seen  in  the  forms  of 
disease.  Do  we  not,  even  now,  behold  in 
the  triumphs  of  the  present  age  the  harbin- 
gers of  that  blessed  future,  which  the  poet 
anticipated  under  the  sanction  of  inspiration, 
and  of  which  he  says  : — 

'■  Disease  "was  none;  the  voice  of  war  forgot; 
The  sword,  a  sliare,  a  pruning  hook,  the  spear, 
^len  grew  and  multiplied  upon  the  earth, 
And  filled  the  city  and  the  waste,  and  Death 
S'ood  waiting  for  the  lapsu  of  tardy  age 
That  mocked  him   long." — Pollock. 

Blakelet/'s  Theology  of  Inventions. 


Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for, 
righteousness'  sake,  for  theirs  is  the  Kin 
dom  of  Heaven. 

1 

Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  j 
shall  see  God. 


•  Agticultural  Letter. 

We  lay  before  our  readers  the  following  Re- 
ports to  "The  Nottoway  Club,"'  which  have  been 
kindly  furnished  us  for  publication  in  the  Plan- 
ter, by  the  permission  of  its  members. 

We  are  under  obligations  to  them  for  many 
similar  favors,  hitherto  bestowed:  and  we  hope 
that  we  shall  be  their  debtor  for  a  great  many 
more,  in  future. 

Would  that  Virginia  could  justly  boast  of  many 
such  "Clubs"'  in  her  borders;  they  would  af- 
ford strong  protection  to  her  aa:ricultural  inter- 
ests, and  prove  a  mighty  weapon  with  which  to 
combat,  and  beat  down  ignorance,  prejudice  and 
sloth. 

For  Sou.  Planter,  from  the  Nottoway  Club. 

BricUand,  Va.,  May  9th,  1860. 
To  Richard  Irbt,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir, — I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  in- 
viting me  to  a  meeting  of  the  Nottoway 
Agricultural  Club,  on  to-morrow,  at  the  Not- 
toway Foundry,  to  celebrate  its  tenth  anni- 
versai-y. 

It  would  be  very  agreeable  to  me  to  ac- 
cept your  kind  invitation,  if  it  did  not  inter- 
fere with  prior  engagements. 

Agricultural  reunions  have  gotten  to  be 
an  institution  at  the  South,  and  their  benefi- 
cial influence  is  obvious  throughout  the 
whole  planting  regions.  They  extend  social 
relations,  engender  rivalry  and  imitation — 
diffuse  information  more  impressive  and 
practical  when  aided  by  our  valuable  peri- 
odicals, and  the  Nottoway  Club  is  doing  its 
work  like  men  and  patriots. 

With  a  diversified  soil  of  "  Chinquepin" 
ridges,  where  every  ounce  of  manure  gives 
you  the  American  weed,  with  valleys  of 
Chocolate  loam  and  numerous  streams  bor- 
dered with  flat,  rich  bottoms,  it  may  well  be 
questioned  whether  it  would  be  prudent  to 
exchange  for  the  blue  limestone  lands  of 
our  mountain  valleys,  or  the  deep,  wide  al- 
luvial soils  of  the  ••  great  Father  of  Waters." 
Your  lots  with  wide  hanging  tobacco,  and 
gracefully  waiving  wheat  fields,  and  lawns 
well  sodded  with  grass  and  clover,  attract 
the  attention  and  favorable  mention  of  the 
traveller,  and  attest  the  benign  influence  of 
your  society.  Your  county  is  entitled  to  the 
banner  in  the  competition  for  the  greatest 
quantity  of  tobacco  to  the  hand,  and  by  the 
'•  accumulation  and  application  of  manures." 
The  cultivators  of  your  chinquepin  ridges, 
have  long  been  buying  out  the  river  bottoms 
and  mountain  valleys. 


360 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER, 


[June 


My  earliest  lessons  in  planting  were  giveft 
to  nie  by  the  Fitzgeralds  and  Irbys — The 
first  said,  "  to  make  good  crops,  or  succeed 
in  planting,  give  your  fields  a  daily  gaze" — 
accompanying  the  iniunction,  by  applying  a 
finger  to  the  under  lid  of  each  eye,  exposing 
a  pair  of  as  large,  intelligent  black  eyes  as 
any  man  ever  had.  Who  could  forget  such 
natural  teaching  ? 

The  second,  to  my  question,  "  Do  tell  me 
the  secret  of  your  success  in  the  manage- 
ment of  Overseers  ?"  Replied,  ''  do  not  ex- 
cite their  prejudices;  teach  them  their  char- 
acter is  their  capital,  and  that  your  interest 
and  theirs  is  identical.  Why  sir,  my  over- 
seer has  been  living  with  me  five  years  and 
has  never  owned  a  saddle;  he  thinks  the 
grass  would  get  an  advantage  of  him  if  he 
went  to  the  Courthouse."  In  those  days. 
Overseers  boasted  of  their  right  to  vi.sit 
monthly  courts,  and  that  practice  sometimes 
gained  them  a  blood  shotten  eye,  and  always 
grassy  crops  for  their  employer. 

This  gentleman  was  justly  regarded  as  a 
worthy-model  of  the  Virginia  planter,  and 
by  the  zealous  exercise  of  his  sound,  good 
sense,  in  every  department,  and  by  the  "  ac- 
cumulation and  application  of  manures,"  he 
pi'oduced  a  high  degree  of  improvement, 
and  demonstrated  that  the  system  may  be 
carried  too  far  and  imperil  health.  Supera- 
bundance of  vegetable  matter,  breeds  ani- 
malcules, fungi  and  nialariou?  fevers.  His 
experiment  proved  there  should  be  limits  to 
the  vegetable  application  to  soils;  and,  doubt- 
less, he  was  a  martyr  to  the  successful  and 
profitable  application  of  his  farming  theo- 
ries. 

The  mission  of  your  society  is  based  on 
just  and  benevolent  principles,  to  improve 
the  condition  of  a  copartnership  of  labor ; 
the  stock  contributed  on  the  part  of  the 
white  man  is  mind,  and  that  of  the  black 
man,  muscle. 

The  fulness  of  the  corn-crib  and  .smoke- 
house, is  common  property,  and  should  cre- 
vasse or  drought  come,  the  black  man  knows 
he  will  be  amply  fed,  clothed  and-cared  for, 
unless  '•'  Masser"  has  lost  his  credit.  Then 
he  is  ready  and  willing  to  form  a  new  co- 
partnership. 

The  white  partner  is  .sovereign  to  the  ex- 
tent of  his  domain,  and  is  responsible  for  his 
administration  to  good  neighbourship  and 
the  laws  of  society;  his  interest,  feelings  and 
humanity  alike,  inducing  him  to  give  ample 
protection  to  his  negroes,  abundant,  whole- ^ 


some  food,  good  clothing,  with  the  best  nur- 
sing and  medical  skill  when  sick.  The  black 
man  is  test  ofi',  when  restricted  to  his  own 
log  cabin  literature ; — the  moral  teachings 
of  example;  his  religious  exercises; — the 
excitement  of  the  dance.  He  is  naturally 
religious,  and  his  implicit  faith  makes  him 
the  better  Christian  and  slave.  The  white 
man  has  more  individuality  and  care;  the 
black  man  more  faith  and  contentment. 

It  is  a  system  that  is  progressive  ;  it  must 
and  will  last  forever.  Tobacco  and  cotton 
have  become  to  be  necessaries,  and  the  world 
will  have  them.  Tobacco  has  lived  and  got- 
ten into  general  use,  in  despite  of  govern- 
mental prohibitions  and  taxations,  and  all 
the  fulminations  of  fanatical  clergymen  and 
doctors  of  medicine.  The  wants  of  man  re- 
quire cotton  and  will  have  it.  The  white 
man  never  has  made  cotton,  nor  will  he  ever 
do  it.  As  the  tropics  are  as  a  wall  of  fire 
to  the  whale,  so  is  the  climate  of  the  cotton 
growing  belt  to  the  laboring  white  man. 

African  labor  must  and  will  continue  to 
furni.sh  tobacco,  cotton,  sugar  and  cofi"ee. — 
utilitarian  progress  will  crush  out  abolition- 
ism. It  is  the  foundation  of  a  new  sociolo- 
gy, and  will  preserve  the  individuality  of 
man,  our  federative  system  and  self-govern- 
ment. 

Agriculture  is  the  great  desideratum  of 
Americans,  Profes.sors,  Lawyers,  Doctors, 
Merchants  and  the  Sailor  regard  their  voca- 
tions as  the  pedestal,  Pisgah's  Top,  the 
attainment  of  which  is  to  enable  them 
to  retire  to  the  comforts  and  mellow  in- 
fluence of  a  good  plantation — Washington, 
Jefferson  and  a  host  of  great  men,  hastened 
from  the  highest  pinnacle  of  fame,  to  wear 
away  their  three  score  years  and  ten  on  their 
own  farms.  If  the  ''  old  man  eloquent"  had 
have  owned  a  plantation  in  Nottoway,  well 
stocked  with  African  laborers,  as  Nottoway 
plantations  generally  are,  he  would  not  have 
died  "  in  harness." 

With  thanks  to  yourself  and  the  commit- 
tee, and  the  hope  that  your  society  may  con- 
tinue to  achieve  good  results, 
I  am,  very  truly, 

Sterling  Neblett. 


For  So.  Planter,  from  the  Aottoicay  Club. 

Experiments  with   Peruvian   and  Som- 
brero Guanos. 

In  the  spring  of  1859,  I  determined  to 
make  a  comparison  of  the  results  of  the  ap- 
plication of  Peruvian  and  Sombrero  Guano, 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERX    PLANTER, 


361 


and  of  the  two  in  combination  ;  to  that  end 
my  tobacco  lot  was  as  nearly  equally  manur- 
ed, with  home  made  manures  broadcast,  as 
I  could  accomplish  it,  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
lot  was  then  dressed  with  a  mixture  of  equal 
quantities  of  Peruvian  and  Sombrero  Guano, 
at  the  rate  of  260  pounds  to  the  acre  in 
the  drill :  through  the  middle  of  the  lot,  I 
then  drilled  ten  rows  with  260  pound  per 
acre  of  Peruvian  Guano  unmixed,  and  im- 
mediately along  side,  ten  rows  with  260 
pounds  per  acre  of  Sombrero  Guano.  In 
the  fall,  say  1st  of  October,  I  cut  one  hun- 
dred plants  of  tobacco  from  each  experi- 
ment, taking  the  plants  as  they  stood  with- 
out selection,  the}'  were  placed  on  marked 
sticks,  and  lay  in  the  same  room ;  in  the 
month  of  January,  1860,  they  were  stripped 
and  weighed  the  same  day  :  the  one  hundred 
plants  manured  with  the  mixed  Peruvian 
and  Sombrero  weiurhed  34  pounds,  or  at  the 
rate  of  1360  pounds  per  acre  ;  those  man- 
ured with  Peruvian  Guano,  weighed  42 
pounds,  or  at  the  rate  of  1680  pounds  per 
acre  :  the  one  hundred  plants  manured  with 
Sombrero  Giiano,  weighed  40  pounds,  or  at 
the  rate  of  1600  pounds  per  acre.  To  the 
eve,  the  tobacco  manured  with  the  mixed 
6^uano  seemed  to  be  largest,  but.  to  my  sur- 
prise, weighed  least ;  that  manured  with  the 
Peruvian  Guano,  when  stripped,  was  mani- 
festly the  richest  and  heaviest. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

Wm.  R.  Bland. 
April  12th,  1860. 


For  the  Southern  Planter,  from  Xoftoway  Club. 

Reciprocal  Relations  of  Farmers  and 
Millers. 

Mr.  President: 

In  discharge  of  my  annual  obligation,  I 
propose  to  discuss  a  subject  of  much  more 
importance  than  is  usually  attached  to  it.  I 
refer  to  the  reciprocal  relations  of  farmers 
and  millers.  Owning  three  mills  myself,  I 
can  take  the  liberty  of  expressing  the  opin- 
ion that  there  is  not  a  more  fruitful  source 
of  imposition  and  injustice  to  each  party,  as 
such  operations  are  usually  conducted.  I 
claim  no  exemption  for  my  own,  but  if  any 
imposition  be  practised,  I  desire  to  furnish 
the  means  of  detection.  Injustice  is  fre- 
quently visited  on  the  miller  by  the  usual 
practice  of  selecting  a  mill-boy  without  any 
regard  to  his  honesty  or  carefulness.  I  have 
known  turns  to  leave  the  mill  with  the  boast 


of  the  miller,  for  favorable  turn  out.  but  so 
depleted  by  depredation  before  reaching  the 
owner,  as  to  excite  complaint.  Such  occur- 
rences indicate  the  necessity  and  propriety 
of  some  uniform  standard  of  management, 
precluding  such  results.  The  plan  I  re- 
commend is,  for  the  farmer  first  to  secure 
what  is  termed  a  sealed  half  bushel  measure, 
with  iron  strips  across  the  top,  to  prevent 
abrasions  from  the  friction  of  measurement, 
or  variation  from  the  convexity  or  concavity 
of  the  striker ;  that  the  owner  should  for 
one  time  at  least,  attend  to  the  measurement 
of  the  corn,  (even  measure)  that  he  accom- 
pany it  to  the  mill,  and  see  in  person  to  the 
1  tolling  and  grinding — that  he  shall  measure 
the  product  at  the  hopper,  and  again  at 
home,  the  quantitj-  being  slightly  lessened  by 
the  agitation  atid  compression  of  the  remov- 
al ;  that  he  shall  then  measure  out  for  each 
!  person  on  his  farm,  the  requisite  quantity 
for  a  day  or  week,  and  ascertain  thus  exact- 
i  ly  how  much  corn  will  make  the  requisite 
quantity.  This  being  once  done,  will  ans- 
!wer  for  life,  and  tend  to  preserve  the  satis- 
;  factory,  mutual  intercourse  of  the  parties,  as 
I  well  as  check  any  proclivity  to  dishonesty  on 
I  the  part  of  the  miller  or  mill-boy.  For  the 
I  benefit  of  those  who  may  not  find  it  suitable 
or  convenieiy:  to  superintend  the  process,  I 
will  present  some  results  in  a  measure  super- 
ceding such  necessity.  A  bushel  measure  is 
generally  considered  to  contain  but  8  gal- 
lons, but  it  will  be  found  generally  to  con- 
tain near  10  gallons,  and  properly  ground 
will  yield  13  gallons  of  meal  at  the  hopper.  I 
regard  it  as  not  an  unreasonable  calculation  on 
the  part  of  the  farmer,  that  after  paying  ^ 
for  toll,  he  should  receive  back  in  bulk  i  ac- 
cession in  meal.  If  properly  ground  the 
bulk  is  not  reduced  by  the  process  of  sift- 
ing, as  it  lies  lighter  after  that  operation. 
The  calculation  should  always  be  made  by 
an  even  measure,  as  the  heaping  may  be  ir- 
regular. Perhaps  the  safer  plan  would  be 
to  weigh  all,  though  there  is  a  necessary  re- 
duction in  weight  from  evaporation,  wast- 
age, &C.  Where  there  is  regularity  in  the 
quantity  sent  and  ground,  and  at  regular  in- 
tervals, the  miller  can  tell  when  it  is  receiv- 
ed, whether  there  is  any  material  diminution, 
and  can  refuse  to  receive  it,  reporting  the 
fact,  and  the  person  sent  to  mill  can  do  the 
same,  and  when  it  is  understood  that  such 
particularity  is  mutually  observed,  no  dif- 
ficulty is  likely  to  arise. 

This  recularity   also  ensures  a  constant 


362 


THE  SOUTHEEX  PLANTER. 


[June 


snpplj,  otherwise  some  suffering  will  result 
from  sudden  exhaustion.  I  am  persuaded 
that  a  regard  for  these  regulations  is  essen- 
tial to  a  proper  and  friendly  understanding 
and  intercourse  with  all  concerned,  and  that 
no  person  can  properly  and  safely  complain 
without  them  I  am  farther  persuaded  that  j 
no  person  in  the  usual  negligent  arrange- 
ments of  the  country,  loses  less  than  the 
amount  of  his  annual  taxes,  or  will  .save  less 
by  a  proper  observance  of  these  necessary 
precautions.  This  discussion  might  be  ad- 
vantageously extended  as  to  the  proper  sys- 
tem of  management  in  providing  and  dis- 
tributing supplies  for  servants  either  by  the 
day  or  week,  and  on  which  I  would  be  grat- 
ified by  the  views  of  others,  preparatory  to 
a  decision,  aud  most  judicious  selection. 
May  10th,  1860.  E.  G.  Booth. 


Report  on  Guanos. 

Last  year  I  tried  several  different  kinds 
of  guano.  I  laid  off  rows  of  corn,  and  ap- 
plied on  alternate  rows  Peruvian  and  Amer- 
ican in  equal  quantities,  as  nearly  as  practi- 
cable, at  about  the  rate  of  200  lbs.  to  the 
acre.  The  early  part  of  the  season  being 
wet  and  favorable  to  the  growth  of  corn,  the 
crop  took  a  rapid  growth,  tte  Peruvian  \ 
bringing  it  forward  much  the  most  rapidly, 
and  the  American  showing  quite  plainly. 
The  latter  part  of  the  season  proving  dry, 
the  Peruvian  gave  back,  and  at  the  matur- 
ing of  the  corn,  there  was  no  perceptible 
difference  between  that  and  the  American 
— neither  of  them,  owing  to  the  peculiar  sea- 
son, proving  of  any  material  benefit.  There 
have  been  seasons  in  my  experience,  where  j 
Peruvian  will  do  more  harm  than  good,  and  \ 
this  was  one  of  that  sort.  j 

I  also  tried  Mexican  andXevassa  guanos,] 
and  .Superphosphates  of  Lime,  Rhodes',  and  j 
one  made  in  Philadelphia,  Twell's.  I  could  | 
observe  no  material  difference  between  them,  I 
all  of  these  being  used  in  combination  with 
Peruvian  guano  on  Tobacco.  The  season ! 
being  very  wet,  I  am  disposed  t(5  think  none  j 
of  them  had  a  fair  chance  to  show  their  | 
merits,  and  I  am  doubtful  whether  I  was  re- 1 
paid  for  their  cost. 

Piespectfully  submitted,  by 

3Iai/,  lOih.  Richard  Ieby. 


Manufacture  of  Wafers. 

The  mode  of  making  the  best  quality  of 
wafers,  as  practiced  by  the  English  manu- 
facturers, is  as  follows : — Fine  wheat  flour 
is  taken,  and  mixed  with  white  of  eggs  and 
isinglass  into  a  very  smooth  paste;  this  is 
spread  over  tin  plates  evenly,  and  dried  in 
an  oven,  .several  of  the  plates  being  placed 
one  over  the  other  to  communicate  a  glo.?sy 
surface  to  the  wafers.  When  dry,  the 
sheets  of  paste  thus  formed,  are  laid  up  in  a 
pile,  about  an  inch  or  more  in  depth,  and 
cut  .into  circular  pieces  by  a  hollow  punch, 
which,  allows  the  wafers  to  pass  up  its  tubu- 
lar cavity  and  discharge  themselves  side- 
ways as  the  cutting  proceeds,  which  is 
effected  with  great  rapidity.  The  variety 
of  colors  that  are  ordinarily  communicated 
to  wafers,  is  given  to  them  in  the  paste,  by 
the  usual  pigments  in  the  dry  powder  state, 
or  previou.sly  dissolved  in  the  water  employ- 
ed. The  French  isinglass  wafers,  made  in 
France,  are  formed  of  isinglass  dissolved  in 
water  to  the  proper  consistence,  which  is 
poured  out  upon  plates  of  glass  provided 
with  borders,  and  laid  upon  a  level  table; 
to  prevent  the  blue  from  sticking  to  the 
plates,  a  little  ox-gall,  or  other,  suitable  ma- 
terial, is  robbed  over  them.  Previous  to 
the  isinglass  becoming  quite  dry,  they  are 
cut  through  along  the  borders.  The  leaves 
are  then  removed  and  cut  with  hollow 
punches,  as  in  the  case  of  other  wafers.  The 
various  colors  are  also  communicated  to 
them  by  pigments  while  in  the  fluid  state. —  , 
Scientific  Artisan. 


If  ye  forgive  men   their  trespasses,  your 
heavenly  Father  will  also  forgive  you. 


Cutting  Glass  without  a  Diamond. 

A  subscriber  to  the  Agriculturist,  A 
Mead,  N.  Y.,  writes  that  glass  may  be  read- 
ily cut  with  a  file,  by  keeping  it  wet  with 
spirits  of  turpentine,  which  gives  it  a  '-'bite." 
We  have  seen  the  following  jirocess  recom- 
mended for  dividing  circular  vessels  as 
bottles,  jars,  etc.  Fill  the  vessel  with  any 
kind  of  oil  up  to  the  point  where  the  divi- 
sion is  to  be  made.  Heat  an  iron  rod  to 
redness,  and  slowly  introduce  it  into  the  top 
of  the  oil ;  the  glass  will  crack  in  an  exact 
circle  around  the  surface  of  the  liquid. 
The  heat  imparted  to  the  oil,  causes  the 
inner  side  of  the  jar  to  expand  rapidly,  and 
thus  makes  a  break. 

[Remarks. — The  last  recommendation 
is  of  doubtful  utility.  We  have  often  cut 
off  glass  bottles  readily  by  first  filing  a  small 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


}63 


notct  for  a  starting  point,  and  then  applying 
a  hot  iron  rod,  or  poker,  moving  it  slcwly 
back  and  forth  along  the  line  ■where  we 
■wished  the  crack.  By  keeping  the  iron 
ahead  of  the  break,  you  can  lead  it  in  any 
direction  desired,  so  as  to  cut  off  the  bottle 
square  or  at  any  angle.  When  at  work  in 
the  laboratory,  ■we  often  made  extempore 
tumblers  for  holding  various  substances,  by 
thus  cutting  off  the  upper  part  of  bottles, 
of  ■which  the  necks  had  been  broken.  We 
have  also  made  g-as  transferrers,  etc.,  by 
cutting  off  the  bottom  of  cracked  bottles, 
leaving  the  neck  and  main  body  ■whole, 
■with  the -bottom  open.  After  a  little  prac- 
tice any  one  can,  with  a  hot  iron,  lead  a 
crack  in  a  bottle,  tumbler,  or  along  flat  glass, 
in  any  desired  direction.  The  sharp  edges 
can  be  smoothed  or  rounded  ■with  a  fine  file, 
or  by  grinding.  We  have  often  cut  a  pane 
of  glass  nearly  true  across,  by  filing  a  slight 
notch  in  the  edge,  laying  on  cold  iron,  or 
even  a  strip  of  wood  for  a  rule,  and  then 
passing  a  hot  iron  back  and  forward,  along 
the  place  where  the  fracture  is  desired. — 
Ed.] — Arnerko.n  Agrkulturaltst. 


Can't  Afford  It. 

Those  who  are  counting  the  cost  of  dis- 
solving the  Union,  may  close  their   calcula- 
tions somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the  old 
woman    in    the   subjoined    anecdote: — "A: 
person  having  occasion  to  visit  an  old  couple 
in  Durham,  of  extremely  penurious  habits,  ^ 
found  them  holding  counsel  together  upon  a ' 
matter   which   apparently  weighed    heavily  [ 
upon  the  minds  of  both,  and   thinking  it; 
was  respecting  the  probable  dissolution  of 
the  wife,  who  was  laying  dangerously  ill,' 
proceeded  to  offer  them  all  the   consolation  \ 
in  his   power ;  but  was   cut  short  by  being ; 
informed  that  this  was  not  exactly  the  sub- 
ject they  were   discussing,  but  one   which 
afflicted  them  still  more   deeplj- ;  ■viz :   the 
cost  of  the   funeral;    and,  to  his  astonish- 
ment, they  continued  their  ghastly  calcula- 
tions until  every  item  in  the  catalogue,  from ! 
coffin  to  night  cap,  had  been  gone  through,  | 
with   much   grumbling  at   the    rapacity  ofj 
'the  undertakers.'  when  the  bright  thought 
suddenly  struck  the  husband,  and  he   ex-j 
claimed — 'Well,  Janet,  lass,  you   ^lay  not] 
die  after  all,  ye  ken.'     'Deed,  and  1   hopej 
not,  Robert,'  replied  his  helpitate,  in  a  low, 
feeble  voice,  '  for  I  am  quite  sure  that  we 
cauna  afford  it.'  " — Xdc  Yorh  Observer. 


Make  the  Best  of  Everything. 

An  important  lesson  to  learn,  and  the 
earlier  it  is  learned  in  life  the  better,  is  to 
maJce  the  best  of  everythinfj.  As  the  old 
adage  says,  "  It  is  no  use  to  cry  over  spilt 
milk."  Misfortunes  that  have  already  hap- 
pened cannot  be  prevented;  therefore,  the 
■wise  man,  instead  of  wasting  the  time  in 
regrets,  will  set  himself  to  work  to  recover 
his  losses.  The  mistakes  and  follies  of  the 
past  may  teach  us  to  be  more  cautious 
for  the  future ;  but  they  should  never  be 
allowed  to  paralyze  our  energies,  or  surren- 
der us  to  weak  repinings.  A  retired  mer- 
chant relates  that,  at  one  period  early  in  his 
career,  he  had  got  almost  to  the  verge  of 
bankruptcy  ;  "  but,"  says  he,  "  I  ploughed 
a  deep  keel,  and  kept  my  own  counsel ;" 
and  by  these  means  he  soon  recovered. 
Had  this  man  given  way  to  despair,  had  he 
sat  down  to  prevail  his  apparently  impend- 
ing ruin,  he  might  now  have  been  old  and 
poor,  instead  of  having  retired  in  a  splendid 
position.  He  adds,  that  a  characteristic 
was,  that  through  life,  in  all  circumstances, 
he  did  the  best  that  he  could,  whatever  that 
was,  consuming  no  time  in  useless  regrets 
over  misspent  time  or  bad  speculations. 

The  rule  holds  good,  not  only  in  mercan- 
tile affairs,  but  in  the  whole  conduct  of 
life.  The  man  who  is  born  to  indifferent 
circumstances  "will  never  rise,  if,  abandon- 
ing himself  to  envy  of  those  more  blessed 
by  fortune,  he  goes  about  sullenly  and  com- 
plaining, instead  of  endeavouring  to  use  to 
the  best  of  his  ability  what  few  advantages 
he  has.  The  patriot  deploring  the  decline 
of  public  and  private  morals,  will  never 
succeed  in  reforming  the  commonwealth,  if 
he  stickles  for  visionary  or  impracticable 
measures,  rejecting  those  more  moderate 
ones  that  are  really  attainable.  The  friend 
will  soon  have  no  intimates  at  all,  if,  mak- 
ing no  allowances  for  the  inffrmities  of 
human  nature,  he  judges  too  harshly  of  the 
conduct  of  his  acquaintances.  Many  a 
matrimonial  quarrel  might  be  avoided,  if 
husband  and  wife,  instead  of  taking  offense 
at  each  other  on  slight  provocations,  would 
dwell  rather  on  the  good  traits  the  other 
displays.  There  are  not  a  few  statesmen 
now  living  in  retirement,  who  might  have 
still  gratified  <heir  ambition  by  serving  the 
public,  if  they  had  understood,  amid  the 
fatigues  and  disappointments  of  public  life, 
Iwv:  to  make  the  best  of  everything. 


)64 


THE    SOUTHERN     PLANTER, 


[June 


Report  of  P.  T.  Tyson,  Esq.,  Maryland 
State  Agricultural  Chemist,  on  Bones. 

BoDes  were  first  used  as  a  manure  in  Ger- 


above  so  much  more  productive  than  the  rest, 
he  applied  to  the  latter  (which  I  had  not 
taken  in)  18  or  20  bushels  more   per  acre. 

,    ,  1     .      ,  1 ,  I  He  expected,  b\' this  means,  to  equalize  the 

many   andafterwards  in  the  year  !<  ,  I,  were  ^^^.^51;     ^f  ^j^^  ^^^^^  enlarged  field.     He  in- 
introduced  into  Eneland.     Little  use  how-!f,^^^g  ^^^   however,  that  his  expectation  in 


ever,  was  made  of  them  prior  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century,  since  which  pe- 
riod their  use  has  rapidly  extended  through- 
out Great  Britain. 

The  high  prices  of  bones  in  England  have 
drawn,  and  continue  to  draw,  them  from  al- 
most every  part  of  the  world  ;  even  the 
bones  of  the  soldiers  who  fell  at  Waterloo, 
and  at  the  siege  of  Sevastopol,  have  contri- 
buted to  enrich  the  soil  of  Great  Britain. 

The  first  bones  used  for  manure  iu  this 
country,  it  is  believed,  were  crushed  at  the 
establishment  of  Mr.  Wm.  Trego,  and  sold 
to  farmers  in  Harford  and  Montgomery  coun- 
ties in  the  year  1836 


this  regard  was  not  realized,  and  he  was  sat- 
isfied would  not  be  until  he  shall  apply  an- 
other manuring  of  bones,  as  he  intends  to 
do,  to  the  part  upon  which  I  had  applied 
noue. 

Loudon,  Jounston  and  other  writers,  in- 
form us  that  the  effect  of  heavy  dressings 
with  bones  are  clearly  shown  in  England  to 
endure  for  forty  or  fifty  years. 

We  shall  be  prepared  to  discuss  the  cause 
of  all  this  after  having  described  the  chem- 
ical and  physical  constitution  of  bones. 

A  bone  may  be  described  in  general  terms 
as  a  spongy  structure,  made  up  in  part  of  a 
frame-work  of  phosphate   and  carbonate  of 


They  were  sold  for  some  time  at  33  to35:lime,  whose  interstices  are  filled    with.'ani- 
cents  per^bushel,  or  about  half  ^their  present  1  ^al  matter  analagous  to  gelatine,  and  a  small 

portion  of  fat  or  oil.  A  piece  of  bone  long 
exposed  to  dilute  muriatic  acid  will  be  de- 
prived of  its  phosphoric  acid  and  other  min- 
eral matters,  and  leave  the  cartilage  or  gela- 
tine in  nearly  original  form.  If  we  expo.se 
a  bone  in   an   open  fire  until  it  shall  burn 


value.  The  prices  in  England  are  about  40 
pr.  ct.  higher  than  they  have  yet  reached  in 
this  country. 

When  I  first  applied  bones  in  Harford 
county,  in  1839,  the  operation  was  watched 
with  interest  by  my  neighbors,  some  of  whom 


thought  they  would  prove  an  extravagant  |  white,  its  form  will  not  be  changed,  but  the 
and  useless  application;  and  there  were  those  I  animal  matter  will  have  been  burnt  away. 
who  appeared  to  have  formed  theories  in  ref- ^  If^  however,  the  bone  be  exposed  to  heat  in 
erence  to  manures  which  ruled  bones  out  of  ;a  close  vessel,  all  its  animal  matter,  except 
the  list,  becau.?e,  as  they  believed,  they  were!  a  portion  of  the  carbon,  will  be  driven  off. 
of  "  too  dry  a  nature."  The    remaining    carbon,   with    the    earthy 

Their  good  effect,  however,  soon   became !  a^atters,   constitute   what  is   called   animal 
manifest,  and  the  result  was  to  produce  heavy  |  charcoal,  ivory  black,  or  bone  black, 
crops  upon  soils  which  had  been  long  lying  I      "\\^e  have  on   record   numerous  results  of 
idle,  after  having  been  rendered  sterile   by ;  analysis  of  bones  of  different  animals,   but 
improvident  planting  and  farming  of  former  the  following,  which  gives  the  composition 

of  the  bones  of  the  ox,  will  answer  our  pres- 
ent purpose  : 


times. 

The  use  of  bones  soon  extended,  and  my 
old  neicbbors  are  now  perfectly  willino;  to     .    .      ,       ,  ,  ,         ,  ^. 

pay    double   the    prices  which    were    then  '  ^"'^^,^^  V!^*'^'"^  ^^^  ?§?"'' •^'' 
thought  extravagant.  |      «"^  albumen,  called    azotic  com- 

Whilit  in  Harford  during  May  last,  I  had  i  .J"",^     ,     ' 

■^     ±        X-      iU      1       ui       tr    ^  I  r  hosphate  or  lime, 
an  opportunity  to  notice  the  durable  effect  [^         ^^  ' 

of  bones  which  I  applied  to  land  from  sev-  L^    ,  .  ,."^^°     " 

enteen  to  twenty  years  since.  All  the  fields  {  ^^rbonate  of  lime, 
to  which  they  were  applied  continue  to  pro-^ '"^^^  ^*  ^'™^'  ,  / 
duce  heavy  crops  under  the  judicious  man- 1  ^^da,  common  salt,  &c., 
agement  of  the  I  resent  owner,  Mr.  Hanway.  {  The  above  are  the  results  obtained 
There  was  one  fiell  of  10  acres  upon !  from  a*ffresh  clean  peace  of  bone.  Those 
•which  I  applied  300  bushels,  of  crushed  collected  by  the  bone  crushers  cannot 
bones.  He  enlarged  it,  and  applied  15;  but  have  more  or  less  of  dirt  adhering 
bushels  to  the  acre  over  the  whole,  but  find-  to  them,  and  after  being  crushed,  they  will 
ing  the  10  acres  which  I  had  manured  as  absorb   a  portion   of  water.     This  adds  to 


33.30 
55.85 
2.05 
3.85 
2.50 
2.45 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


365 


their  weight  probably  about  5  per  ct.,  and, 
of  course,  lessens  the  proportion  of  the 
other  constituents;  but  it  will  be  safe  to  as- 
sume that  100  lbs.  of  ground  or  crushed 
bones  of  commerce  contain  an  average 
amount  of  gelatine  and  other  azotic  com- 
pounds, ....  32  lbs. 
And  phosphate  of  lime,  .  53  " 
Of  this  last  there  is  phosphoric 

acid  .         .         .  24*       " 

And  lime,       .         .         .  28}       " 

The  proportion  of  ammonia  produced  bj 
the  decomposition  of  the  animal  matters 
may  be  estimated  to  average  about  7  parts 
of  the  above  32. 

We  may,  therefore,   assume  the  value  of 
100  lbs.  of  crushed  bones  to  consist  m  : 
Ammonia,        ....       7  lbs. 
Phosphoric  acid,  24  5  I  -.3     ^^ 

Lime,       .       .    28.5 )     ■ 
Carbonate  of  lime,  .  .       3    " 

Fluate  of  lime,  .  .  .       2i  " 

Phosphate  of  magnesia     .  .       2     " 

Soda,  muriate  of  soda,  c^c,  .      2\  " 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  are  car- 
bonic acid  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  pro- 
duced by  the  decomposition  of  the  animal 
matters. 

It  has  been  stated  to  me  that  crushed 
bones  had,  in  some  instances,  been  adulter- 
ated with  useless  foreign  matters,  but  I  have 
met  with  no  certain  evidence  of  the  fact ; 
on  the  contrary,  an  examination  of  a  num- 
ber of  samples  which  farmers  had  received 
from  several  different  sources,  showed  them 
to  be  as  pure  as  is  practicable  with  an  arti- 
cle of  that  kind. 

There  are  diflBculties  in  the  way  of  adul- 
terating ground  bones,  occasioned  by  the 
fact  that  a  small  addition  of  foreign  matters 
can  be  readily  detected  with  a  good  pocket 
lens,  which  every  farmer  ought  to  possess. 

They  are  not  injured  if  boiled  merely 
long  enough  to  abstract  the  grease  they  con- 
tain, but  if  the  boiling  be  continued  until 
more  or  less  of  the  gelatine  be  removed, 
their  value  is  lessened,  because  it  is  from 
the  gelatine  that  the  ammonia  is  produced. 
Pure  fresh  bones  should  lose  from  33  to  37 
per  cent,  of  their  weight,  when  burned  in 
an  open  vessel  until  they  become  white. — 
But  if  they  have  been  robbed  of  part  of 
their  gelatine  they  will  lose  less  weight  by 
burning. 

Prof.  Johnston,  in  his  Agricultural  Chem- 
istry, refers  to  a  discussion  which  sprang  up 


some  years  since,  in  reference  to  which  of 
the  constituents  of  bones  we  are  to  attribute 
their  value.  Sprengel  asserted  that  it  was 
to  their  phosphates  only,  and  this  opinion 
was  favored  by  Liebig.  Others  again  gave  ■ 
all  the  credit  to  the  ammonia  formed  from 
their  animal  matter.  It  would,  in  my  opin- 
ion, be  a  waste  of  time  to  give  the  views  of 
the  <?outestants. 

Both  sides  certainly  knew  that  all  soils 
which  are  deficient  in  phosphoric  acid,  are 
rendered  more  fertile  when  it  is  supplied; 
and  it  would  be  certainly  difficult  to  find  a 
field  long  in  cultivation  whose  productive- 
ness would  not  be  increased  by  the  use  of 
ammonia,  provided  one  or  more  of  the  essen- 
aial  elements  be  not  deficient  or  altogether 
absent. 

It  seems  strange  that  such  a  question  could 
have  been  raised  by  distinguished  men  in 
the  present  day,  when  there  is  certainly  no 
room  to  doubt  for  one  moment  the  efficacy 
of  both  phosphoric  acid  and  ammonia  as  con- 
stituents of  manure. 

Much  difference  of  opinion  has  prevailed 
from  the  first  use  of  bones,  as  to  the  best 
mode  of  applying  them.  In  Germany  it 
was  for  a  long  time  the  practice  to  burn 
them.  Whether  this  was  owing  to  ignorance 
or  the  want  of  bone-crushing  mills,  we  do 
not  know.  I  believe,  however,  that  this 
practice  has  ceased,  and  that  crushed  bones 
are  now  used  in  both  Germany  and  in 
France. 

Stoeckhardt,  in  his  Agricultural  Chemis- 
try, laments  that,  owing  to  the  want  of  ap- 
preciation of  bones  in  Germany,  they  are 
largely  exported  to  England  for  manure. 

In  England  they  are  crushed  or  ground 
fine,  when  they  are  to  be  drilled  in  with 
turnip  seed  ;  but  a  rather  coarser  kind  is 
used  when  sown  broadcast. 

In  this  country  they  are  also  crushed,  but 
the  kind  suited  for  drilling  in  is  not  often 
used,  owing  to  its  additional  cost. 

There  are  three  modes  of  applying  crushed 
bones  to  the  soil  : 

1.  In  the  dry  state,  as  purchased. 

2.  Dissolved  in  sulphuric  acid. 

3.  Causing  an  incipient  decay,  or,  more 
correctly,  putrefaction  of  their  animal  mat- 
ter. 

If  the  object  i.s  the  permanent  improve- 
ment of  the  soil,  without  caring  so  much 
about  a  maximum  growth  of  the  first  crop, 
the  crushed  bones  may  be  applied  in  the 


366 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[June 


dry  state,  without  any  previous  preparation. 
This  was  the  least  expensive  mode.     (1.) 

When  they  are  applied  for  the  benefit  of 
only  one  or  two  crops,  without  looking  to 
the  permanent  improvement  of  the  soil,  the 
phosphate  of  lime  may  be  made  soluble  by 
means  of  sulphuric  acid  or  oil  of  vitrol.  (2.) 

When  the  object  is  to  have  the  bones  in 
such  a  state  as  to  produce  an  immediate 
eiFect  upon  the  first  crop,  and  which  will  be 
continued  during  many  years,  it  is  better  to 
treat  them  as  will  be  hereafter  shown,  so  as  | 
to  bring  their  animal  matter  into  an  incipi- 
ent state  of  putrefaction,  improperly  called 
by  some  fermentation.     (3.) 

I  have  had  some  experience  in  the  appli- 
cation of  dry  bones  to  land,  and  have  also 
been  able  to  collect  the  opinions  of  many 
who  have  extensively  applied  them  in  this 
manner.  It  has  the  advantage  of  saving 
time  and  labor,  but  requires  a  larger  dose 
to  produce  a  given  effect  upon  the  first 
crop.  Its  effects,  however,  are  more  lasting, 
and  will  continue  during  a  long  series  of 
years.  This  method  may  answer  when  the 
ground  is  intended  to  be  kept  permanently 
in  grass.  Gypsum  should  always  be  mixed 
with  them  in  the  proportion  of  1  bushel  to 
10  of  bones. 

The  system  of  dissolving  in  acid,  I  have 
been  always  satisfied,  is  less  advantageous 
than  the  putrefactive  process,  and  therefore 
I  have  never  used  the  dissolved  bones. 

In  a  paper  read  before  the  meeting  of 
the  British  Association,  at  Dublin,  in  1857, 
Sir  J.  Murray  claims  that  he  was  the  origi- 
nator of  the  practice  of  using  dissolved 
bones  more  than  forty  years  ago.  Long 
experience,  however,  in  the  use  of  them 
has  induced  him  to  chande  his  opinion  upon 
that  subject,  and  he  now  objects  to  the  use 
of  dissolved  bones.  He  states  that  he  finds 
"  the  soluble  phosphates  too  soluble  ;  that 
that  they  melt  too  fast,  and  are  carried  into 
the  subsoil  or  pass  off  into  streams  during 
rains." 

He  adds  that  "  his  present  views  result 
from  many  years  experience,"  and  "  that 
they  have  been  confirmed  by  a  long  series 
of  experiments,  carried  on  for  him  by  the 
governor  as  well  as  the  gardener  of  the 
Richmond  (England)  Lunatic  Asylum."  • 

The  prompt  action  of  dissolved  bones 
upon  crops  brought  them  prominently  into 


notice,  and  induced  many  farmers  to  pre- 
pare and  use  them,  and,  besides,  induced  a 
host  of  parties  to  prepare  them  on  a  large 
scale  to  save  the  farmers  the  trouble  of  so 
disagreeable  a  process,  and  not  without 
danger.  I  am  fully  convinced  that  if  any 
one  will  take  the  trouble  to  make  proper 
comparative  experiments  with  dissolved  and 
putrified  bones,  and  notice  the  results, 
during  five  or  ten  years,  they  will  come  to 
the  same  conclusion  as  Sir  J.  Murray  did, 
who  has  the  candor  to  acknowledge  the 
errors  into  which  he  has  led  his  brother 
farmers. 

The  books  and  periodicals  for  years  past 
contain  numerous  directions  for  dissolving 
bones,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  they  should 
differ  so  greatly  in  the  proportions  of  acid 
required. 

In  the  Patent  Office  Report  of  1856,  Mr. 
Brown  recommended  the  use  of  five  pounds 
of  sulphuric  acid  to  100  lbs.  of  bones,  and 
to  compost  them  with  muck. 

An  article  in  the  Country  Gentleman  of 
the  28th  October,  1858,  by  Prof.  Gil- 
ham,  of  the  Ya.  Military  Institute,  re- 
fers to  an  article  of  Prof.  Norton,  which  re- 
commends 50  or  60  lbs.  for  whole  bones 
and  25  and  45  lbs.  for  ground  bones,  and 
adds  that  he  (Prof.  Gilham)  found  even  100 
lbs.  of  acid  were  not  sufficient  to  dissolve 
100  lbs.  of  bones. 

The  real  state  of  the  case  is,  that  if' it 
be  desired  to  dissolve  all  the  phosphates  in 
100  lbs.  of  bones,  or  about  two  bushels  we 
must  apply  59  lbs.  of  sulphuric  acid,  whose 
specific  gravity  is  1.85,  diluted  with  three 
times  its  weight  of  water.  And  to  eff"ect  a 
complete  solution  they  must  be  frequently 
stirred  during  tnree  or  four  weeks.  If  the 
bones  be  whole  it  will  require  many  months 
to  dissolve  all  their  phosphates. 

If  it  be  desired  to  dissolve  a  part  only,  a 
less  proportion  of  acid  may  be  used.  My 
own  opinion  is,  the  less,  the  more  economi- 
cal to  the  farmer  in  the  long  run. 

We  must  not  omit  to  count  the  cost  of 
applying  sulphuric  acid  to  bones,  which,  of 
course,  will  be  modified  by  the  proportions 
used. 

Let  us  first  ascertain  the  cost  of  effecting 
a  complete  solution  of  the  phosphate  of 
lime  in  bones : 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


361 


1st.  100  lbs.  of  ground  bones,  costing  §1.46 
59     "       sulphuric  acid  (3  cts.),    1.77 
We  should  add  for  labor  and  the 
cost  of  a  vat   or  tub,  which  is 
soon  destroyed,  freight  on  acid, 
&c 08 


$3.31 

2nd.  If  we  use  acid  sufficient  to  dissolve 

halt  the  bones,  the  cost  will  be  as  follows  : 

100  lbs.  bones,         .         .         .81.46 

30    ''    sulphuric  acid  (3  cts.),  .90 

Labor,  &c.,  as  before,        .         .  .08 

§2.44 

As  a  bushel  of  bones  will   average  in 

weight  45  lbs.,  we  have  to  deduct  55  per 

cent,   to   get  at   the   cost  of   one  bushel ; 

therefore, 

One  bushel  fully  dissolved  will  cost  $1.49 

One  bushel  half  dissolved  will  cost    1.10 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  by  dis- 
solving we  much  more  than  double  their 
cost,  and  if  but  half  dissolved,  their  cost  is 
increased  more  than  two-thirds  in  amount. 

It  is  true  that  a  smaller  quantity  will  suf- 
fice for  an  immediate  effect,  which  may  suit 
a  temporary  tenant,  but  let  the  land-owner 
bear  in  mind  that  the  whoJe  ultimate  Lencjit 
is  in  proportion  to  the  iceight  of  bones  ap- 
plied. It  is  true  the  action  of  the  acid 
upon  the  carbonate  of  lime  produces  a  por- 
tion of  gypsum,  but  so  far  as  that  article  is 
concerned,  we  can  purchase  it  at  less  than 
one-fifth  the  cost  of  making  it. 

When  bones  or  phosphatic  guanoes  are 
dissolved  in  acid  it  is  usual  to  add  ab- 
sorbent materials,  so  that  it  may  be  made 
sufficiently  dry  to  admit  of  being  spread. 
Neither  lime  nor  ashes  should  be  used  for 
this  purpose,  because  it  would  precipitate 
the  phosphate  and  neutralize  the  effect  of 
the  sulphuric  acid. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  when  the  acid 
is  poured  into  the  water,  which  must  be 
done  before  the  bones  are  added.  It  must 
be  done  very  gradually,  because  it  generates 
heat  above  the  boiling  point,  and  is  apt  to 
be  thrown  into  the  faces  and  on  the  clothes 
of  the  workmen. 

Sir  J.  Murray  thinks  there  is  much  loss 
by  the  soluble  phosphates  being  carried  off 
by  water ;  but  there  is  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  cause  of  their  effects  being  so 
slight  after  one  or  two  crops,  is  more  owing 
to  certain  known  chemical  reactions  in  the 


soil.  Soluble  salts-  of  alumina  and  iron, 
especially  the  latter,  are  never  absent  from 
soils,  and  when  a  soluble  phosphate  of  lime 
comes  in  contact  with  either  of  these,  the 
phosphoric  acid  is  precipitated  as  phosphate 
of  iron  or  alumina.  Both  of  these,  ac- 
cording to  Bischoff,  are  among  the  most  in- 
soluble substances  known  in  water  and  car- 
bonic acid  But  some  experiments  of  Dr. 
Piggot  prove  that  they  are  soluble  in  alca- 
line  silicates. 

Whilst  it  does  not  seem  proper  to  apply 
sulphuric  acid  to  bones,  yet  I  think  it  pro- 
bable that  we  may  advantageously  use  either 
that  or  muriatic  acid  in  small  proportion  to 
some  of  the  phosphatic  guanoes,  especially 
to  those  containing  phosphates  of  iron  and 
alumina. 

It  remains  now  to  notice  the  third  mode 
of  .  preparing  bones,  which  consists  in 
cau.sing  putrefaction  and  decay. 

This  mode  has  been  evidently  coming 
more  into  use  within  a  few  years  past,  and 
\?e  often  find  directions  in  the  agricultural 
journals  for  effecting  it,  most  generally  by 
making  them  into  composts  with  stable 
manure  or  other  matter.  I  have,  however, 
met  with  nothing  in  that  way  that  appears 
likely  to  answer  a  better  purpose  than  that 
practiced  by  me  19  years  ago,  after  experi- 
menting to  some  extent.  And  as  inquiries 
have  been  made  in  answer  to  which  I  had 
found  it  necessary  frequently  to  describe  the 
process,  it  will  now  be  repeated  in  full. 

Having  smoothed  over  the  surface  of  the 
ground  (under  a  shed,  if  convenient),  jilaee 
thereon  evenly,  a  layer  of  3  in.  of  ground 
bones,  and  then  an  even  layer  of  good  fine 
soil  or  earth,  free  from  stones  or  sticks. 
Give  a  good  sprinkling  of  gypsum  over  each 
layer  of  earth.  Another  layer  of  bones  is 
applied  upon  the  layer  of  earth,  and  the 
same  alternations  are  to  be  repeated  with 
the  gypsum  until  we  have  four  of  each  bones 
and  earth,  and  the  height  of  the  pile  will 
be  24  inches.  As  the  bones  are  usually 
dry,  each  layer  should  be  well  moistened 
with  water  or  hcttcr  with  nrijie,  in  order  to 
hasten  the  process.  It  is  proper  to  place 
two  or  more  sticks  in  the  pile  reaching  to 
its  base,  which  should  be  frequently  ex- 
amined by  feeling  them,  in  order  to  judge 
of  the  degree  of  heat  produced.  If  the 
weather  be  warm  they  will  begin  to  heat  in 
a  few  days,  and  in  a  week  or  two  they  will 
become  hot.     When  upon  taking  out  the 


368 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[June 


sticks  they  feel  unpleasantly  hot,  the  pro- 
cess should  be  checked  by  chopping  or 
spading  down  the  mass  from  top  to  bottom, 
which,  if  carefully  done,  mixes  the  mate- 
rials well  together,  and  they  are  ready  for 
spreading. 

If  the  process  be  commenced  during  cold 
weather  it  may  be  hastened  by  placing  at 
the  bottom  a  layer  of  fresh  horse  dung 
about  six  inches  thick,  and  covering  the 
pile  with  straw  or  fodder  to  retain  the  heat. 

There  is  much  testimony  in  favor  of 
using  salt  as  a  manure,  and  it  cannot  be 
applied  more  advantageously  than  with  the 
bones,  because  it  promotes  their  solubility. 
It  would  be  better  to  place  the  proper  dose 
of  salt  with  the  gypsum  upon  each  layer  of 
the  earth. 

In  reference  to  the  quantity  of  bones  to 
the  acre,  I  may  say,  that  after  trying  them 
in  quantities  from  30  bushels  down  to  40, 
I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  10  bushels  to 
the  acre  was  the  most  advantageous  quan- 
tity. I  became  satisfied,  also,  that  this 
quantity,  prepared  as  I  have  just  indicatefl, 
and  uniformly  sown,  will  be  as  effective  for 
a  year  or  two  as  double  the  quantity  applied 
in  the  dry  state. 

Should  the  soil  be  dry  when  wheat  ground 
is  dressed  with  dry  bones,  and  continue  so 
for  some  time  after,  but  little  effect  will  be 
produced  by  them  upon  the  autumn  growth. 

The  effect  of  the  putrefied  bones  will  be 
obvious  within  a  few  days  after  the  young 
wheat  appears  above  the  surface.  The  pu- 
trefaction in  the  first  case  goes  on  very 
slowly  ;  but  when  the  bones  have  been  once 
heated  it  will  proceed  more  readily,  and  of 
course  furnish  an  earlier  supply  of  the 
much  needed  ammonia,  as  well  as  phospho- 
ric acid. 

Oae  great  advantage  of  bones  over  am- 
moniated  guano  arises  from  the  fact  that 
putrefaction  and  decay  have  progres.sed  in  j 
the  latter  until  nearly  all  the  ammonia 
which  they  are  capable  of  yielding  has 
been  already  formed.  And  as  it  is  veryi 
soluble  in  water,  much  of  it  is  rapidly 
washed  off  during  heavy  rains,  leaving  a 
portion,  which  is  absorbed  and  retained  in 
the  soil.  This  is  going  on  whenever  the 
ground  is  wet,  so  that  when  the  soil  is  not 
frozen  in  winter,  the  ammonia  is  passing  off 
and  there  is  no  crop  growing  to  appropri- 
ate it. 

"When  bones  are  applied,  either  dry  or  in 
the  manner  I  have  suggested,  (3,)  they  are 


giving  out  their  ammonia  as  the  crops  re- 
quire it,  but  in  cold  weather  the  putrefaction 
is  nearly  or  quite  suspended,  according  to 
the  temperature,  and  again  resumed  in  the 
Spring  •  at  first  slowly  and  then  rapidly  in 
hot  weather,  when  it  is  most  wanted  by  the 
crop. 

I  have  very  rarely  met  with  those  who 
have  used  bones  for  manure  without  being 
satisfied  with  their  effects.  Experience  has 
shown,  however,  that  their  effects  are  not 
so  promptly  evinced  in  stiff  clay  soils  as  in 
those  of  a  more  porous  character.  The  com- 
pactness of  very  stiff  soil  prevents  sufficient 
access  of  air  to  assist  in  the  decay  of  the 
bones.  When  applied  to  very  wet  soils  the 
animal  matters  decompose  so  slowly  as  to 
produce  little  benefit  to  crops. 

BONE  JBLACK   OR   ANIMAL   CHARCOAL. 

In  former  days  bullock's  blood  was 
largely  used  in  refining  sugar,  but  in  the 
improved  modern  process  very  little  blood 
is  used.  The  principal  reliance  is  upon 
animal  charcoal,  through  which  the  hot 
syrup  is  filtered  for  the  purpose  of  being 
decolored.  It  is  coarsely  crushed  or  ground 
and  the  finer  portions  and  dust  sifted  out, 
which  would  otherwise  clog  the  filtering 
cloth  or  pass  through  with  the  syrup.  Af- 
ter each  operation  the  charcoal  is  again  ex- 
posed to  heat  in  closed  iron  vessels,  and  the 
dust,  etc.,  sifted  out  as  before.  It  is  this 
material  that  is  sold  for  manure  under  the 
name  of  bone  black. 

All  the  animal  matter,  except  a  portion 
of  carbon,  has  been  expelled  by  heat,  leav- 
ing the  carbon  with  the  phosphates  and 
other  earthy  matters  of  bones,  and  is,  of 
course,  valuable  as  a  manure. 

I  have  been  informed  that  the  refineries 
in  Baltimore  dispose  of  their  bone  black  to 
manufacturers  of  fertilizers  in  Philadelphia; 
the  whole  amount  being  annually  about 
half  a  million  of  pounds. 

A  sample  which  I  obtained  from  Doug- 
herty &  Woods,  of  Baltimore,  was  analysed 
by  Dr.  Piggot,  with  the  following  results, 
viz.  : 

Phosphate  of  lime,     .         ,  70.10 

Phosphate  of  magnesia,       ,  .15 

Carbonate  of  lime,      .          .  11.85 

Charcoal  (animal),       .          .  10.98 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina,  3.01 

Sand,         ....  2.83 

Soluble  salts,      ,         .         .  .41 

Soluble  organic  matter,        .  .13 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


369 


It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  large  amount 
of  phosphate  of  lime  shoulii  be  carried  out 
of  our  State  instead  of  being  used  at  home. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  it  being  valuable  for 
manure,  as  its  constituents  clearly  indicate, 
because  of  the  phosphate  and  carbonate  of 
lime  it  contains.  Its  carbon  also  will  prove' 
a  source  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  soil. 

CRACKNELS    OR   GREAVES. 

This  material  consists  of  the  tissues  and 
other  matters  remaining  after  the  melting 
and  straining  off  the  fat  of  animals. 

At  one  establishment  in  Baltimore  (the 
Butchers'  Hide  and  Tallow  Association) 
there  are  100,000  lbs.  of  this  material  pro- 
duced per  annum,  all  of  which  is  sold  at 
one  cent  per  lb.  to  parties  in  Philadel- 
phia, to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
Prussian  blue.  I  have  no  means  of  know- 
ing the  whole  amount  produced  in  Balti- 
m(ye,  but  it  must  be  considerable. 

Boussingault  determined  the  proportion 
of  nitrogen  to  be  11.88  per  ct.,  which  will 
produce  during  the  decay  of  the  material 
more  than  14  per  ct.  of  ammonia,  or  nearly 
equal  to  the  amount  in  the  best  Peruvian 
guano.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  it  would 
be  worth  more  than  one  cent  a  pound  for 
manure,  if  it  were  powdered  or  otherwise 
reduced  to  such  a  fine  state  of  division  as 
would  admit  of  its  being  properly  mixed 
with  the  soil.  As  it  comes  from  the  press 
its  cakes  are  about  three  feet  square  and 
about  six  inches  thick,  which  are  easily 
transported  without  being  packed.  It  is  in 
fact  almost  as  solid  as  wood  itself,  and  will 
require  suitable  machinery  to  bring  it  into 
a  proper  state  for  manure. 

It  is  but  very  recently  I  learned  that  it 
was  produced  in  quantities  worthy  the  at- 
tention of  farmers,  but  it  is  my  intention 
to  examine  further  into  it  as  early  as  prac- 
ticable. 

A  mixture  of  cracknels  and  the  bone 
black  of  the  sugar  refiners  would  constitute 
a  very  valuable  manure. 


"Shall  I  buy  'American  Guano?'  " 
During  the  past  few  months,  this  question 
has  been  addressed  to  us  by  subscribers,  per- 
sonally and  by  letter,  a  great  number  of  times. 
In  fact  we  expect  that  every  few  minutes  du- 
ring the  day,  some  one  will  knock  at  our  door 
and  almost  invariably  ask  on  entering, 
"  What  do  you  think  of  this  American  gu- 
ano ?"  We  therefore  offer  a  general  reply 
24 


here.  But  first  let  us  correct  a  false  impres- 
sion that  we  have  any  "  preconceived  preju- 
dice "  against  the  article.  On  the  contrary, 
we  would  gladly  commend  it  in  the  highest 
terms,  could  we  do  so  consistently  with  our 
own  views.  We  dislike  as  much  as  any  one, 
the  monopoly  of  Peruvian  guano,  and  would 
be  right  glad  if  American  farmers  could  dis- 
pense with  its  use  altogether.  We  could 
heartily  wi?h  that  all  that  is  claimed  for  the 
''  American  guano  "  might  prove  to  be  below 
its  real  merits.  Tt  would  be  a  national  bless- 
ing, of  more  value  than  ail  the  gold  of  Cali- 
fornia. Several  enterprising  men  have  devo- 
ted their  time  and  money  to  its  introduction, 
and,  so  far  as  we  know,  they  have  done  this 
in  the  belief  that  they  are  doing  the  country, 
as  well  as  themselves,  good  service,  in  hunt- 
ing up  and  bringing  these  fertilizers  here. 

But,  as  we  have  said  to  some  of  them  per- 
sonally, we  think  they  are  guided  by  an  in- 
correct theory  in  regard  to  the  wants  of  our 
soils  and  crops ;  and  our  present  opinion  is, 
that,  after  a  year  or  two,  these  purely  phos- 
phatic  guanos  will  have  had  their  day,  and 
cease  to  be  in  demand  by  farmers,  at  least 
where  they  have  been  tried.  That  some  por- 
tions of  the  material  brought  from  the  Paci- 
fic Islands  may  prove  moderately  useful,  is 
probable,  for  we  have  seen  specimens  which 
contained  sufiicient  ammonia  and  other  or- 
ganic constituents  to  warrant  the  belief  that 
they  would  be  beneficial  to  crops.  And  this 
will,  in  part,  account  for  the  fact  that  some 
persons  have  been  pleased  with  their  first  trial 
of  American  guano.  We  have  examined  a 
dozen  different  specimens  of  the  material,  in 
its  unground,  unmixed  state,  and  found  them 
of  various  composition,  running  all  the  way 
from  a  nearly  pure  phosphate,  up  to  one  con- 
taining a  valuable  admixture  of  organic  mat- 
ter including  a  considerable  percentage  of 
ammonia.  Now  any  person  chancing  to  ob- 
tain a  sample  of  the  last  named  quality  would 
doubtless  see  sufficiently  good  results  to  lead 
him  to  try  it  further,  and  to  commend  it  to 
others.  We  have  seen  certificates  from  such 
persons.  But  how  many  are  there  in  the 
country  who  have  reaped  no  benefit  ?  We 
have  heard  of  many  such,  yet  no  one  is  in- 
terested in  collecting  and  setting  forth  the 
cases  of  failure,  and  farmers,  as  a  class,  sel- 
dom write  out  their  experiences,  unless  it  is 
drawn  from  them,  and  so  we  seldom  get  the 
dark  side.* 


*An  illustration  may  be  given  of  the  fact  referred 
to  above.    A  few  years  since,   one    of  the  special 


370 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[June 


"We  have  hesitated  to  discourage  the  intro- 
duction of  the  American  guano,  because  we 
have  hoped,  that  in  the  progress  of  the  enter- 
prise, there  would  be  found  deposits  contain- 
ing organic  material  enough  to  verify  at  least 
a  portion  of  the  expectations  indulged  on  the 
part  of  the  importers,  and  the  public.  This 
may  yet  turn  out  to  be  the  case,  and  we  ad- 
vise those  enlisted  in  the  enterprise  to  turn 
their  attention  specifically  to  the  discovery 
and  introduction  of  organic  deposits;  for  we 
are  firm  in  the  conviction  that  the  purely  min- 
eral or  phosphatic  guanos,  such  as  are  now 
mainly  brought  here,  will  not  prove  profitable 
or  satisfactory.  We  are  aware  that  the  sell- 
ers take  a  different  view,  and  have  on  their 
side  many  scientific  men  ;  but  we  are  quite 
willing  to  put  our  opinions  on  record  to 
be  tested  by  time  and  experience.  In  the 
meanwhile,  we  must  caution  not  only  farm- 
ers but  the  importers  themselves,  not  to  in- 
vest too  largely  in  a  material  which  is  at 
best  of  doubtful  utility.  In  our  last  article 
on  manures  (Xo.  4)  we  stated,  perhaps 
fully  enough,  our  reasons  for  calling  in  ques- 
tion the  supposed  value  of  mineral  manures 
generally,  including  the  phosphates. 

Bat  whatever  may  be  the  character  of 
some  of  the  American  guanos  already  intro- 
duced, or  of  those  yet  to  be  found  and 
brought  here,  we  will  now  only  consider  the 
general  character  of  those  offered,  remarking 
that  the  chief  excellence  claimed  for  them 
by  those  interested,  is  that  they  abound  in 
phosphates.  We  have  been  furnished  with 
the  following  recent  analyses  of  several  car- 
goes, and  the  remarks  thereon  by  Prof.  S. 
"W.  Johnson,  who  conducted  the  experi- 
ments. 


pleaders  for  super-phosphate  visited  a  Xew-England 
town,  and  lectured  so  strongly  in  favor  of  the  use  of 
this  material,  that  the  cultivators  at  once  made  up 
orders  for  some  80  tons,  at  a  cost  to  them  of  nearly 
$4,000.  It  proved  a  failure,  and  we  believe  not  a 
pound  of  it  has  since  been  sold  there.  But  the  buy- 
ers quietly  pocketed  the  loss,  acknowledged  them- 
selves sold,  and  discarded  all  scientific  teachings  in 
regard  to  agriculture.  But  no  one  of  them  ever 
t'jok  the  trouble  to  collect  and  publish  the  facts.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  another  town,  one  man  obtained, 
or  thought  he  obtained,  good  results,  (perhaps  he 
had  an  extra  good  sample,)  and  on  application  he 
gave  his  certificate  in  its  favor.  That  certificate, 
and  a  few  others  of  similar  character,  were  pub- 
lished all  over  the  land  by  interested  parlies,  and 
very  many  persons  bought  super-phosphate  or  the 
strength  of  them.  TVe  only  mention  this  as  an  il- 
lustration of  how  one-sided  statements  may  some- 
times go  forth,  and  further  to  invite  those  who  try 
any  new  fertilizers  to  report  their  failures  in  all 
cases.    Let  as  have  both  sides. 


Yale  Analytical  Laboratory,  | 
New-Haven,  Gonn.,  March  16, 1860.    j 

JoH-V  B.  Sardy,  Esq. — Dear  Sir  :  This 
may  certify  that  I  have  inspected  the  dis- 
charged guano  cargoes  of  the  ships  Gosport, 
Rambler,  and  Polynesia,  late  from  Jarvis 
Island,  have  had  average  samples  taken  in 
my  presence,  and  have  submitted  the  same 
to  chemical  analyse",  with  the  following  re- 
sults. The  table  also  includes  analyses  of  a 
sample  of  the  A'ictory's  cargo,  Jarvis  Island, 
and  of  a  specimen  from  Baker's  Island. 


Gosport.." 

do.  ... 
Rambler... 

do 

Victory  ... 

do.  ... 
Polynesia. 

do  ... 
Baker's    Island:  3.57 

do.         do  3.58 


-.3 


9  =■- 


9.33 

9  24 
13.22 
12  69 

7.08; 

8851 
12.00' 
12.41 


37  33 
22  33 
.39  34 
97  33 
75  36. 
65  36 
70  34 
34  34. 
25  41, 
02  41. 


,88  21 
59  92, 
17  19 
08,19 
31125 
33  •J5 
83 1 26. 
C7,23 
54139. 
09 1 38 


20-33 
20.33 
25.07 
25  07 
21.75 
21.75 
1585 
15  85 
2.16 
2.16 


:;  -  3 

K  =  c 


1.28  I 
1.61  i 
.05/ 
.41  i 
154 
160  i 
3.15  j 
15Si 
5.24  I 
591) 


47.47 
4f47 
55  01 
59.17 
83.93 


These  cargoes  together  show  an  average 
of  Phosphoric  Acid  equal  to  50  per  cent,  of 
Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime,  which  is  suffi- 
cient to  constitute  a  valuable  fertilizer,  es- 
pecially since  the  material  is,  on  the  one 
hand,  very  finely  divided,  and  on  the  other, 
contains  considerable  organic  matter,  and 
Sulphate  of  Lime,  which,  being  themselves 
easily  decomposable  or  soluble,  must  leave 
the  Phosphate  of  Lime  exposing  a  great  sur- 
face to  the  solvent  action  of  the  soil  water. 
Simple  calculation  shows  also  that  in  the 
Jarvis  I.-land  Guano,  by  far  the  largest  share 
of  the  Phosphoric  Acid  exists  in  the  form 
of  what  is  commonly  called  neutral  Phosphate 
of  Lime,  which  is  characterized  by  a  much 
greater  solubility  than  is  possessed  by  the 
Bone  Phosphate.  For  these  reasons  this 
guano  must  manifest  greater  activity  than 
other  guanos  which  are  more  compact,  and 
consist  mainly  of  Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime. 

SAM'L  W.  JOHNSON,  Prof,  of 
Analytical  and  Agricultural 
Chemistry,  Yale  College. 

Probably  Prof.  Johnson  designed  the 
above  simply  as  a  professional  private  busi- 
ness letter;  he  should  have  stated  the  re- 
sults differently,  if  for  the  general  reader. 
The  second  column,   <'  Organic  matter  and 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERX    PLANTER, 


371 


combined  water,"  gives  no  valuable  infor- 
mation. "We  are  left  entirely  in  doubt  as 
to  Jiow  much  of  it  is  "  combined  water," 
and  how  much  is  "  organic  matter."  So 
also,  we  have  no  indication  whether  the  or- 
ganic matter  is  simply  useless  or  nearly  use- 
less carbonaceous  material,  or  whether  it 
contains  an  appreciable  amount  of  useful 
nitrogenous  compounds. 

We  have  confidence  in  Prof.  Johnson's 
skill  and  integrity  as  an  analytical  chemist, 
but  we  must  differ  with  him  in  regard  to 
the  value  he  attaches  to  these  guanos,  and 
to  phosphoric  acid  generally.  He  estimates 
soluble  phosphoric  acid  as  worth  122  cents 
per  lb.,  and  the  insolulle,  at  4^  cents  per  lb. 
Upon  this  basis  the  "  Sombrero  guano" 
imported  into  southeastern  Connecticut  quite 
largely,  was  estimated  to  be  worth  over  630 
per  ton.  Many  of  the  farmers  who  bought 
it  u_pou  this  estimate,  and  have  tried  it, 
would  not  now  buy  it  at  any  price, 

Prof.  Johnson,  very  guardedly  says 
above  :  "  Simple  calculation  shows,  etc." 
But  we  think  these  calculated  values  of 
phosphoric  acid  are  not  to  be  depended  upon 
in  estimating  its  real  value  as  a  fertilizer. 
If  the  phosphoric  acid  in  Peruvian  guano 
really  constitutes  the  estimated  part  of  the 
value  of  that  material,  then  we  admit  the 
calculated  value  of  phosphoric  acid  m  other 
fertilizers;  but  we  attribute  the  beneficial 
effects  of  Peruvian  guano,  bones,  etc., 
mainly  to  the  organic  matters,  and  especially 
to  the  ammonia  they  contain. 

The  above  analyses  show  the  elements 
of  a  notable  amount  of  sulphate  of  lime 
(plaster  of  Paris)  in  the  first  four  specimens. 
This  is  highly  valuable  upon  some  soils  and 
crops,  while  on  others  it  is  nearly  or  quite 
useless.  We  have  seen  surprising  results 
from  the  use  of  only  200  lbs.  of  plaster  to 
the  acre.  And  here  is  another  mode  of 
accounting  for  the  occasional  good  results 
obtained  last  season  from  the  American 
guano.  The  use  of  300  to  600  lbs.  of  this 
to  the  acre  would  furnish  plaster  enougl^  to 
alone  give  good  results  in  some  cases.  But 
farmers  cannot  afford  to  buy  plat^te^  in  the 
form  of  American  guano  at  830  to  S40 
per  ton,  when  the  simple,  unmixed  plaster 
is  abundant  at  S6  to  §10  per  ton. 

To  sum  up :  the  American  guano  is  re- 
commended and  sold  mainly  as  a  fertilizer 
abounding  in  phosphoric  acid,  and  this  in 
our  opinion  is  of  only  moderate  value  at 


best  * — not  enough  so,  to  at  all  warrant  its 
importation  from  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Good 
results  have  sometimes  been  obtained  by 
the  use  of  the  American  guano,  especially 
where  it  has  chanced  to  contain  abundant 
organic  matter,  and  also  where  it  has  been 
used  freely  enough  to  supply  plaster  to  the 
soil.  But  the  results  have  not  been  uni- 
formly good  by  any  means,  and  the  present 
importations  do  not  contain  organic  matter 
enough  to  be  taken  largely  into  account  in 
estimating,  their  value.  Therefore,  basing 
our  opinions  in  part  upon  the  considerations 
stated  above,  and  in  part  upon  the  reports 
of  the  results  of  its  use  thus  far,  we  are  re- 
j  luctantly  forced  to  answer  those  asking  our 
[opinion,  that  we  cannot  advise  farmers  to 
purchase  the  American  guano  in  quantity, 
]  until  something  is  offered  of  different  gene- 
jral  character  and  composition  from  that  now 
sold.  Limited  quantities  of  it  may  be  tried 
by  the  side  of  other  fertilizers. 


"What  Manures  Shall  I  Buy?" 

"  If  you  do  not  advise  to  use  the  manu- 
factured super-phosphates,  or  the  manipu- 
lated guanos,  or  the  Sombrero,  in  short,  any 
of  these  mineral  fertilizers,  pray  tell  us 
I  what  manure  we  shall  buy  ?  " 
j  Perhaps  you  need  not  buy  any.  If  on 
j  the  better  class  of  prairie,  or  on  other  lands 
where  there  is  plenty  of  vegetable  mold  up- 
on the  surface,  then  a  good  plow  and  a  good 
harrow,  to  break  up  and  pulverize  the  sur- 
face well,  so  that  the  air  may  have  free  ac- 
cess to  decompose  the  organic  matter,  may 
be  the  best  "  manuring"  you  can  give  this 
year.  An  application  of  Alkali,  in  the 
form  of  ashes  or  lime,  mingled  with  the 
soil,  is  frequently  good  to  remove  sourness 
and  hasten  the  decomposition  of  the  or- 
ganic materials,  and  prepare  them  to  feed 
the  plants.  Alkalies  are  good  on  all  cold, 
wet,  or  sour  lands,  wherever  located. 

On  the  poorer  lands,  especially  in  the 
older  sections  of  the  country,  get  the  best  or- 
ganic manures  that  are  accessible.  Good  sta- 
ble manure  is  always  the  best,  and  usually 


••■  There  is  one  view  of  the  value  of  soluble  phos- 
phoric acid  which  we  have  not  seen  stated,  viz. :  that 
like  other  acids  it  may  act  as  an  absorber  or  re- 
tainer of  ammonia,  and  so  far  it  may  be  valuable  to 
Soils  ;  and  this  may  account  for  the  good  reults  ob- 
tained from  the  use  of  the  soluble  phosphates.  But 
in  any  form  in  which  phosphoric  acid  is  accessible, 
it  costs  vastly  more  than  sulphuric  acid,  which  is  a 
notable  "fixer"  or  retainer  of  ammonia. 


572 


THE    SOUTHERN     PLANTER, 


[June 


the  cheapest,  where  it  is  to  be  had.  Next  to  fin  picking  from  reaching  the  real  ones, 
this  we  esteem  finely  ground  ?«it?/r?i€(7  bones  Moreover,  the  lock  is  powder  proof,  and 
— not  so  much  for  the  phosphoric  acid  they  may  be  loaded  through  the  key  hole  and 
contain,  as  for  their  organic  matter.  "We  ^  fired  off  till  the  burglar  is  tired  of  his  fruit- 
have  this  Spring  bought  of  Messrs.  A.  Lis-: less  work,  or  fear  that  the  explosions  will 
ter  &  Co.,  of  Tarrytown,  N.  Y.,  I2  tons  of :  bring  to  view  his  experiments  more  wit- 
dry  bone  saw-dust,  for  li  acres  of  ground  nesses  than  he  desires 
which  we  wish  to  cultivate  very  highly. — 
(We  mention  this  to  show  that  we  "  prac- 


tice what  we  preach." 

Next  to  unburned  bones  we  esteem  pure 
Peruvian  guano,  the  kind  that  costs  860  per 
ton — not  the  "  manipulated,"  nor  the  "  No. 
2,"  which  is  sold  at  a  less  price,  after  going 
through  some  process  of  reduction.  This 
sown      in     the     drill     at     the     rate     of 

100  to  500  pounds  per  acre,  and  well  har-j  tented  which  is  worked   by  a  steam  engine, 
rowed    into    the   surface,     or    scattered  as  In   an  experimental   trial,  it   froze   several 


Doors  and  shutters  have  been  patented 
that  cannot  be  broken  through  with  either 
pick  or  sledge-hammer.  The  burglar's 
"  occupation's  gone." 

A  harpoon  is  described  which  makes  the 
whale  kill  himself  The  more  he  pulls  the 
line,  the  deeper  goes  the  harpoon. 

An   ice  making   machine    has   been   pa- 


bottles  of  sherry,  and  produced  blocks  of 
ice  the  size  of  a  cubic  foot  when  the  ther- 
mometer was  up  to  eighty  degrees.  It  is 
calculated  that  for  every  ton  of  coal  put 
into  the  furnace,  it  will  make  a  ton  of  ice. 
From   Dr.  Dale's  examiner's  report  we 


a  top-dressing,  is  usually  a  paying  applica- 
tion. The  amount  per  acre  depends  upon 
the  poorness  of  soil.  For  high  culture,  as 
in  gardens,  GOO  lbs.  or  more  per  acre  will 
not  be  amiss. 

Next  to  Peruvian  guano,  try — well,  we 
hardly  know  what  to  recommend,  for  there  [gather  some  idea  of  the  value  of  patents, 
is  little  else  in  market  always  worth  buying;  a  man  who  bad  made  a  slight  improvement 
at  the  price  asked,  and  the  transportation  I  in  straw  cutters,  took  a  model  of  his  ma- 
There  are  several  varieties  of  animal  com-! chine  through  the  Western  States,  and  after 
pound?,  made  in  limited  quantities,  which  U  tour  of  eight  months,  returned  with  forty 
are  sometimes  cheap  at  the  prices  asked  for  ^  thousand  dollars.  Another  man  had  a  ma- 
them,  and  sometimes  not.  We  hardly  dare , chine  to  thrash  and  clean  grain,  which  in 
recommend  them  for  general  use.  Among, fifteen  months  he  sold  for  sixty  thousand 
them  are  :  the  blood  and  wool  manure,  when  |  dollars.  These  are  ordinary  cases — while 
purely  blood  and  wool,  and  not  mixed  up  |  such  inventions  as  the  telegraph,  the  plan- 
ing machine,  the  India  rubber  patents,  are 
worth  millions  each. 

Examiner  Lane's  report  decribes  new 
electrical  inventions.  Among  these  is  an 
electrical  whaling  apparatus,  by  which  the 
whale  is  literally  "shocked  to  death."  An- 
other is  an  electro-magnetic  alarm,  which 
rings  bells  and  displays  signals  in  case  of 
fire  and  burglars.  Another  is  an  electric 
clock,  which  wakes  you  up,  tells  you  what 
time  it  is,  and  lights  a  lamp  for  you  at  any 
hour  you  please. 

There  is  a  "sound  gatherer,"  a  sort  of 
huge  ear-trumpet,  to  be  placed  in  front  of  a 
locomotive,  bringing  to  the  engineer's  ears 
all  the  noise  ahead  ;  perfectly  distinct,  not- 
withstanding the  noise  of  the  train. 

There  is  an  invention  that  picks  up  pins 
from  a  confused  heap,  turns  them  around 
with  their  heads  up,  and  sticks  them  in 
papers  in  regular  rows. 

Another  goes  through  the  whole  process 


with  sand ;  the  poudrettes,  when  not  too 
liberally  compounded  with  muck,  and  when 
the  excrements,  from  which  they  are  made, 
have  not  been  taken  from  cess-pools  where 
a  constant  flow  of  water  has  washed  out  the 
most  valuable  portions.  A  fuller  descrip- 
tion of  the  fertilizers  above  alluded  to,  and 
others,  will  be  given  in  the  regular  chapters 
upon  manure. 


A  List  of  Wonders. 


Among  the  thousands  of  marvelous  in- 
ventions which  American  genius  has  pro- 
duced, within  the  last  few  years,  are  the 
following,  compiled  in  an  abstract  from  the 
Patent  Office  Report.  Read  them  over, 
and  then  say,  if  you  can,  that  there  is  no- 
thing new  under  the  sun  : 

The  retort  explains  the  principle  of  the 
celebrated  Hobb  lock.  Its  "  unpick&bility  " 
depends  upon  a  secondary  or  false  set  of 
tumblers,  which  prevent  instruments  used 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


373 


of  cigar  making,  taking  in  leaves  and  turn- 
ing out  finished  cigars. 

One  machine  cuts  cheese;  another  scours 
knives  and  forks  ;  another  rocks  the  cradle ; 
and  seven  or  eight  take  in  washing  and 
ironing. 

There  is  a  parlor  chair  patented  that 
cannot  be  tipped  back  upon  two  legs,  and  a 
railway  chair  that  can  be  tipped  back  in 
any  position,  without  any  legs  at  all. 

Another  patent  is  for  a  machine  that 
counts  passengers  in  an  omnibns  and  takes 
their  fares.  When  a  very  fat  gentleman 
gets  in,  it  counts  two  and  charges  double. 

There  are  a  variety  of  guns  patented  that 
load  themselves;  a  fishing  line  that  adjusts 
its  own  bait,  and  a  rat  trap  that  throws 
away  the  rat,  and  then  baits  itself  and 
stands  in  the  corner  for  another. 

There  is  a  machine,  also,  by  which  a  man 
prints,  instead  of  writes,  his  thoughts.  It 
is  played  like  a  piano  forte.  And  speaking 
of  pianos,  it  is  estimated  that  nine  thousand 
are  made  every  year  in  the  United  States, 
giving  constant  employment  to  one  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  persons,  and  costing  over 
two  millions  of  dollars. — Baltimore  Ex- 
chanye. 

From  the  Country  Gentleman  and  Cultivator. 

Value  of  Corn  Cobs. 
Messrs.  Editors — In  the  Country 
Gentleman  for  Feb.  16.  p.  113,  I  find  an 
inquiry  by  A.  W.  Parsons,  on  the  subject 
of  corn-cobs  for  feed.  As  my  mind  has 
been  somewhat  exercised  on  that  subject,  I 
propose  to  give  you  briefly  my  conclusion, 
and  the  process  by  which  I  arrived  at  it.  I 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  getting  my  corn 
and  cobs  ground  together,  as  was  the  case 
with  the  most  of  my  neighbors  ;  but  I  was 
not  exactly  satisfied  that  it  was  a  paying 
business,  for,  to  look  at  a  basket  of  cobs,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  there  could  be  but  little 
nutriment  contained  therein— not  much  more 
than  in  a  nice  basket  of  chips.  I  concluded 
that  the  analysis  of  the  cob  must  settle  the 
question,  and  on  consulting  authorities,  I 
found  that  according  to  the  analysis  of  Chas. 
T.  Jackson  of  Boston,  Mass.,  the  cob  con- 
tained three  and  one-fourth  per  cent,  of  nu- 
tritive matter.  According  to  the  analysis 
of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  the  corn  contained 
seventy-seven  per  cent,  of  nutritive  matter. 
Here  then  was  a  basis  for  calculation.  If 
one  hundred  pounds  of  corn  gives  seventy- 
seven  per  cent.,  and  one  hundred  pounds  of 


cobs  gains  three  and  one-fourth  per  cent., 
then  one  hundred  pounds  of  corn  is  worth 
as  much  as  twenty-three  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  pounds  of  cobs.  Well,  now,  thinks  I 
to  myself,  that  would  make  a  pretty  good 
sized  pile  of  cobs.  Now  suppose  a  cow,  or 
an  ox,  or  a  horse,  to  be  a  thinking  reason- 
ing being,  and  then  place  the  two  piles  before 
them — the  one  hundred  pounds  of  corn,  and 
the  twenty-three  hundred  and  sixty-nine, 
pounds  of  cobs,  and  tell  them  there  is  just 
as  much  nutriment  in  one  as  the  other, 
which  do  you  suppose  they  would  choose  ? 
Would  they  not  revolt,  and  justly  too,  at 
the  idea  of  eating  all  of  that  monstrous  pile 
for  what  little  it  contained.  And  then  the 
wear  and  tear,  for  it  seems  to  me  it  would 
take  a  cast  iron  stomach,  or  something  as 
strong,  to  digest  the  cob. 

I  believe  the  millers  generally  charge 
more  for  grinding  when  they  grind  the  cob, 
so  that  in  reality,  we  pay  them  all,  or  more 
than  all  the  cob  is  worth  for  their  work. 

I  shell  my  corn,  and  use  the  cobs  for  fuel, 
and  I  think  they  will  nearly  pay  for  the 
shelling  of  the  corn  if  used  in  that  way,  for 
they  not  only  make  a  good  fire,  but  they 
make  a  large  quantity  of  first  rate  ashes,  and 
and  then  the  convenience  of  handling  the 
corn  after  it  is  shelled  is  no  inconsiderable 
item.  John  F.  Ovenshire. 

Bradford  Co.,  Pa. 

Following  the  Copy. 

The  Printers'  rule  is  to  follow  the  copy  if 
it  goes  out  of  the  window.  It  seems  that 
the  manufacturers  of  England  are  equally 
rigid  in  their  regulations  and  in  both  cases 
the  responsibility  of  mistakes  which  some- 
times occur  rests  with  those  who  furnish 
"  the  pattern." 

Axes  without  Handles — The  Railway  Re- 
view reports  that  the  managers  of  the  Grand 
Trunk  Railway  sent  a  pattern  to  England  of 
the  axes  needed  to  cut  wood  for  their  road 
in  Canada,  and  ordered  2500  of  the  articles 
made.  The  house  receiving  the  order  went 
immediately  to  work  to  fill  it,  and  a  few 
months  ago  shiped  to  the  managers  of  the 
I'oad  at  Montreal  the  axes  as  ordered. 
Upon  receiving  their  property,  however,  the 
scientfic  men  found  that  not  one  axe  out  cf 
the  2.500  had  a  hole  in  it  to  receive  the 
handle.  They  were  made  according  to  the 
order — "  exactly  like  the  pattern,"  They 
have  these  axes  for  sale  now  in  3Iontreal. — 
Ncio  Yorh  Observer. 


374 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


[June 


ij\^t  Sffutljtni  |!hiitn\ 


RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 


Editors. 

It  is  a  very  general  impression  among  "  the 
public" — who  of  course  are  uninitiated  in  the 
mysteries  of  the  "  Sanctum  " — that  the  post  oc- 
cupied by  the  class  whose  name  heads  our  page, 
is  one  of  great  pleasure,  profit  and  idleness. 
The  place  of  all  others,  where  a  man  may  secure 
for  himself  position,  influence  and  wealth — to- 
gether with  a  perfect  exemption  from  the  little 
vexations,  labors  and  cares  which  beset  other 
people,  by  a  sacrifice  of — nothing :  Honors  and 
profits  are  yours  without  the  trouble  of  asking 
for  them  !  Oh,  ye  Knights  of  the  Pen,  the  Scis- 
sors and  the  Press !  the  public  must  know  your 
condition,  your  character,  and  the  minutae  of 
your  "daily  walk;''  the  '^eecret  springs  of  ac- 
tion "  which  vibrate  in  so  many  bosoms,  and 
which  are  only  unknown  to  yourselves  :  your 
gross  receipts,  and  your  net  profits  ;  tliat  being, 
editors,  you  are  of  course  rich,  idle  and  "sassy," 
for  the  "  public "  has  had  many  dealings  with 
you,  and  can  bring  up  "  many  witnesses,"  out  of 
whose  mouths  must  be  established  "  a  proper 
conclusion." 

But  we  know  that  you  '•  are  not  like  other 
men,"  and  have  concluded  "to  bring  you  up  to 
condign."  In  short,  to  give  you  a  trial,  and  to 
"  show  you  up  "  fairly. 

Accordingly  we  abandon  the  Chair,  and  count 
ourselves  out,  to  avoid  personality  and  to  secure 
impartiality.  We  claim  the  privilege  of  an  out- 
sider, and  as  such,  proceed  to  help  you  "see 
ourselves  as  others  see  us." 

Stand  up  like  men,  and  answer  to  the  "  pub- 
lic's "  charge — if  you  can. 

You  are,  in  feeling,  hard  and  callous,  for  "  like 
the  old  woman's  eels,''  you  are  used  to  being 
"  touched  upon  tlie  raw." 

You  utter  so  much  "  copy  "  every  day,  or 
month,  as  the  case  may  be,  with  no  higher  am- 
bitional  motive  than  to  gain  for  yourself  "  rest 


for  a  troubled  mind,"  and  to  appease  the  resilass 
inquietude  of  "  the  devil,"  who  can  subsist  on 
no  other  food.  j 

In  consequence  of  these,  your  professional 
idiosyncrasies,  you  are  not  suflS.ciently  alive  to 
the  censure,  the  praise,  the  utter  indiflerencej 
tlie  sj'mpathy  and  kindly  regards  of  j^our  fellow 
men — subscribers  especially. 

Speak  now,  ye  gentlemen  of  the  craft,  for  we 
will  question  you,  and  tell  us  if  there  be  a  man 
among  you  who  has  not  felt  his  bosom  swelh 
I  his  breathin»  grow  short,  and  a  strong  desire 
pervade  his  right  arm  to  grasp  the  hand  of  some 
honest,  manly  fellow — one  of  Nature's  noble- 
men, who  has  given  you  evidence  of  his  capa- 
city "to  feel  another's  woes,"  by  making  you 
the  recipient  of  an  unsolicited  and  unselfish 
kindness?  Wipe  the  ink  from  your  faces,  that 
when  you  answer  we  may  see  whether  truth  is 
patent  as  your  mouth  opens.  We  have  an  in- 
terest in  j'ou— -no  matter  what  your  condition  is, 
and  will  give  you  the  suggestions  appropriate 
to  your  case,  kindly  volunteered  by  Mr.  "  World- 
ly-Wise,"  for  the  present  occasion. 

As  you  do  not  conceal  the  fact  that  you  are 
often  "seeking  rest,  and  finding  none,"  we  can- 
not help  wondering  whether  such  men  be  "sin- 
ners above  all  these,"  whose  "lines  are  cast  in 
pleasant  places." 

What  right  have  you  to  lead  st  life  of  self- 
denial  or  industry  ;  to  work  for  the  "  common 
good,"  and  the  benefit  of  every  class  in  the 
community^  Can't  you  attend  to  your  own  con- 
cerns, and  let  other  people's  business  alone? 
'Twould  better  suit  the  spirit  of  this  progressive 
age  not  to  be  so  "  old  fogyish,"  and  to  "  take  it 
easy." 

You  do  feel  anxious,  do  you,  about  your  "Ta- 
ble of  Contents,"  and  the  "opinion  of  the 
world?"  How  can  you  be  so  nervous?  You 
should  preserve  a  "stifi"  upper  lip"  and  a  more 
independent  equanimity. 

You  feel  irritated  and  mortified,  too,  whenever 
you  catch  a  gratuitous  "fling,"  or  get  an  unde- 
served kick.  Why  don't  you  always  cherish  a 
more  Christian  spirit  ?  Your  flesh  is  weak  ;  then 
in  these  times  of  muscle  try  to  be  more  manly. 

You  do  not  fill  your  columns  up  with  a  suffi- 
ciency of  original  matter  now,  and  sometimes  you 
talk  too  much. 

Because  you  are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that 
"  there's  nothing  new  under  the  sun,"  is  that 
any  reason  why  any  one  man,  in  tliis  "free 
country,"  shouldn't  think  the  other  way,  or  both 
ways,  if  he  chooses  ? 


ISGO.] 


THE    SOUTHEKX    PLANTER. 


375 


Again,  who  wants  a  paper  filled  with  your 
thoughts  and  egotism,  when  yon  can  present  a 
sheet  filled  with  the  very  best  thoughts  of 
"others,"  which  you  can  arrange  by  labor  and 
good  sense,  artistically,  to  suit  every  body?  You 
have  only  to  select  the  matter,  that  is  all. 

Why  should  you,  (who  are  only  an  Editor — 
one  of  that  class  who  should  feel  nothing,  knoic 
every  thing,  and  tcatit  little.)  feel  concerned  about 
your  list  of  non-paying  subscribers  to  whom  you 
have  sent  your  paper  regularly  for  years  per- 
haps ?  Dout  you  know  that  they  have  only 
'•  taken  it  "  to  "  encourage  you  ?"  Why  be  con- 
cerned at  all  about  the  state  of  your  family? 
Are  they  not  participants  of  your  fortunate  lot ; 
cant  you  blot  out  from  your  remembrance  the 
fact,  that  your  exchequer  is  empty,  that  printers 
will  want  pay  for  sending  your  papers  to  those 
\eho  '^encourage"  you,  that  "bills  payable" 
must  be  "met,"  if  they  can't  be  conquered; 
and  that  you  must  "renew"  when  you  can"t 
"  take  up  ;"  that  "  the  devil "'  will  creep  close 
to  your  elbow  again,  crying  ''  copy,"  while  an 
echo  from  a  ^'delinquent  subscriber''  repUes, 
'^copy  if  you  dare!''  Can't  you,  I  say,  very  easi- 
ly dispose  of  all  these  little  troubles  by — going 
to  sleep.  Go  on,  then,  and  we  will  give  you  a 
murmuring  lullaby. 

We  suppose  we  know  something  of  you  now, 
since  we  have  questioned  and  examined  yon 
closely;  and  we  think  you  are  a  "hard  set," 
entitled  to  a  "  hard  lot"  by  "  force  of  position" — 
but  time  fails  and  we  must  draw  our  labors  to 
a  close.  We  have  given  you  "  a  patient  and 
impartial  hearing ;"'  and  having  mingled  with 
that  great  world  outside  of  the  "  sanctum," 
while  we  were  not  overburdened  by  the  weight 
of  our  "  working  clothes,"  we  have  taken  upon 
us  that  broad  mantle  of  Charity,  which  she  ever 
keeps  to  lend — the  folds  of  which  we  spread 


cause  remains,  so  we  have  little  hope  of  bene- 
ficial results  from  the  kindly  suggestions  herein 
ofiered,  unless  we  remove  that  "  stumbling 
block "  which  causes  our  "  brother  to  ofiend." 
Therefore,  we  say  to  all  unreasonable,  non-paying 
subscribers, 

"  Delinquents  on  the  Printer's  books 
Can  never  enter  heaven.'^ 


Attention  Farmers. 

You  would  confer  a  great  favor  on  the  editoi 
of  this- paper,  and  we  verily  believe  would  do 
much  good  to  one  another,  if  you  would,  write 
regularly  your  experience  in  your  farming  opera- 
tions. 

Men  who  have  never  written   a  line  for  us 

» 

or  any  body  else,  so  far  as  we  know,  complain 
that  we  do  not  have  "  communications  enough 
from  Virginia  farmers."  Whose  fault  is  it,  we 
would  ask,  if  we  do  not  ?  We  have  begged  you 
to  write — we  have  printed  what  is  written,  and 
like  "  Oliver  Twist,"  we  have  always  politely 
asked  "for  more." 

Gentlemen,  it  lays  with  you  to  provide  the 
proper  remedy,  and  to  lake  away  a  reproach 
that  criminates  every  one  of  you  who  can  gain 
access  to  paper,  pen  and  ink.  Again  we  say 
unto  you,  write  !  write  !    WRITE. 


The  Virginia  Farm  Journal. 

Mr.  Crockett  has  announced  already  the  dis- 
continuance of  this  paper,  and  the  arrangement 
made  with  us  to  supply  those,  whose  subscrip- 
tions to  it  are  unexpired,  with  a  copy  of  the 
Southern  Planter  in  its  stead. 

It  remains  for  us  to  express  our  sincere  regret, 
that  the  Journal  should  be  discontinued  for  the 
want  of  suflScient  support ;  it  was  well  edited, 
published  weekly,  and  offered  at  the  low  price 
over  you.     Having  thus  covered  up  your  mulii-  jof  ^o  per  annum. 

tnde  of  sins,  our  heart  softens  and  goes  out  to-  It  is  mortifying  to  know,  that  while  llrginia 
ward  you,  and  from  its  inmost  depth  arises  a  furnishes  subscribers  enough  to  papers  published 
warm  aspiration  for  your  happiness  here  and!<>„f  „/  the  State  to  support  half  a  dozen  good  ones 
hereafter:  since  we  are  inclined  to  believe  it  is  j  ^^  ^o„,g^  g^e  has  ever  dealt  with  a  close  hand 
possible  that  you  may  be  "more  sinned  against  L^.|th  those  of  her  own  sons.  We  do  not  find  fault 
than  sinning,"  and  that  sometimes  you  may  of-  ^jth  the  support  extended  by  our  own  State  to 
fer  excuses  for,  and  explanations  of  imperfec-  several  papers  we  could  name,  which  are  pub- 
tions  which  are  human:  that  your  lot  will  be  .  jij^jg^j  beyond  her  borders— they  are  worthy  of 
much  improved  when  "the  wicked  cease  from !  jta^jj  ,(,  highly  do  we  esteem  them,  that  we 
troubling,"  and  your  '•  form  "  is  "  set  up  "  in  a  j  .^^.q^ij  to-day  subscribe  for  them,  did  we  not  en- 
better  "  case  "  on  high.  joy  the  pleasure  of  reading  tlJem  regularly, 
We  leave  the  fwrf  to  turn  to  the  ^rsf  caiwe  o/- through  the  courtesy  of  their  editors,  oflered 
all  complaint  against  you.  As  a  skilful  physician  through  the  customary  exchange.  But,  in  all 
could  not  expect  to  cure  the  disease  while  the  (candor,  we  are  sorry  that  there  is  so  much  truth 


376 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER 


[June 


in  the  proverb,  "A  prophet  is  not  without  honor 
save  in  hisoivn  country.'' 

We  shall  mail  the  present  number  of  the 
"Southern  Planter"  to  the  address  of  each  sub- 
scriber furnished  us  by  Mr.  Crockett — except 
those  who  are  already  subscribers  to  our  paper.  If 
these  gentlemen  should  wish  to  have  tivo  copies  of 
the  Planter  sent  them,  they  will  give  us  notice, 
and  we  will  cheerfully  furnish  them. 

We  request  the  favor  of  those  who  do  not  like 
the  arrangement,  to  notify  us  at  once  to  discon- 
tinue it. 


Super-phosphate  of  Lime. 

As  it  has  been  a  matter  of  controversy  lately, 
among  some  of  our  agricultural  brethren,  as  to 
the  merits  of  super-phosphates  as  manures,  and 
the  quantity  of  water  which  they  may  or  should 
contain,  without  being  subjected  to  a  charge  of 
adulteration,  on  account  of  their  per  centage  of 
water,  we  publish  the  following  article  from  the 
Charleston  (S.  C.)  Mercury. 

Messrs.  Rhett  &  Robson  are  the  agents  for 
'•  Rhodes'  Super-phoshate,"  and  have  published 
in  the  Mercury  the  analysis  of  an  average  sample 
of  this  manure,  made  by  G.  A.  Liebig,  of  Balti. 
more. 

For  ourselves,  we  must  candidly  say,  that  we 
have  had  a  very  limited  experience  with  super- 
phosphates of  any  kind ;  but  as  we  are  entirely 
convinced  of  the  necessity  for  supplying  the  soil 
with  this  ingredient,  so  important  to  most  of  our 
crops,  in  some  available  form,  we  expect  to  be- 
come "better  posted"  by-and-by. 

We  are  glad  to  say  we  follow  farming  for  a 
livelihood,  and  because  we  love  it  as  a  profession — 
therefore,  we  say  to  all  farmers,  we  are  proud  to 
be  ranked  "  as  one  of  them  ;"  and  we  shall  ad- 
vise no  man  to  follow  where  we  would  be  afraid 
to  lead.  Perhaps  we  spoke  too  fast  in  saying 
•to  all  farmers" — we  acknowledged  "equality 
and  fraternity" — for  we  are  sorry  to  say,  that  in 
this  time-honored  profession,  may  be  found  spe- 
cimens of  the  idle,  lazy,  and  "old  fogy"  class 
of  men;  some  who  "don't  take  the  papers,"  and 
who  by  neither  any  force  of  example,  precept, 
or  sympathy,  extend  aid  to  the  zealous  support- 
ers of  agricultural  improvement.  We  believe 
that  "farming  will  pay,"'  and  that  the  judicious 
expenditure  of  money  upon  the  lands,  for  rea- 
sons based  upon  common  sense  and  the  expe- 
rience of  prudent,  sensible  men.  and  the  scien- 
tific developments  of  the  present  age,  ■will  as 
surely  lead  to  increased  profits  to  the  farmer,  as 


any  other  class  can  reap  from  capital  employed 
in  other  callings. 

If  we  are  wrong,  we  shall  have  the  penalty 
to  pay,  as  we  don't  expect  to  abandon  this  idea, 
or  a  farm,  as  long  as  we  may  continue  in  pos- 
session of  "one  red  cent." 

While  we  strongly  urge  upon  all  farmers  the 
propriety  of  using  all  manures  which  may  in- 
crease their  crops  or  benefit  their  land,  at  the 
same  time  we  commend  caution,  and  prudent 
experiment  on  a  small  scale,  with  concentrated 
fertilizers,  until  they  ascertain  whether  they  are 
adapted  to  their  particular  soil,  since  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  same  article  produces  dif- 
ferent results  in  different  soils. 

We  are  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  there  is 
an  incidental  benefit  to  B.  M.  Rhodes  &  Co.  in 
copying  the  article  referred  to,  and  we  do  not 
wish  to  be  nnderstoood,  in  any  sense,  as  the  par- 
tizan  of  their  super-phosphate,  or  the  partizan 
of  any  concentrated  fertilizer  whatever.  On  this 
subject  every  man  must  form  his  own  opinions) 
but  as  Dr.  Liebig,  from  his  position  as  an  analy- 
tic chemist,  must  be  considered  as  competent 
authority,  we  publish  his  letter  as  instructive  on 
the  subject  of  super-phoshphates  generally. 


Mr.  Editor, — We  liand  for  publication  a  report 
from  Professor  Liebig,  of  Baltimore,  on  Rhodes' 
Super-phosphate  Lime,  which  will  be  found  of 
interest  to  those  who  have  used  it — as  correct- 
ing some  erroneous  impressions,  and  also  giving 
some  suggestions  as  to  its  mode  of  application. 

The  extensive  use  of  guano  and  artificial  fer- 
tilizers, and  the  worthlessness  of  many,  render 
it  necessary  that  the  planting  interest  should  be 
protected  against  imposition,  and  secured  in  get- 
ting them  of  the  uniform  quality  and  standard 
they  are  represented  to  be.  This  can  only  be 
done  by  subjecting  samples,  taken  indiscrimi- 
nately from  parcels,  after  arrival  here,  to  analyze 
by  chemists  of  established  reputation  here  and 
elsewhere.  This  report  fully  confirms  tliat  of 
Professor  Sheppard,  published  some  time  since, 
from  samples  taken  from  the  same  lot  of  1,500 
barrels  in  our  warehouse. 

Respectfully, 

Rhett  &  Robson. 

Baltimore,  67  South  Gay  Street,  ) 
April  13th,  1S60.  5 

REPORT  OF  ANALYSIS   OF    RHODES"  SUPER-PHOSPHATE, 
FOR  MESSRS.  RHETT  A  ROBSOX,  CHARLESTOX,  S.  C. 

A  sample  of  the  above,  averaged  from  a  lot 
of  1,500  barrels,  was  sent  at  my  office,  and  found, 
upon  analysis,  to  be  composed  as  follows : 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


377 


Sulphuric  acid 26.58 

Lime 22  12 

Phosplioric  acid 20.33 

Phospliate  of  iron  and  alumina 0.61 

Cliloride  of  natrimu ...      0.41 

Water  clieniic.'ally  combined 18.^ 

Water  as  moisture 5.7d 

Sand  and  carbon 5.60 

100.00 

Which  constituents  are  combined  as  follows  : 

Biphosphate  of  Lime .    14.70 

Containing  of  Pliosphoric  Acid.  .      8.92 

Containing  of  Lime 3.52 

Containing- of  Water 2.26 

Free  Phosplioiic  Acid 15.79 

Containing  of  Phosphoric  Acid.  .    11.41 

Containing  of  Water 4.38 

Sulphate  of  Lime  Ijydrated .    .    57.13 

Containing  of  Sulphuric  Acid  .  .      26.58 

Containing  of  Lime 18.60 

Containing  of  Water 11.95 

Phosi^hate  of  Lon  and  Alumina 0.31 

Chloride  of  Natrium 0.41 

Sand  and  Animal  carbon 5.60 

Moisture 5.76 

100.00 

The  free  Phosphoric  Acid  in  this  article, 
amounting  to  11.41  per  cent.,  is  equal  to  18.80 
per  cent,  of  Super-jDliosphate  of  Lime,  rendering 
the  whole  amount  to  tliirty-three  and  a  half  per 
cent,  of  Super-pliosphate  of  Lime. 

These  numerals  speali  for  themselves,  and 
show  that  this  article  represents  the  moR  con- 
centrated Super-pliosphate  manufactured  from 
Bones,  which  is  tlie  most  reliable  and  unilbrm 
source  for  Pliosphoric  Acid. 

The  well-deserved  name,  "Standard,"  which 
this  Super-phosphate  has  attained,  since  its  first 
introduction  to  its  present  position,  is  owing  to 
its  great  uniformity. 

The  results  which  I  have  obtained  by  analyz- 
ing many  samples,  eitlier  sent  to  me  from  differ- 
ent sources  or  drawn  by  myself  from  tbe  ditler- 
ent  agencies,  and  indeed  from  the  factory  itself, 
correspond  so  nearly,  or  are  within  such  limits, 
as  only  can  be  maintained  by  the  greatest  pos- 
sible care  and  attention  in  the  management  of 
so  large  an  establishment. 

In  a  sample  which  I  took  warm  and  smoking 
from  the  workmen  of  the  establisliment,  not 
waiting  for  the  usual  drying  process,  I  found  the 
amount  of  Super-phosphate  to  be  26  per  cent. 
(26.)  This  is  the  lowest  of  all  samples  which  I 
have  analyzed. 

The  large  increase  in  the  consumption  of  this 
article,  and,  consequently,  the  increasing  de- 
mand, has  made  necessary  the  buihlnig  of  a 
second  mammoth  series  of  oil  vitriol  apparatus, 
which  is  indeed  the  best  proof  of  the  value  of 
this  fertilizer. 

I  have  observed  in  a  Southern  paper  that  the 
water  determination  has  given  rise  to  attack 
and  susjiicion  of  adulteration.  One  who  is  not 
acquainted  with  chemical  formulas,  might  well 
be  surprised  by  the  apparently  high  per  centage 


of  water.  We  M'ill  only  remark  that  they  mus^ 
make  a  distinction  between  chemically  com- 
bined antl  mechanically  mixed  water. 

The  super-phosphate  of  lime  belongs  to  that 
class  of  salts  whose  very  existence  is  dependant 
on  a  certain  per  centage  of  water  chemically 
combined.  It  is  impossible  to  produce  this  salt 
with  less  than  15.38  per  cent,  of  water  in  che- 
mically pure  state. 

The  driving  of  the  water,  which  is  only  pos- 
sible by  calcining  at  a  high  heat,  would  totally 
alter  the  nature  of  the  salt  by  forming  a  glass, 
consequently  cease  to  be  a  soluble  super-phos- 
phate of  lime,  therefore  the  advantage  gained 
by  treating  bones  with  sulphuric  acid  would  be 
entirely  lost.  (See  Berzelius'  Chemistry,  p.  407, 
vol.  3.) 

All  finely  powdered  substances  are  hygrosco- 
pic, that  is,  they  draw  with  avidity  moisture 
from  the  air;  therefore  every  finely  powdered 
biphosphate  of  lime,  coming  dry  from  tlie  facto- 
ry, will  absorb  water  from  the  air,  and  cannot 
be  found  with  less  than  four  per  cent,  of  hygro- 
scopic water. 

I  do  not  think  it  inappropriate  here  to  say  to 
you  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  application  of 
these  manures. 

The  English  and  Belgians  sow  but  oiie-third 
the  quantity  of  super-phosphate  intended  for  a 
field,  and  spread  the  other  two-thirds  when  the 
plants  are  beginning  to  sprout,  or  when  they 
have  appeared  above  the  surface. 

The  advantage  to  be  derived  from  this  method 
istvyo-fold:  1st.  The  exposed  super-phosphate 
being  in  contact  with  the  atmospheric  air,  will 
have  much  greater  opportunity  of  absorbing 
ammonia  from  it.  2d.  Rain  and  dew  dissolving 
the  super-phosphate,  it  descends  below  the  siTr- 
face,  and  none  of  this  valuable  fertilizer  will  be 
lost,  as  the  fine  fibres  are  ready  to  absorb  it  by 
this  time. 

I  feel  convinced  that  no  farmer  desirous  of 
improving  his  land  and  increasing  his  crops, 
ought  to  be  afraid  of  the  trouble,  or  to  make  at 
least  a  trial  in  this  method  of  applying  this  in- 
valuable manure. 

G.  A.  LiEBiG,  Ph.  Dr. 
Successor  to  Dr.  Charles  Bickel. 


The  Southei-n  Field  and  Firesisde  is  an  able  and 
interesting  family  paper,  filled  with  matter  bene- 
ficial, amusing  and  instructive  to  both  the  old 
and  young  members  of  the  family  circle.  Pub- 
lished at  Augusta,  Georgia,  weekly,  at  Two  Dol- 
lars a  year  in  advance. 

Our  schoolmate,  Jno.  R.  Thompson,  Esq.,  the 
talented  and  well-known  editor  of  the  Southern 
Literary  Messenger  for  many  years,  has"  gone  into 
the  Editorial  Corps  of  "  The  Field  and  Fire- 
side," and  we  do  most  cordially  recommend 
this  paper  to  all  our  Southern  friends,  "  and  to 
the  rest  of  mankind." 


."k 


878 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[June 


Z.  Brummcnd,  of  Amherst. 

The  venerable  agriculturist  whose  name  heads 
this  article  is  no  more.  He  has  been  a  subscri- 
ber to  the  Southern  Planter  probably  from  its 
commencement,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  volume, 
until  within  the  last  two  years,  when  probably 
prevented  from  writing  by  advanced  age  and 
increasing  infirmities,  which  does  not  contain 
one  or  more  sound,  practical  and  instructive  ar- 
ticles, on  some  ^veU-chosen  subject  in  agricultu- 
ral economy,  from  his  facile  pen.  For  many 
years  he  was  a  constant  contributor  to  the  agri- 
cultural department  of  the  Lynchburg  Virginian, 
and  his  valuable  communications  did  not  fail  to 
invest  that  always  well-conducted  paper  with 
additional  interest  for  the  country  reader,  even 
when  in  its  palmiest  days,  it  could  ^vell  boast  as 
its  editor  the  gifted  and  lamented  Toler! 


Our  Farm  of  Four  Acres,  and  the  Money  ice  made 
by  it.  New  York :  C.  M.  Saxton,  Barker  & 
Co.     From  James  Woodhouse,  Esq. 

The  peculiarity  of  this  book  is  the  plain  com- 
mon sense  shown  in  it. 

Two  ladies  leave  London  for  the  country,  and 
manage  by  skill,  attention  and  economy  to  ob- 
tain a  larger  share  of  health  and  comfort  from  a 
little  farm  of  four,  acres  than  could  have  been 
believed  possible.  Their  experience  is  pleas- 
antly recorded.  In  well-written  English  they 
narrate  how  they  learned  with  difficulty  to  make 
butter,  to  keep  cows,  pigs  and  poultry ;  they 
give  valuable  recipes  for  making  bread,  curing 
bacon  and  managing  a  kitchen,  garden,  and 
wind  up  the  book  by  showing  how  cheaply  a 
pony  can  be  kept  in  the  country,  and  how  much 
comfort  there  is  in  having  one. 

We  commend  the  book  to  our  readers;  if  they 
do  not  require  the  instruction,  it  will  at  least 
amuse  and  interest  them.  One  lesson  all  may 
learn  from  it,  for  it  is  the  central  idea  of  the 
book — if  you  wish  business  well  done,  do  it 
yourself. 


Flint's  Mileh  Cows  and  Dairy  Farming. 

We  tender  our  thanks  to  Chas.  L.  Flint,  Esq.. 
the  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
Massachusetts,  for  a  copy  of  the  last  edition  of 
this  very  valuable  book.  We  think  every  cattle 
breeder  should  have  it,  as  it  is  sold  at  a  mode- 
rate price,  ($1.25,)  and  contains  a  great  deal  of 
useful  information  on  every  subject  connected 
with  the  dairy,  breeds  and  management  of  cat- 
tle, making  and  preserving  butter,  &c.,  &c. 


.For  the  Southern  Planter. 

King  &  Queen  Co.,  Va. 

3Ir.  Editor  :  I  have  a  nursery  of  young  fruit 
trees  which   have  looked  well  and  flourishing 

fptil  recently.  They  are  infected  with  small 
ugs  or  lice,  similar  to  those  on  tabbage  in  fall 
of  the  year.  Thej'  jnust,  from  appearances  at 
present,  kill  all.  or  at  least,  nearly  so.  and  thus 
end  my  crop  of  trees  for  one  year.  I  have  close- 
ly examined  and  watched  them,  but  failed  to 
discover  their  origin.  I  observe  very  many 
small  redish  bugs,  called,  I  think,  the  ''lady 
bug,"  also  a  long,  ugly  fly.  Will  you,  or  some 
other  friend  of  the  farmer,  tell  us  the  name  and 
description  of  bug  or  insect  that  propagates 
these  vermin? — we  may  thus  destroy  them  by  a 
strike  art  their  origin- — and  oblige, 

A  Friend. 

We  hope  some  of  our  friends  engaged  in  the 
nursery  business  wiU  reply  to  this  query,  and 
oblige  us — Ed. 


Erratum. 

In  Mr.  Hill  Carter's  address,  published  in  our 
May  number,  an  important  typographical  error 
occurs,  which  the  reader  wiU  please  correct. 
Page  274,  3rd  line  from  the  top,  for  pure  white 
"lands"  read  satids. 


S^^  We  return  our  sincere  thanlcs  to  H.  I. 
Smitl^  Fsq.,  for  a  present  of  asparagus,  which 
was  very  acceptable,  and  which  we  disposed  of 
as  he  intended,  by  filling  up  the  gaps  in  our 
ribs.  Thirty  stalks  of  this  asparagus  weighed 
only  half  an   ounce   less  than  five  pounds. 


Substitute  for  Guano. 

The  late  Professor  Johnston  of  Edinburgh  pro- 
posed the  following  recipe  as  a  substitute  for 
Guano : 

Seven  bushels  of  bone  dust,  .  .  315  His- 

Sulphate  of  ammonia,       .  .  .  100  " 

Pearl  ash  (or  80  BBs.  of  wood  ashes,)  30  " 

Common  salt,    .         .          .  .  .  SO  " 

Dry  sulphate  of  soda,        .  .  .  20  " 

Nitrate  of  soda,          .          .  •  .  25  " 

Crude  sulphate  of  magnesia,  .  .  50  " 


610 


The  News, 

Published  at  Independence,  Va..  by  Thomas 
Pugh  and  Lundy,  a  weekly  .journal,  neutral  in 
politics.     Price,  1.50  in  advance. 

We  place  on  our  exchange  list  and  tender  our 
cordial  greetings,  and  best  wishes  to  the  pub- 
lishers. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


379 


Horizontal  Culture. 

Dr.  Cloud  —Dear  Sir: — There  are  many 
things  to  be  taken  into  consideration  theo- 
retically and  practically  applied  to  lands 
that  are  waveing,  or,  in  other  words,  that 
are  hilly,  and  need  bringing  to  a  level,  in 
order  to  retain  the  soil. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  branch- 
ditches,  conductors,  to  be  cut  as  straight  as 
possible  with  the  spade,  and  large  enough 
to  hold  all  the  water  that  the  hill-side  ditches 
may  empty  into  them,  this  done,  the  next 
thing  is  the  hill-side  ditches,  these  will  re- 
quire some  skill,  patience  and  knowledge; 
but  before  you  can  commence,  you  must 
have  some  kind  of  an  instrument  to  meas- 
ure the  grade  for  the  ditch,  for  this  I  have 
found  nothing  to   surpass  the  rafter-level. 

The  first  thing  then  is  the  construction 
and  description  of  an  instrument  absolutely 
necessary  to  lay  ofi"  the  work  correctly — the 
opinion  of  many  that  they  can  lay  ofi"  as 
good  a  ditch  or  run  as  level  a  row  by  the 
eye,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.     Take 


two  strips  of  plank  1  inch  thick,  3  inches 
wide,  and  8  feet  long,  put  them  together  at 
one  end  by  letting  into  each  other  at  such 
angle  as  that  the  other  ends  will  be  just  12 
feet  apart  from  outside  to  outside,  and  take 
2  other  strips  of  the  same  width  and  thick- 
ness and  of  sufficient  length,  and  let  the 
end  of  one  into  the  piece,  one-third  from 
the  top,  or  crown,  and  the  other  end  one-third 
from  the  foot  of  the  opposite  or  other  side 
piece.  The  other  piece  must  be  let  in 
the  same  way  from  the  opposite  side  piece 
which  will  cause  them  to  cross  each  other, 
where  they  must  be  let  into  each  other,  the 
whole  put  together  with  inch  screws  firmly. 
Then  draw  a  line  from  the  outer  corner  of 
one  foot  to  the  outer  corner  of  the  other, 
mark  and  saw  off,  this  will  make  the  instru- 
ment flat  on  its  feet,  when  raised  upon  them. 
It  should  have  two  good  coats  of  paint  to 
protect  the  wood  from  the  influence  of  the 
weather.  You  can  either  attach  a  spirit- 
level  to  it,  or  you  may  use  plumb  and  line ; 
(I  use  the  plumb,)  fasten  the  line  at  the 


crown  of  the  instrument,  and  on  a  strip 
attached  to  the  underside  of  the  two 
braces  straight  across  from  one  to  the 
other,  get  your  level  marked  by  placing  the 
instrument  on  some  level  surface;  to  get  the 
grade  marks,  place  a  block  one  inch  thick 
under  one  of  the  feet,  then  mark  the  inch 
under  your  plumb  line,  and  so  on  until  you 
get  as  many  inches  cither  way  as  you  desire. 
Now  the  instrument  is  ready  for  operating 
with. 

The  next  thing  is  to  lay  ofi"  the  hill-side 
ditches — examine  the  hill  or  slope  that  you 
wish  to  operate  on,  consider  where  the  ditch 


ought  to  commence,  where  it  should 
run  and  where  it  should  empty,  so  as 
to  have  the  ditch  where  it  ought  to  be, 
but  at  no  time  give  your  ditch  less  or  more 
fall  in  order  to  get  it  empty  at  a  certain 
place,  always  commence  the  ditch  some  dis- 
tance above  all  the  washes  in  the  land  so  as  to 
stop  all  the  water  that  collects  and  carries 
oft'  the  soil.  But  if  there  are  any  gullies 
in  the  field  you  wish  to  hill  side  ditch,  first 
fill  them  up  so  as  you  can  more  readily 
cross  them  with  your  ditch. 

You  can  commence  your  ditch  either  at 
the  emptying  place,  or  at  the  top  or  upper 


380 


THE  SOUTHERX  PLAXTER, 


[June 


end    of   the   ditch.     With   new  beginners,  I  sider  the  quantity  of  water  that  will  flow 
thej  had  better  begin  at  the  top   and  carry  I  into  your  ditch  at  the  heaviest  rains  that 

may  fall   on   your   fields,    and   make   your 
ditches  accordingly.      Xow   your   ditch   is 


the  gr-  de  down.  First  select  your  place  to 
begin,  all  ready  on  the  spot,  a  good  plowman 
with  a  good  strong  mule  and  good  turn- 
plow.  Now  commence  laying  ofi"  your 
ditch  and  let  the  plow  follow  after  you. 
The  first  three  strides  of  your   level  give 


laid  off  and  plowed  out  the  first  time, 
and  the  hoes  should  follow  and  drag  the 
plowed  up  dirt  out  of  the  ditch,  biing- 
ing  it  all  to  the  lower  side  of  the  ditch, 
three  inches  fall  to  a  stride,  (without  there  I  this  done,  cause  the  plows  to  follow  after 
should  be  a  large  quantity  of  water  caught  the  hoes  and  plow  out  the  ditch  again  close 
at  the  start,)  then  give  one  and  a  half  and  deep  with  one  furrow  less ;  but  be  cer- 
inches  every  strike  for  the  first  200  yards,  tain  to  run  the  extra  furrow  in  the  last 
if  your  ditch  is  longer,  (though  it  should ,  furrow  on  the  upper  side  in  the  bottom  of 
not  be  if  it  possibly  could  be  avoided,)  the  '  the  ditch — this  will  cause  the  ditch  to  be 
first  100  yards  give  one  inch,  and  the  next 'deeper  at  the  upper  side  than  the  lower 
100  yards  half  inch.  If  your  land  should  '  side,  which  is  a  very  necessary  thing,  so  as 
be  very  sandy,  give  less  fall,  and  make  the  I  to  caiLse  the  water  not  to  bear  too  heavily 
ditch  wide  with  a  high  bank.  Now  your  on  the  fresh  bank  below.  Now  cause  the 
ditch  is  laid  off,  it  has  but  one  furrow,  have  |  hoes  to  draw  the  dirt  out  of  the  ditch  the 
another  good  plowman  with  a  good  and  large  I  second  time.  At  this  time  you  may,  and 
turn-plow  and  strong  mule  ;  have  this  plow,  generally  can,  complete  the  ditch,  have  the 
or  as  many  more  as  are  necessary,  plowing  j  loose  dirt,  and  all  bumps  that  may  be  in  the 
out  the  ditch.  Run  three  furrows  close  i  bottom  of  the  ditch  dragged  out  clean, 
and  deep  as  mule  can  well  pull  the  plow,  roots  and  grubs  cut  out  smooth,  large  stumps 
above  the  first  furrow  or  the  furrow  that ;  and  trees  you  can  shun  by  observing  them 
the  ditch  was  laid  off  with,  which  will  make 'in  time,  and  grade  and  make  the  ditch  so 
four  furrows,  and  in  the  fourth  furrow  run  as  not  to  wash  or  break  over  at  them,  or  by 
another  furrow  in  order  to  get  the  ditch  ^  the  alteration  that  you  will  have  to  make. 
the  deepest  on  the  upper  side.  Always  in  j  Leave  nothing  close  about  the  ditch  that 
plowing  out  the  ditch,  throw  the  dirt  to  the  ;may  fall  into  it,  such  as  brush,  old  grass  and 
lower  side ;  to  do  this,  you  will  always  have  |  weeds.  Be  certain  to  make  your  ditch 
to  drag  back  the  plow,  without  you  should  large  enough  to  carry  off  all  the  water  that 
be  fortunate  enough  to  be  supplied  with  i  may  fall  into  it.  31ake  it  wider  and  with 
hill-side  plows.  I  a  stronger  bank  at  all  the   gullied   places. 

For  every  hundred  yards,  after  the  first  i  for  at  these  places  the  water  will   always 
hundred,  increase   vour  ditch   in    size   one  come  with  some  force,   and  here   the   ditch 


furrow  in  the  width  for  the  bottom.  Say 
for  the  first  hundred  yards  four  furrows,  for 
the  second  hundred  yards  five   furrows,  and 


is  more  apt  to  break,  and  when  broken  it 
becomes  very  troublesome,  for  it  washes  out 
the  old  guUey  that  you  have  laboured  hard 


so  on.  The  great  fault  of  many  in  making,  to  fill  up,  then  your  work  in  this  line  is  all 
hill-side  ditches,  they  make  them  too  small,  j  to  do  over,  and  you  have  less  dirt  to  do  it 
they  soon  become  filled  up,  break  and  j  with,  also  your  ditch  bank  at  this  place  is 
do  much  harm  to  the  land  in  the  way  of  to  make  up  again.  Always  recollect  hill- 
inaking  gullies,  carrying  off  the  virgin  side  ditching  is  worth  doing;  and  "  what  is 
soil,  &c.  I  worth  doing,  is  worth  doing  well." 

In  laying  off  hill-side  ditches,  there  are  j  Your  ditch  is  now  completed.  Now  you 
many  things  to  be  kept  in  consideration, ;  must  consider  where  the  next  ditch  will  be 
the  quantity  and  force  of  the  water,  that  I  necessary.  Here  you  must  exercise  some 
will  fall  into  the  ditch  that  you  are  about 'judgment ;  first  consider  the  quantity  of 
making,  you  will  have  land  that  has  but  \  water  th-it  falls  at  the  heaviest  rains,  and 
little  descent;  then  in  a  few  strides  it  will,  the  distance  below  the  ditch  that  you  first 
be  steep  and  full  of  gullies  that  you  have  [laid  off  that  the  water  will  commence  ear- 
previously  filled  up,  here  give  your  ditch  i  rying  off  the  soil,  (?'.  e.,  the  surplus  water 
more  fall,  especially  when  you  cross  the  old ,  that  your  runs  will  not  retain,)  here,  as 
guUey,  in  order  to  run  off  more  readily,  for  near  as  possible,  make  your  next  ditch,  and 
at  all  such  places  the  water  comes  quicker ;  so  on  until  you  make  all  the  ditches  neces- 
and  with  more  force  into  the  ditch.     Con-|sary   on  this   slope    or    hill-side,   and   abo 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERN    PLANTER. 


381 


wherever  a  ditch  is  needed  in  the  field,  or 
in  any  field  that  you  have,  until  you  have 
every  spot  of  ground  in  your  plantation 
that  washes  the  least,  or  is  likely  to  wash, 
protected  by  a  hill-side  ditch.  Here  I 
would  remark,  the  proper  time  to  hill-side 
ditch  your  land  is  when  it  is  just  cleared  ; 
whenever  you  have  your  new  ground  ready 
for  the  plow  you  should  first  lay  off  and 
make  all  the  hill-side  ditches  that  shall  ever 
be  needed — this  done,  the  next  thing  is  to 
run  ijff  your  land  in  rows  to  a  perfect  level, 
and  ever  afterwards  keep  them  so. 

Having    your    field    or     fields    hill-side 
ditched,  the  nest  thing  in   consideration  is 
the  level  or  horizontal  culture,  or  the  means 
by  which  to  arrive  at  it.     Take  your  instru- 
ment where  you. wish  to   commence   laying 
off  your  rows,  have  a  bell-tongue   plow  this 
time  to  run   off  with.     It  is  best  to   com- 
mence near  the  top  of  the  hill ;  be   certain 
to  commence  so  as  to  catch  all  the   rolling 
water.     Start  with  your  level,  carry  it  to  a ' 
perfect  level,  cause  the   bull-tongue  plow  to , 
to  follow  after  you,  run  on  until  you  come ' 
to  a  ditch,  do  not  cross  it  with  your  rows, ' 
for  if  you  do  the  plows  will  soon   fill  it  up  ; : 
but  when  you  get  to  the  ditch  your  first , 
guide  row  is  done,  then  go  twenty,  thirty, 
or  forty  yards  according  to   the  slope,  the 
steeper  the  closer  the  guide   rows  must  be. 
So,  at  the  proper  distance   commence  your 
second  guide  row,  run  as  the  first,   and  so' 
on   until    the    field   or   the    whole  of  your  I 
plantation  is  levelled.     Tou  may  start  plows 
to  laying  off  as  soon  as  you  get  two  guide , 
rows  run;  but  it  is  best   to   run    all  your  I 
guide   rows   first,  so    that  when   you   com- 
mence laying  off  you  can  be  there  with  your^ 
plows  to  detect  any  errors,  and   be  ready  to 
run  in  new  guide  rows  that  may  be  needed 
in  filling  up  between  the  fir.st  ones. 

In   laying  off  the  rows,  give  each  hand ' 
(plowman)  a  rod  just  as  long  as  you  wish 
the  width  of  your  rows,  so  they  may  have  a  ] 
guide  ;  they  will  soon  learn  the  proper  width  , 
by  the  eye.     Cause   one   plowman   to  com-j 
mence  laying  off  rows  on  the   lower  side  of  i 
the  guide  row,  and  one  on  the  upper  side  of  j 
the  guide  row  next  below — so  as  between 
every  two  guide   rows,  the  laying  off  will ; 
meet  in  the  middle.     This  they  will  do  first 
at  places  where  there  is  more  slope  in  the ' 
land,  and  at  more  level  places  there  will  be/ 
corners  that  must  be  run  off;  these  will  bcj 
mostly  short  rows.     If  by  this  time  the  level  j 
is  lost,  you  must  run  in  more  level  or  guide  j 


rows,  and  lay  off  from  them  so  as  to  have  all 
your  rows  from  one  end  to  the  other  on  a 
perfect  level;  and  in  this  way  c»Dntinue  tak- 
ing up  the  guide  rows  until  your  fit-Id  is  com- 
pleted, or  the  whole  of  your  plantation  is 
put  in  rows  to  a  perfect  level.  There  is  an 
opinion  among  many  that  this  cannot  be 
done,  it  is  impossible,  they  think,  to  get  every 
row  from  one  end  to  the  other  to  a  perfect 
level.  It  can  be  done,  and  should  be  done 
by  every  farmer  that  cultivates  hilly  land; 
but  to  do  it  requires  a  gTeat  deal  of  patience, 
and  a  strong  determination  that  there  shall 
not  be  the  least  wash  in  his  plantation.  Keep 
land,  in  this  portion  of  the  country,  from 
washing  and  it  increases  in  the  ingredients 
that  give  food  to  plants,  for  the  soil  has  a 
self-sustaining  principle,  and  cannot  be  iconi 
out,  if  well  hill-side  ditched  and  cultivated 
on  a  level  with  a  proper  rotation  of  crops, 
and  those  crops  cultivated  in  accordance  to 
the  laws,  that  naturally  govern  each  and 
every  plant  that  we  cultivate.  For  an  ex- 
ample take  a  poor  hill  side,  that  is  almost 
murdered,  ghost-like  staring  you  in  the  face, 
put  it  under  a  proper  system  of  horizontal 
culture — when  you  plow,  plow  deep  and  on 
a  level ;  how  soon  it  is  reclaimed.  Nature 
will  do  her  part,  and  soon,  instead  of  a  gul- 
lied and  galled  hill-side,  you  have  one  that 
will  produce  good  crops.  The  great  object 
in  view  is  to  retain  the  rain  water  where  it 
falls  out,  so  as  to  have  food  in  store  for  the 
plants  during  drought. 

To  keep  your  level  or  guide  rows,  in  lay- 
ing off  the  rows,  the  one  next  to  to  the  row 
that  you  run  with  the  level,  make  a  little 
wider  than  the  usual  width  of  your  rows, 
and  when  you  sow  the  land  in  small  grain, 
or  break  it  up,  lap  two  furrows  on  your  guide 
row.  This  ridge  will  remain  distinct ;  so 
when  you  wish  to"  run  oft'  the  land  in  rows 
again,  you  will  not  have  to  run  off  guide 
rows.  Always  plow  to  a  level,  and  never  ' 
plow  across  the  hill-side  ditches.  Empty  all  •* 
your  hill-side  ditches  into  your  conductors  ; 
by  no  means  ever  let  them  empty  under  the 
fence  into  the  road.^  This  makes  a  hog  hole, 
and  soon  ruins  the  road.  If  you  should 
have  a  ditch  running  the  same  course  of  the 
other  ditches  that  cannot  reach  the  conduc- 
tors, let  it  empty  into  a  hill-side  ditch  that 
does  empty  into  a  conductor. 

I  have,  in  a  hurried  manner,  written  out 
the  plan  (by  which  I  have  been  operating 
for  the  last  seven  or  eight  years,  on  the 
plantation  where  I  have  been  doing  busi- 


382 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER 


[June 


ness,)  of  Horizontal  Culture.  Land  that  F 
could  make  produce  but  two  to  three 
hundred  pounds  of  cotton  per  acre,  now  pro- 
duces over  one  thousand  pounds  per  acre 
without  one  speck  of  manure. 

Dakiel  Woffard. 

remarks  by  the  editor. 

The  foregoing  excellent,  because  practi- 
cal article,  thouL^h  not  written  in  that  helle- 


For  the  Southern  Planter 

To  the  Vine  Growers  of  the  XTuited 
States. 

At  a  late  meeting  of  the  "  Aiken  Horti- 
cultural and  Vine  Growing  Association,"  it 
was  resolved :  That  a  committee  of  five  be 
appointed  to  open  a  correspondence  with  the 
various  Vine  Growing  Associations  in  the 
United  States,  and  to  ascertain  the  practi- 
cability of  holding  a  Vine  Growing  Conven- 


lettre  style,  that  may  please  the  fancy  of'tion  in  Aiken  some  time  nest  summer  ;  and 
some  readers,  is  eminently  worthy  of  the  [if  found  practicable  and  expedient,  that  the 
study  and  adoption  of  every  man  in  this  committee  take  such  measures  to  secure  this 
country  who  cultivates  but  ten  acres  of  land.  I  object  as  they  may  think  proper,  and   that 


Mr.  Woffard  understands  the  philosophy  and 
true  principle  of  properly  placing  land  un- 
der the  I  vcl  culhire  system.     Every  position 


they  report  the  result  of  their  proceedings 
to  this  Society  at  its  meeting  in  May  next. 
The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed 


is  distinctly  taken  and  clearly  described,  so  ;  the    committee:     Messrs.    A.    DeCaradeuc, 


that  no  practical  man  need  err  in  its  appli- 
cation on  the  field.  All  of  our  old  subscri- 
bers will  distinctly  trace  through  all  this  ar- 
ticle the  teachings  of  the  ''■  Cotton  Planter." 
Years  ago,  (in  1644)  when  we  put  the  level 
on  our  rows  at  LaPlace,  but  one  writer,  (Mr. 
Hardwick;  of  Georgia,)  that  we  now  recol- 
lect, stood  firm  with  our  position.  Why  did 
we  take  that  (then  extreme)  position  ? — 
The  answer  is  found  in  this  sentence  from 


Chairman  ;  McDonald,  Ravenel,  Redmond, 
and  Wood. 

It  is  perhaps  proper  to  state  the  object  of 
the  Association  in  proposing  such  a  Conven- 
tion, and  to  point  out  a  few  of  the  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  it.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  necessary  to  come  to  some  under- 
standing about  the  names  of  the  Grapes  now 
under  cultivation,  as  it  is  evident  that  great 
confusion  exists  in  that  respect.     Most  of  the 


our  correspondent,  viz  :— "  The  great  object'    ines  being  known  in  difi"erent  places  bv  dif- 
inview  is  to  retain  the  rani  water,  where  ?Vlferent  names;  the  Black  July,  for  instance, 


falh  out,  so  as  to  have  food  in  store  for  the 
plants  during  drought."  Mr.  WoflFard  is  a 
manager  or  overseer,  and  has,  by  this  system, 
on  the  land  of  his  employer,  in  the  short 
space  of  seven  or  eight  years,  so  improved 
it,  that  on  land  which  produced  but  300 
pounds  of  seed  cotton  when  he  commenced 
operating  on  it,  now  produces,  under  this 
level  culture  system,  that  retains  rain  water 
where  it  falls,  one  thousand  pounds  of  seed 
cotton.  It  is  not  surprising  that  such  an 
overseer  should  have  remained  thus  long  in 
the  management  of  the  same  plantation. 
Every  plantation  in  the  cotton  States  can  be 


having  five  synonyms.  Thus  it  often  hap- 
pens that  a  Vine  Grower  reads  or  hears  great 
praises  of  a  Grape  whose  name  is  unknown 
to  him,  and  a  description  of  which  tallies 
with  none  that  he  has ;  he  procures  it  at 
great  expense,  cultivates  it  with  care  for  two 
or  three  years,  and  ultimately  discovers  it  is 
identical  with  some  other  he  has  had  a  long 
time.  This  is  discouraging,  and  has  deter- 
red many  from  procuring  new  and  valuable 
varieties,  which  it  would  have  been  advan- 
tageous to  have  cultivated  more  or  less  ex- 
tensively. This  difficulty  can  only  be  obvi- 
ated by  a  Convention  such  as  is  proposed — 


treated  in  the^  same  manner  and  to  the  same  j  the  best  written  description  never  being  so  lu. 

eid  as  to  convey  an  exact  idea  of  a  fruit. 

The  meeting  will  take  place  at  a  season 
when  the  fruit  at  the  South  is  ripe  ;  all  who 
attend  are  invited  and  requested  to  bring 
samples  of  their  Grapes,  ripe  if  possible,  and 
green  if  otherwise,  with  a  leaf  and  a  piece 
of  the  wood,  and  names  and  synonyms  at- 
tached. Those  who  cannot  attend  are  re- 
quested to  forward  samples  as  above.  Thus 
if  we  are  assisted  by  the  good  will  of  a  ma- 
jority of  Vine  Growers,  most  of  the  varie- 


advantage.  The  comparatively  level  not  less 
than  the  hilly.  So  level  your  culture  and 
deepen  your  plowing  whether  on  level  or 
hilly  land,  as  to  retain  the  rain  water  where 
it  falls  I — From  American  Cotton  Planter 
and  Soil  of  the  South. 


Common  sense  can  accomplish  much 
without,  talents ;  but  all  the  talents  in  the 
world  can  accomplish  very  little  without 
common  sense. 


I860.] 


THE    SOUTHERX    PLANTER. 


283 


ties  in  the  States  will  be  represented  j  their 
qualities,  names,  synonyms,  sizes,  degrees  of 
maturity,  etc.,  will  be  compared,  and  a  vast 
amount  of  invaluable  information  derived. 
Xames  will  be  agreed  upon,  accepted  or  re- 
jected with  good  authority.  Persons  will, 
also,  be  requested  to  bring  or  send  samples 
of  the  wild  grapes  from  their  neighborhood 
in  the  same  manner,  that  the  different  species 
may  be  finally  determined  upon  and  each 
grape  properly  classed  under  its  own  head  or 
type — an  object  of  great  importance  to  the 
Botany  of  the  country  and.  perhaps,  finally 
to  the  making  of  wine  from  them.  We  are 
daily  getting  additions  to  our  list  of  natives, 
and  unless  a  correct  nomenclature  and  clas- 
sification be  at  once  made,  we  will  be  thrown 
into  inextricable  confusion,  expensive  and 
troublesome  to  the  growers.  Another  object 
of  the  Convention  is  to  determine  upon  some 
manner  of  naming  the  different  Wine.*?.  The 
present  way  of  calling  them  by  the  name  of 
the  grape  is  in  direct  contravention  to  the 
established  rules  of  wine  growing  countries. 
It  has  always  been  customary  to  classify 
wines  by  the  name  of  a  State,  Province  or ' 
District,  with  the  different  brands  attached 
to  them,  according  to  the  name  of  the  par- 
ticular locality.  Thus  the  general  name 
"  Wines  of  the  Rhine"  comprises  many  par- 
ticular brands,  such  as  Hockheimer,  Johan- 
nesborg,  etc.,  etc.  Bordeaux  wines  include 
Chateaux  Margaux,  St  Julien,  La  Rose,  etc. 
The  reason  for  this  is  very  obvious.  The 
same  grape  will  make  totally  different  wines 
in  different  places.  And,  again,  in  most  wine 
countries,  (and  we  will,  no  doubt  adopt  the 
same  course)  the  grapes  are  mixed.  A  wine 
made  from  a  mixture  of  Catawba,  Isabella  j 
and  Warren  could  not  be  called  by  either  of! 
those  names. 

At  present  we  have  a  hundred  different  1 
Catawba  wines,  no  two  of  them  alike. ' 
Hence,  the  propriety  of  rejecting  the  name  ; 
of  the  fruit  in  favor  of  the  tim^-honored  j 
custom  of  naming  after  the  State,  District  I 
or  River,  with  bitinds  of  private  names  or 
localities.  Purchasers  will  then  know  atj 
once  what  they  they  are  buying,  and  will  not 
be  prejudiced  asrainst  Catawba  or  ^  arren 
wine,  because  they  have  t;isted  worthless  Ca- 
tawba or  Warren  wine. 

Ind  openden  tly  of  the  foregoing,  the  amount 
of  information  exchanged  by  persons  meet- 
ing in  such  a  Convention  as  we  propose, 
would  truly  be  worth  '•  Millions  to  the  Na- 
tion/' and  would  tend  more  to  develop  that 


rich  culture  than  all  that  could  be  written. 

We  call,  then,  upon  all  who  cultivate  the 
Grape,  whether  for  the  table  or  for  wine,  or 
who  take  an  interest  in  the  success  of  its 
cultiire,  to  assist  the  committee  in  securing 
their  object — a  Convention  of  Delegates 
from  all  the  Vine  Growing  Associations  in 
the  United  States,  and  of  private  and  sep- 
erate  Vine  Growers.  Let  all  who  can  co.r.e, 
determine  at  once  to  meet  in  Aiken,  S.  C, 
on  the  Third  Tuesday  in  Aiti^ust  next,  (21st) 
there  to  assist  in  the  good  work — to  compare 
their  fruit  and  exchange  their  views. 

Aiken  has  been  selected  as  being  easy  of 
access  from  all  quarters — North,  South,  East 
and  West — being,  at  all  times,  unexception- 
able as  to  health,  and  a  delightful  summer 
resort  for  the  neighboring  cities,  and  well 
provided  with  ample  accommodations. 

Secretaries  of  the  different  Associations 
connected  with  the  Vine  Culture,  would  con- 
fer a  favor  by  forwarding  to  this  office,  or  to 
either  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Committee, 
the  names  and  localities  of  their  Societies, 
and  all  other  information  they  may  think 
proper. 

A.  DE  Caeadeuc,  Chairman,  Woodward, 
S.  C. 

Dr.  J.  C.  W.  McDoxxALD.  Woodward, 
S.  C. 
.  H.  W.  Ratexel.  Aiken,  S.  C. 

E.  J.  C.  Wood.  Aiken,  S.  C. 

D.  Redmond.  Augusta,  Ga. 

February,  1860. 


Mustard — The  word  mustard  is  said  to 
have  originated  in  the  French  phrase, 
"Moult  me  tarde,"  (I  wi.sh  ardently.)  which 
was  the  motto  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
He  obtained  lUOO  men  Dijon,  in  return  for 
which  assistance  he  permitted  that  town  to 
bear  his  armorial  ensigns  with  this  motto. 
The  device  was  affiled  over  the  principal 
gate ;  in  time  the  middle  word  became 
erased,  and  the  other  two  were  printed  on 
t  e  labels  which  the  merchants  pasted  on 
pots  with  this  commodity,  and  sent  all  over 
the  world. 


Let  each  man  attend  to  his  own  calling  ; 
so  that  decision  of  character  may  be  given 
to  the  mind  of  the  public  mass. 

Do  not  cherish  any  feeling  of  revenge  or 
animosity,  in  order  that  you  may  set  a  pro- 
per value  upon  human  life." 


384 


THE  SOUTHERN  PLANTER. 


[June 


The  Rights  of  Women. 

The  rights  of  Avoinan,  what  are  they? 

The  right  to  labor,  love  and  pray; 

The  right  to  weep  with  those  that  weep, 

The  riglit  to  wake  when  others  sleep. 

The  right  to  dry  the  falling  tear ; 

The  right  to  quell  tlie  rising  fear  ; 

The  right  to  smooth  the  brow  of  care, 

And  whisper  comfort  in  despair. 

The  right  to  watch  the  parting  breath, 

To  soothe  and  cheer  the  bed  of  death  ; 

The  right,  when  earthly  hopes  all  fail, 

To  point  to  that  within  the  veil. 

The  right  the  wanderer  to  reclaim, 

And  win  the  lost  from  paths  of  shame  ; 

The  right  to  comfort  and  to  bless 

The  widow  and  the  fatherless. 

The  right  the  little  ones  to  guide 

In  simi^le  faith  to  Him  who  died; 

With  earnest  love  and  gentle  praise 

To  bless  and  cheer  their  j-oothful  days. 

The  right  the  intellect  to  train. 

And  guide  tlie  soul  to  noble  aim; 

Teach  it  to  rise  above  earth's  toys. 

And  wing  its  flight  for  heavenly  joys. 

Th<3  right  to  live  for  those  we  love  ; 

The  right  to  die  that  love  to  prove; 

The  right  to  brighten  earthly  homes 

With  pleasant  smiles  and  gentle  tones. 

Are  these  thy  rights?     Then  use  them  well ; 

Thy  silent  influence  none  can  tell. 

If  these  are  thine,  why  ask  for  morel 

Thou  hast  enough  to  answer  for. 

Are  these  thy  rights  ?     Then  murmur  not 

That  woman's  mission  is  thy  lot : 

Improve  the  talents  God  has  given : 

Life's  duty  done,  thy  rest  is  heaven. 


Silent  and  still,  an  angel  floated  down, 
And  bore  the  sheaves,  the  gatheredsheaves  away; 
Ah!  some  were  golden  with  the  ripeVied  grain, 
And  some  were  black  and  blasted  with  decay. 

Yes,  day  by  day  we  sow,  and  twilight  comes 
And  gathers  in  the  full  sheaves,  one  by  one  ; 
And,  by-and'bye,  will  come   life's  evening  hour, 
And  we  shall  see  the  work  our  hands  have  done. 
Lizzie  G.  Beebe. 
Ohio  Fca-mer.^ 


Life's  Harvest. 

Twilight  had  gathered  in  the  sheaves  of  day. 
Which  time  had  scattered  thickly  here  and  there; 
And  night,  pale  night,  had  bound  them,  one  by  one. 
With  the  long  braids  of  her  own  raven  hair. 


From  the  New  York  "  Spirit  of  the  Times.''' 

The  Proof  Reader. 

BY    "SPINNING   BAIT.* 

Ye  whom  the  fancy  causeth  to  indite 
Or  prose,  or  rhyme,  in  measure  long  or  short, 
Think  of  his  labors,  also,  as  you  write, 
Whose  ready  eye  the  long  correction  sought. 
With  fev'rish  care  he  grammar  scans,  and  spel- 
ling ; 
The    writing   cramped  and  hurried — care  com- 
pelling— 
And  words  omitted,  where  the  sense  obscure 
Puzzles  his  brains  to  place  another  sure. 
Within  his  "den,"  far  off  from  sunny  ray. 

Full  oft  he  passeth  more  than  half  his  life, 
Or  searcheth  on  by  candle's  feeble  ray, 

By  changing  errors  to  support  his  wife. 
Think  of  his  brain,  how  busy — and  his  eyes 
That  read  of  what  he  pines  for — gorgeous  skies! 
Fair  flowers  and  forms.   Alas!  but  now  and  then 

Aught  save  "a  grimy  devil's  face"   may  greet 
his  sight. 
Who,  standing  at  the  doorway  of  the  "  den," 

Shouts,  "  Coi^y,  sir,  nor  keep  us  here  all  night!" 
Thinkest  thou,  writer,  whose  most  piercing-  eye 
An  error  typographical  may  sometimes  spy, 
Of  all  the  toil  and  trouble,  time  and  care, 
That  takes  to  make  your  article  thus  "  fair?" 
Dost  never  make  an  error  in  thy  haste  ? 
Or  think  beyond  the  word   thy  pen  hath  traced  ? 
Leaving  to  printers,  with  invention  quick, 
To  find  the  word  to  fill's  composing  stick? 
Ponder  the  cobwebs,  traced  in  pain, 

That  young  apprentices  have  caused  him  too 
Oppressing  more  his  ever-working  brain; 

Besides  the  labor  he  still  has  to  do. 
Think  of  all  this!  and  if  some  faults  you  scan. 
Reflect  that  he  is  human,  poor,  frail  man! 
Nor  pour  the  "  vials  of  your  wrath  "  all  o'er, 
Nor  haunt  him  till  his  heart  is  wounded  sore; 
But  with  a  laugh— -or  leastways  with  a  grin- — 
Say,  "here's  an  error,  pshaw!  a  venial  sin." 

Grove  Hill,  S.  C. 


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postage. 

J.  W.  RANDOLPH,  Bookseller  and  Publisher, 
121  Main  Street,  Richmond,  Va. 

April  60. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


Tlie  former  Firm  of 

GEO.  WATT  8l  CO., 

having  been  this,  i:2d  day  of  December.  1S58,  dissolv- 
ed, we  ha^e  associ:ited  ourselves  in  busine.ss,  under 
the  firm  of  GEO.  WATT  &.  CO.,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  aud  selling  the  \V.4TT 

CUFF-BRACE  PLOW, 

With  the 

IMPROVEMENT 


BREAST 

thereon,  and  the 


P^LOW^, 


And  shall  keep  constantly  on  hand  a  large  assort- 
ment of  these  Plows,  and  Castings  of  these  and  other 
popular  kinds,  with  Cultivators,  Harrows.  Corn  or 
Tobacco  Weeders,  Hillside  and  Subsoil  Plows,  new 
ground  Coalters.,  &c. 

^'lll  of  which  are  made  in  our  oxen  Factory. 

Also,  Straw  Cutters,  Grain  Cradles,  Corn  Shelters, 
Corn  Planiers,  (CuldwelTs  make.)  and  a  variety  of 
other  useful  Implements  in  our  line,  which  we  war- 
rant to  give  satisfaction,  or  be  returned.  We  solicit  a 
call  from  the  Agricultural  ('ommu\iity,  assuring  them 
that  our  best  eflorts  shall  be  used  to  iive  them  supe- 
rior aritcles.  GEO.  WATT, 

HUGH  A.  WATT, 

RichmoQ'I,  December  23,  1R58. 

Grateful  for  the  patronage  given  me  heretofore,  T  so- 
licit a  continuance  of  the  same  to  the  above  firm  ;  and 
will  only  add  that  luiving  spent  the  belter  part  of  the 
last  16  vears  in  making  my  Plow  what  it  is,  1  pledge 
mv  best  eflTorts  still  to  improve  it — bavins  PATENT 
RIGHTS  for  the  BREAST  IM  PROVEME.\T  and 
The  HANOVER  PLOW,  secured  .November  1S56  and 
February  1858.  1  will  sell  Rights  to  both  in  remote 
sections  of  this  and  other  States  on  reasonable  terms. 
The  public  are  cautioned  against  infringements  on 
these  Patent  Rights. 

GEO.  WATT,  Patentee. 

Richmond,  January  1S59. 

City  Savings  Bank  of  Richmond 
CHARTEBED  IN  1839. 

Continues  to  receive  deposites,  on  which  interest  is 
paid  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum, if  remaining 
on  deposit  six  months,  and  5  per  cent,  for  shorter  pe- 
riods. HORACE  L.  KE.NT,  Prest. 

ALEX.  DUV.AL,  Sec'v. 

N.  AUGUST,  Cashier. 

DIRECTORS: 

John  N.  Gordon,  Siunuel  Puiney,  H.  Baldwin,!. 
Davenport,  Jr.,  Charles  T.  Wortham,  Hugh  W.  Fr\ 
and  \\'ellin£:ion  Goddin.  Jan  1859.— Iv 


SOUTH  DOWN  LAMBS 

I  have  for  sale  several  South  Down  Buck  Lambs. 
My  flock  is  now  the  finest  in  Tide  Water  Virginia. 
The  Lambs  are  one-half,  three  fourihs,  seven  eigiths, 
fifteen-sixteenths,  and  thorough  bred,  and  I  sell  fhem 
at  ten,  fifteen,  and  twenty  dollars,  according  to  purity 
of  blood.  I  shall  have  not  more  than  ei^ht  or  ten 
for  sale.  FRANK.  G.  KUFFI.N. 

April  60— tf 

THOROIGH-BRED  >ORTH  DEVONS 
AT  PUBLIC  AUCTION. 

The  subscriber  intends  holding  his  .Second  Public 
Sale  of  Devon  Cattle,  on  WedHesdny.  the  13th  of  June 
next — when  he  wi!  offer  between  20  and  3G  head, 
males  and  females,  all  of  his  awn  breeding.  Herd- 
book  animals,  and  of  superior  excellence.  As  at  his 
previous  sale,  each  lot  will  be  started  at  a  very  low 
upset  price,  and  so/d  tcilhout  reserve  to  the  highest 
bidder  over  that  amount. 

Catalogues  containing  pedigrees  of  the  animnls  to 
be  sold,  and  full  particulars  as  to  terms,  &c.,  will  be 
ready  by  the  15th  of  jVpril,  and  will  be  sent  to  all 
desiring  it. 

C.  S.  WAINWRIGHT, 

Ap  60— 3t]  The  Meadows,  Rhinebeck,  N.  Y. 


K,  0.  HASKIiSS, 

Ship  Chandler,  Grocer  and  Com- 
mission Merchant, 

In  his  lar£fe  new  biiildin?,  in  front  of  the   Steamboai 
Wharf,  RocKETTs.  RICHMOND,  VA, 
Sept  1859—1) 

MITCHELL  &  TYLER, 

DEALERS    I.V 

Watches,  Clocks.  Jewelry,  ."Silver  aud  Plated 
Ware,  Military  aud   Fauey  Goods. 

RICHMOND,   VA. 


PORTABLE   GAS  APPARATUS. 

HAVIXG  received  the  exclusive  agency  for 
the  Slate  of  Virginia  from  the  Maryland  Portable  Gas 
Comjiany,  for  the  sale  of  their  machines,  we  are  now- 
prepared  to  contract  for  their  erection. 

The  machine  is  remarkable  'or  its  extreme  simplici- 
ty, its  safety  and  economy  ;  one  half  a  cent  per  burner 
for  an  hour's  consumption,  is  a  large  estimate  for  this 
Gas,  while  in  illuminating  qualities  it  is  not  surpassed 
by  the  Coal  Gas  of  any  city  in  the  Union,  li  is  well 
adapted  lor  Private  Houses.  Faciorie  Schools,  Col- 
leges, Churches  and  watering  places,  and  provides, 
what  in  cities  is  considered  an  indispei.  able  luxury, 
a  good  gas  light,  at  much  less  expense  han  is  paid 
for  Oil  or  Candles. 

Auv  jnfornjation  on  the  subject  mav  beoMainedbr 
nddressing  STEBBI.NS  &"  PULLEN. 

May  59 — W  '01  Broad  St..  Richmond,  Va- 

SHORT    HORN    BULLS 

One  twenty-foor  months,  one  fourteen  months, 
and  anotliertwo  months  oM,  bj'  tlifferent  "-ires; 
the  two  tirst  ready  for  service  this  year,  the  lat- 
ter deliverable  at  six  months  old.  Also  calves 
of  each  sex.  nearly  thoroughbred,  deliverable  as 
the  last.     Earlv  application  is  best. 

S.  W.  FICKLIN.  Belmont. 
June  60 — 3t  Near  Charlottesville,  Va. 


FOR  SALE! 


A  Heifer  IS  months  old.  one  half  Devon,  and 
a  Bull  Calf,  same  breed,  both  very  handsome 
animals,  which  I  will  dispose  of  on  very  rea- 
sonable terms,  in  order  to  reduce  the  number  of 
mv  stock.     Address 

Dr.  T.  J.  WOOLDRIDGE, 

French  Hay  P.  O., 
June  60 — It  Hanover  Co.,  Ya. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


AN  D 

REAPERS  AND  MOWERS. 

As  nspnt  for  G.  H.  McCormick.  I  am  supplied  with 
hi«  ci'lebrated  Reaper  and  Mower,  with  all  the  iiii- 
proveinents  of  ISGO.  This  reapei  has  been  so  entirely 
successful  tor  the  last  fire  years  that  1  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  urg;e  its  superior  merits  upon  all  wishing  to 
puifhase  (or  the  coming  harvest,  particularly  as  I 
can  sive  a  lull  guarantee  that  it  will  work  well,  and 
plediie  myself  to  take  any  machine  back  that  fails  to 
do  si.(.  When  any  other  machine  can  be  obtained 
upon  tlie  same  terms,  the  McCormick  may  he  worked 
thriiu;;h  the  harvest  v^ith  such  other  machine — the 
Farmer   keeping  and   paying   for    the  best    machine 

Let  the  orders  coaie  early  to  insure  no  disappoint- 
ment. 

1  am  also  prepared  to  furnish  other  Reapers — the 
Buckeye,  Hussey  and  .\tkins' Self  Raker,  Ketchuni's 
Mower,  iSic. 

As  heretofore,  I  am  manufacturing  my  celebrated 
Horse  Power  for  4,  6,  8  and  10  horses,  with  suit- 
able Threshers  — Taresliers  and  Cleaners,  Straw  Sep- 
arators, Wheat  Fans,  &c.,  Bicklbrd  &  Hurtuian's 
Wheat-Drill,  with  or  without  guano  attachment. 

H.  M.  SMITH,  14  Main  Street. 

May  60— 3t 

SHORT   HORNS. 

Public  Sale  of  Improved  Short  Horns, 
(DURHAM  CATTLE.) 

Jamf.s  Gowen  will  sell  at  public  sale,  nt  Mount 
Air.\ ,  Philadelphia,  on  Wed.nkspay,  13th  Jixe,  iSbO, 
R  tine  herd  ot  Improved  Short  Horns,  consisting  of 
Cows,  Heifers,  >oung  Bulls  and  Calves,  ored  ex- 
pressly to  develop  the  combined  properties  of  good 
milkiiii^  and  en  ay  feedins: 

Mr.  tiowen  announces  to  his  friends  and  brother 
breeders,  that  this  will  be  his  last  and  closing  sale. 
The  annoyances  of  the  city  restrictions  that  ejiviron 
his  farm,  with  a  railroad  running  through  it, constrain 
him  to  (urego  the  breeding  of  cattle,  with  hiui,  a  long 
cherished  ami  pleasing  branch  of  husbandry. 

CATALOGUES    will    be  furnished  in   due   time. 

SALE  to  commence  at  II  o'clock. 

JAMES  GOWEN,  Mt.  Airv, 

May  60— 2t  Philadelp'hia. 


NEW  MACHLXE  SHOP. 

Having  completecl  my  new  Factory  on  Frank- 
lin Street  and  Walnut  Alley,  the  whole  being 
in  connection  with  my 

LMPLEMEXT  AND   SEED   STORE, 

on  3Iain  Street.  [  rrow  invite  particular  atten- 
tion to  the  facilities  I  have  for  manufacturing 
any  kiinl  of  ^Machinery,  and  for  suppl)-ing  Seeds 
and  Implements  of  every  description. 

As  heretofore  I  shall  pay  particular  atten- 
tion to  mv 

PORTABLE  THRESHERS, 

with  Hurse-Power,  so  anaiiged  as  to  re'^iiire  no 
digging  or  delay  in  starting:  and  shall  keep 
Machines  of  t'le  best  plan  and  workmanship, 
such  as  Straw  Cutters,  Corn  Shellers,  for  hand 
and  horse-power,  Wheet  Fans.  Cradles.  Reapers, 
Hay  Presses,  Cidar  Mills,  Seed  Drills.  Plows, 
Harrows.  Hay-rakes,  Gleaners,  Cultivators.  &c. 
I  iiavite  special  attention  to  mv 

PATENT  STRAW-ciTTER, 

which  is  warranted  to  be  the  best  Cutter  made. 

and  is  sold  at  the  low  price  of  $10;  also  to  the 

VIRGINIA  CORX-SHEL.I.ER, 

as  made  by  me  from  the  original  patterns,  ca- 
pacity 600  bushels  a  day. 

Repairs  of  Threshers  and  Reapers  attended 
to  promptly.      Agent  for 
BICKFORD   &    HUFF^IAXS   WHEET   AXD 

GUANO  DRILLS,  and  C.  H.  McCORMICKS 

REAPERS. 

H.  M.  SMITH, 

Mar  60 — 6m  14  Main  St. 


Importaut  to  eTcry  man  wbo  keeps 
A  HORSE,  COW,  SHEEP  or  HOG. 

THORLEI'S  FOOD  FOR  CATTLE, 

Possessing  as  it  does  the  bitter  and  medical  proper- 
ties coniairied  in  Spring  Giass,  or  Tares,  or  other  un- 
ripe herbage,  is  essential  to  herbivorous  animals,  as 
it  operates  in  stimulating  tiie  stomach  and  iligestive 
organs  to  healthy  actions.  This  compound  or  con- 
diment for  feeding  cattle  or  seasoning  their  food,  i? 
composed  purely  of  veget.tlile.  matter,  some  of  which 
is  highly  aromatic.  For  keeping  horses  in  good  con- 
dition, it  is  iniequaled.  Co» keepers  will  find  great 
advantage,  in  the  increased  quantity  and  improved 
quality  of  the  milk,  during  its  use.  All  animals  are 
benefitted  by  it.  Sold  in  casks,  containing  448  mix 
ings,  with  measure  inclosed,  with  Joseph  Thorley's 
signature  burnt  thereon.  Price  :?14,  and  half  casks, 
containins  224  mixin;;s  %~ . 

Consinsee's  Depot,  21  BROADWAY,  N.  Y. 
May.  60— 3t 


,  LAND  AGENCY. 

>  As  Travelling  Agent  for  the  Potomac,  Pied- 
mont and  Valley  Agricidtural  Society  at  Alex-- 
andria,  Va.,  I  frequently  meet  with  sellers,  as; 
well  as  persons  who  desire  to  purchase  land.. 
Those  having  fjirms  for  sale  may  meet  witha'. 
purchaser  by  furnishing  me  with  descriptive! 
letters,  giving  number  of  acres  and  price.  If  a. 
sale  is  eflected  to  any  person  whose  attention . 
has  been  called  to  the  farm  for  sale,  by  me  or  • 
through  my  agency,  my  charge  will  be  one  and. 
one  half  per  cent  on  amount  of  sales.  Persons, 
wishing  to  purchase  land  by  addressing  me,, 
slating  the  number  of  acres  and  price,  and  land, 
wanteil,  can  obtain  any  information  in  my  pos-. 
session,  free  of  charge.  When  answers  to  let-, 
ters  are  desired,  a  postage  stamp  must  be  en-' 
closed.  "  J.  J.  HITE. 

June  60 — 6t         Lovingston,  Nelson  Co..Va. 

FOR  SALE.  ~ 

A  SPLENDID  YOUNG  STALLION, 

Sired  hy  "  KOSSUTH,"  and  out  of  a  thorough  bred  | 
mare.  He  is  si.\teen  hands  high,  four  years  old— -is  t 
thoroughly  broken  to  harness,  and  has  received  fii}e  • 
first  premiums. 

Col. OK  a  r^ch  hav. 

Enquire   at    SOUTHERN'  PLAN!  ER   Office  (bi  I 
full  particulars. 

Mar  60. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


PHOSPHOR-PERUVIAN  GUANO, 

TOBACCO  MANURE, 

F.  Ci.  KUFFIN, 

COHNER  ELEVENTH  AND  GARY  STREETS,  OX  THE  EASIN, 
Offers  to  the  fiivmers  the  following  MANURES,  all  of  his  own  manufacture,  viz : 

RUFFIN'S  PHOSPHOR-PERUVIAN  GUANO, 

Containing  S  per  cent  Ammonia,  anJ  40  to  50  per  cent  Bone   Pliosphate  Lime,   per  ton  of  2,000 
pounds,  $50. 

RUFFIN'S  BONE  ASH  GUANO, 

Containing  5  per  cent  Ammonia,  and  about  70  per  cent  Bone  Pliospliate  Lime,  per  ton  of  2,000 
pounds,  $50.  ( 

RUFFIN'S  TOBACCO  :MA.IsrUIlE. 

Containing  5  per  cent  Ammonia,  34   per  cent  Bone  Phosphate  Lime,  22  Chloride  of  Sodium,  and 
17  per  cent  Sulphate  Lime,  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  $45. 

KUFFIN'S  GROUND  BONE  ASH, 

Containing  about  SO  per  cent  Bone  Phosphate  Lime,  dry  and  ]iure,  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  $35. 

Loose  in  bags,  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  $11. 

AGRICULTURAL    SALT, 

In   bags,  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  $13. 

THE  ABOVE  MANURES  are  put  up  in  strong  bags,  containing  1G7  pounds  each; 
twelve  bags  of  which  make  a  fraction  over  a  ton,  and  can  be  had  of  F.  G.  RUFFIN, 
at  his  mill,  of  any  Commission  Merchant  in  Richmond;  of  THOMAS  BRANCH  & 
SONS,  Petersburg;  M.  HOLLTNS  &  CO.,  Lynchburg-,;  LEIGH  ct  BROTHER, 
^^orfolk;  MASON,  MARTIN  &  CO.,  Scottsviflc;  JOHNSON,  CLARKE  &  CO., 
Panville.  April  60— tf 


SOUTHERN  PLAXTER— ADYEETISIXG  SHEET. 


No.  319,  head  Bruaii  Street,  Shockoe  Hiil, 

RICHMOND,  VA. 

Uliolesale  and  Retail  Deiail  Dealer  in  English,  French 

and  Americnn 


Jl 

Paint=.Oil?.  V".r;!i-!!esainUVe-5!:.f^:  NVip.<!on- Gli55, 

Piittv,  Glue  and  Sand  Paper:  Paint,  Camel's 

Hair  and    Whitewash    Brushes;    Cloth 

Hair,  Flesh,  Nail  and  Tooth  JJrushes. 

Fine  and  Choice  Perfiimerj',  Faucy  Goods, 

PURE  iiat'ORS  AND  WIXES, 

For  Medicinal  and  Sacramenttil  Purposes. 

Surgical  Instruments,  Trusses,  Shoulder  Braces, 

Supporters,  &.c. 

Landreth's  Celebrated  Garden  Seeds, 

In  sreat  varietv.    Also, 

DRS.  JJYNES-  ,iyj)  ROSE'S 

FAMILY   MEBICIXES, 
MEXICAN  MUSTANG  LINIMENT. 

Together  with  all  the  most  popular  PATENT  AND 
BOTANICAL  MEDICINES,  direct  from  the  Propri- 
etors. 

Orders  from  Country  Merchants  and  Physicians 
thankfully  received  and  promptly  attended  to. 

^^  All  articles  from  this  Establishment  are  war- 
ranted pure,  fresh  and  genuine.  dec  58— Ij 


M.  I.   FRANKLIN  &  CO., 

SCIENTIFIC  AND  PRACTICAL 


Qp^TnT 


A.NS, 


EP^'EY'S  AMERICAN  PUMP. 

"Without  Packing— Tt'itliout  Suction. 

j\.  This  Pump,  patented  lSo9,  is  a 

\  I  double  acting  force  pump,  with- 

■  _  1  out  chains,  guide  rods  or  pulleys, 

'is  the  simplest,  strongest,  chesp- 
est  Pump  yet  invented ;  can  be 
put  in  liy  any  one,  and  without 
goin?  into  the  well,  and  raises 
trom  6  to  60  gallons  per  minute, 
according  to  size;  works  by  hand, 
water,  wind  or  steam,  nnd  is  trnr- 
raiUed  to  give  taiUfacUoa  in  ali 
depths,  and  to  raise  water  by  a 
ten  year  oM  boy  60  feet.  All 
depths  under  20  feet  complete, 
$18.  Drawings  and  full  pardcu- 
lurs  ieiU  Jfte. 
Address. 

JAMES  M.  EDNEV, 
Mar  59— tf  147  Chantbera  St.,  New  York. 


OFFICE.  148  MAIN  STREET, 

City  Savings  Bank.' 
RICHMOND,  YIRGrsnA. 

Improved  Periscopic  Crystal  Spectacles 

Correctly  fitted  to  the  eye-sight,  and  warranted 
to  suit. 

ALSO 

MICROSCOPE?, 

TELESCOPE.^,  AND 

OPERA-GLASSES 

All  with  the  finest  achromatic  lenses.  [MATH- 
EMATICAL INSTRU31ENTS.  and  ELECTRI- 
CAL MACHINES.  STEREOSCOPES  AND 
STEREOSGOPIC  PICTURES,  i.a  gient  varieiy, 
directly  imported  from  England  and  France. 
Mar  60. 


OR    SALE. 


Six  Buckshire  Pig5.  (from  0:is  E.  Wood's 
Stock.  N.  T.)  They  are  thorough-bred,  and 
handsome.  Price  $10  each.  For  particulars 
apply  to  AUGUST  &  WILLI  A.MS. 

June  60 — tf 

Essex  Pigs  for  Sale. 

The  subscriber  has  a  lew  pure  bred  Essex  PIGS 
Price  |10  each.  Al*o  some  half  Essex,  out  of  Sows 
of  "  Berkshire  and  Grazier"  stock.  Price  of  the  lat- 
ter, $l-u  for  two. 

The  l«est  only  of  the  litter  will  be  sent  to  persons 
ordering  tbem. 

May  -59.  JA.MES  E.  WILLIAMS. 


No  Home  l^ithoiit  a  Stereoscope  I 
The  Wonders  of  the  Stereoscope ! 

GREAT  E.MPORIUM   FOR  STEREOSCOPES 
AND  STEREOSCOPrC  PICTURES. 

Continually  supplied   with  novelties  from  Lon- 
don and  Paris,  at  the  lowest  prices.     Wholesale 

or  Retail,  at  tb.e 

STEREOSCOPIC  ZMU^, 

148  MAIX  STREET, 

(City  Savings  Bank.) 
RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 

M.  I.  FRANKLIX  &  CO.,  Opticians. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISIXG  SHEET. 


PHOSPHATIC   GUANO, 

FROM  THE  ISLAND  OF  SOMBRERO,  West  Indies, 

THE  RICHEST  DEPOSITE  OF  PHOSPHATE  OF  I.1ME  KNOWX  TO  THE  WORtD. 

By  a  careful  analysis  of  an  average  sample  of  different  cargoes,  the  annexed  eminent  CLemists 
have  found  this  remarkable  deposite  to  contain  of  Phosphate  of  Lime,  as  follows: 

By  Professor  HAYES,  Boston,         -         of  1st  Sample,  89.6U  per  cent. 

-  "  -  Qd         "  89.20 
REESE,              .             Baltimore,  -               1st        «  85.14 

2d  "  86.60  " 

«  -  3d  «  72.04  " 

"  -  4th  '•  72.04  " 

"  CPIILTON,        -  XewYork,-  1st  "  86.34  " 

-  »  -  2d  "  84.92 

"  PIGGOT,  -  Baltimore,  -  1st        "  76.85  " 

HUSOX,    Liverpool,    England,      -  80.20  « 

«  DECK,  -  New  York,-  1st        «  88.00  « 

"  "  of  a  selected  specimen,  "  98.25  " 

"  MAUPIX  &  TUTTLE.  U-iversitv  of  Virginia,  85.16 

"  WILLL^M  GILHA3I,  Military  Institute,  Lexington,  Va.,  83.40  " 

Thus  proving  it  to  average  the  richest  deposite  of  Phosphate  of  Lime  known  to  the  world. 

Pure  Bone  Dust  contains  but  55  or  56  per  cent,  of  this  important  Phosphate;  hence  a  compari- 
son of  the  relative  value  of  the  two,  will  at  once  show  which  is  the  most  desirable  for  Agricultural 
purposes. 

Guanos  are  of  two  distinct  species — those  in  which  the  Phosphates  of  Lime -predominate.*  <* 
in  Sombrero,  and  others;  and  those  in  whitfh  Ammonia  predominates,  as  in  the  PeruvJA.i.  irf*! 
experience  and  theory  establish  the  fact,  that  Ammonia  and  Phosphate  of  Lime  are  essential  in 
gredients  for  a  general  fertilizer,  and,  consequently,  for  general  purposes,  a  proper  mixture  of  the 
two  is  recommended:  whilst  the  Peruvian  and  other  Ammoniated  Guanos,  are  mere  stimulants  or 
quickeners  of  the  soil,  the  Sombrero  and  other  Phosphatic  Guanos,  are  permanent  fertilizers,  but  of 
slower  action  and  less  perceptible  effect  the  first  year,  unless  aided  by  some  stimulants.  Hence 
the  great  importance  of  combining  the  t^vo  in  proper  proportions,  which,  if  done,  makes  the  best, 
most  coi.Ltrucut,  ar."  f—.nrnnical  fertilizer  known.  Assuming  the  cost  of  Peruvian  Guano  at  •'J62, 
and  Sombrero  at  $34  per  ton — and  with  one-quarter  of  the  former,  mix  three-quarters  of  the 
\a.Ut;T.  {icn^cn  proportions  are  recommended  by  experienced  Farmers.')  it  gives,  at  a  cost  of  about  $41 
per  ton,  a  fertilizer  far  more  valuable  and  permanent  than  the  Peruvian  alone.  The  agriculturist 
need  only  be  reminded  of  the  nature  of  the  two  predominating  ingredients,  in  the  different  species 
of  Guano,  to  enable  hira  to  understand  the  proper  mode  of  its  application.  Whilst  Ammonia  (in  the 
Peruvian)  is  liable  to  evaporate  or  rise.  Phosphate  of  Lime  (in  the  Sombrero)  is  heavy,  and  liable  to 
sink  below  the  reach  of  the  roots  of  plants  Therefore  it  should  be  either  deposited  in  the  hill,  or 
drill  with  the  crop,  or  used  as  a  top  dressing,  in  the  proportion  of  from  200  to  400  fts.  to  the  acre, 
according  to  the  wants  of  the  soil.  If  used  as  a  top  dressing,  the  Spring  is  the  best  time,  when 
the  crop  is  assuming  its  strength  and  sustenance,  as,  at  that  time,  the  benefit  of  the  Ammonia  is 
less  likely  to  be  lost  than  if  used  in  the  Fall  or  earlv  Winter. 

EDMOND  DAVENPORT  &  CO-,  Agents. 

R  I  C  H  M  0  X  D ,    Virginia. 

t®»It  can  also  be  obtained  of  A.  GARRETT.  E.  WORTH  AM  &  CO..  DUKE  &  HUTCHIN- 
SON, and  E    H.  SKIXKER,  Richmond.  Feb.  1,  1&5S. 


CO-PARTNERSHIP     NOTICE. 


I  have  this  day  admitted  as  a  partner,  Mr.  JOHN  N.  JE.N.M.NGS.  The  busine=?  will 
in  future  be  conducted  at  my  old  stand,  No-  118  Main  Street,  under  the  firm  and  style  of  S.\MUEL  S.  COT- 
TRELL  &  CO.,  where  we  have  on  hand  a  fine  assortment  of  Saddles,  Bridles,  Whips,  Carriagf,  Cwrt  and 
Wa?on  Harness,  of  every  description  and  quality,  and  will  continue  to  maniifacture  to  order  and  for  sale, 
every  class  of  goods  in  our  line. 

There  was  awarded  me  at  the  United  States  Fair  last  Fall,  three  silver  Medals  for  SUPERIOR  SPECI- 
MENS OF  WORKMANSHIP;  since  which  time  our  facilities  have  greatly  increased,  and  we  now  flatter 
ourselves  that  we  can  furnish  every  article  iti  our  line,  not  to  be  surpassed  iu  quality,  and  at  as  low  prices 
as  any  other  establishment  in  this  country. 

I  beo-  leave  to  return  my  sincere  thanks  to  my  old  friends  and  the  public  generally  for  the  liberal  patron- 
age  heretofore  bestowed   upon  me,  and  respectfully  solicit  a  continiiiince  of  the  same  to  the  new  concern, 
pledging  ourselves  to  use  our  utmost  endeavors  to  please  out  friends  and  patrons. 
Feb  1859— ly  SAMUEL  S.  COTTRELL. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


The  above  cut  is  a  representation  of  J.  HAWS  Pecker  Saw  Mill.    ' 

It  is  simple  in  its  construction,  very  durable;  and  is  well  adapted  for  plantation  sawing-.  It  will  saw 
with  from  4  lo  6  horsse-power  from  1,000  to  1,500  feet  per  day,  if  properly  niana^red.  The  carriage  is  "24  feet 
kjD?,  and  will  cut  logs  ibat  will  square  to  21  inches,  and  cuts  all  kinds  of  timber.  The  timber  is  inserted 
in  the  oblong  plate,  and  can  be  renewed  when  worn  out. 

I  have  siven  the  Mill  a  fair  trial,  and  warrant  the  performance  as  above  stated.    The  price  of  the  51111  i 
$'26o,  with  exira  pinions,  screw-wrench,  cant-hooks,  set-punch,  and  one  extra  set  of  teeth.     Any  good  thresh 
er  horse-power  will  answer  to  drive  it.     I  also  make  Threshing  .^Tachiaes  from  4  to  1"2   horse  power,  an 
Thresiieis  to  thresh  and  cleau  Wheat  at  the  same  operation,  for  which   I  can  give  satisfactory  references 
the  largest  farmers  on  the  Pamunkey  River.     Those  wishing  further  information,  will  address 

October  1858— tf  JOHN  HAW,  Old  Church,  Hanover  Co.,Va 


MANIPULATED  GUANO!  MANIPULATED  GUANO! 

We  offer  to  the  Planters  ot  Viririnia  a  Guano  prepared  by  us  as  follows: 
1000  lbs.  of  the  best  Pentvian  Guano  that  can  be  procured  ; 
SOO  lbs.  of  ibe  best  Sombrero  Gtiano,  containing-  fiUl  SO  ^  cent  of  the  Phosphate  of  Lime. 
200^1bs.  of  the  best  Ground  Plaster,  for  which  we  pay  .$"2  ^  ton  extra. 
Planters  and  others  are  invited  to  examine  the  article.     From  the  best  information  we  can  ob- 
tain, we  believe  the  mixture  is  one  of  the  best  that  can  be  prepared  for  the  Virginia  lands. 
Price  to  Planters.  $4S  ^  ton.  or  $2  ^  ton  less,  where  they  furnish  bags. 

For  sale  by  EDMOXD  DAVENPORT  &  CO. 

Also  for  sale  hy  Commission  and  Grocery  Merchants  in  this  City. 

We  refer  to  Planters  who  have  used  the  Sombrero  and  the  Maniputate<l  Guano — among  them  James  Gait 
Esq..  A.  Warwick,  E'jq.,  Joseph  Allen,  Esq.,  R.  H.  Styll.  Esq.,  and  others. 

Below  we  give  D.  K.  Tuttle's  (Chemist  at  L'niversity  ol  \irginia)  report  of  the  same,  samples  from  72 
bags,  and  U  shall  be  kept  to  that  stAnd/ird. 

"  I  am  now  able  to  give  you  the  results  of  analysis.  They  show  the  Mixture  to  l>e  what  you  stated  in  a 
(bnn'  r  letter,  and  1  judse  "that  vou  are  very  forttmate  in  the  selection  of  materials,  especially  of  Peruvian 
Guano.  The  per  centaee  of  Ammonia  shows  the  pure  Peruvian  to  contain  124  per  cent.,  which  is  more 
than  the  average.    Tlie  Analysis  is  as  follows  : 

Moisture  (civen  off  at  boiling  pomt  of  water,)  -  -  10.05 

Phosphate  of  Lime.  .  -  -  .  43-26 

Sidphuric  Acid,  5.15  >  _  _  ,  _  g  Qg 

Lime,  3.64,  J 

Ammonia,  -  .  .  -  .  6.20 

Insoluble  Matter,  -  -  -  -  -  r  155 

A  small  quantity  of  Alkali — undetermined.      1  _  _  -  •"'4  85 

Water  in  combination  and  Organic  Matter,  J 


Hoping  that  your  Fertilizer  may  meet  wiih  the  success  which  it  deserves. 

I  remain,  vi-ry  respect 
Jan— tf 


lOO.OO 


Tour?, 

'      D.  K.  TCTTLE. 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


NION  FAIR. 

The  State  Agricultural  and 
the  Central  Agricultural  So- 
cieties will  hold  their  Fair 
for  the  present  year  upon  the 
Grounds  of  the  Central  So- 
ciety, commencing  on  MON- 
DAY, the  22d  of  October,  and 
continuing  six  days. 

JOHN  R.  EDMUNDS, 

Pres't  Va.  State  Agr.  Society. 

JAMES  LYONS, 

Pres't  Va.  Cent'l  Agr.  Society. 

May  60— tf. 

RHODES'   SUPER -PHOSPHATE. 

The  Standard  Manure. 

FOR  TOBACCO,  COTTON,  CORN  AND  WHEAT  CULTURK,  ROOT  CROPS,  &C. 

Manufactured  under  the  supervision  of  Eminent  Manufacturing  Chemists,  and  warranted 
"pure  and  free  from  all  adiiltc'atioi.^' 

B.  M:.  IIHODES  &  CO., 

Office  82  South  Street,  Bowly's  Wharf,  Baltimore,  Md. 

JGEIiTS  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Ricnmond— SCHAER,  KOHLER  &.  CO,  Fredericksburg:— HUGH  SCOTT. 

Petersburg— VEiN ABLE  &  MORTON.  FHrmville— HOWELL  E.  WARREN. 

THOS.   BRANCH  &  SONS.  Blacks  &,  Whiles— .JEFFERSON  &  WILLIAM- 
LynchbufK— M.  HOLLINS  &  CO.  SON. 

Norfolk— B.  T.  BOCKOVER.  Clarksville— JAMES  E.  RASKINS. 
Alexandria- WM.  H.  MAY.  Jan.  60— tf 


SOUXnEEN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


CROVER  &,  BAKER'S 

CELEBRATED  FAMILY  SEWING 

MACHINES. 

NEW  STYLES—Prices  from  $50  to  $125.    Extra  charge 
of  $5  for  Hemniers. 

This  Machine  sews  from  two  spools,  as  purchaseil  from  the  store, 
requiriiiij  no  re-winding  on  ihre  ul.  It  hems,  feils,  salhers  iiiid  slilclies 
in  a  superior  style,  finishing  ench  seam  bv  its  own  operation,  without 
recourse  to  tiie  iiand  needle,  as  is  required  by  other  uiacliines.  It  will 
do  better  and  cheaper  sewing  than  a  seamstress  can,  even  if  she  works 
for  one  cent  an  hour. 


Sales  Room,  under  Mechanics'  Institute,  Richmond,  Va.,  9th  Street. 


To  the  Grocer  Sf  Baker''s  Sewing-  Machine  Co — Gents  :  Perhaps  you  may  like  to  know  how  the  Gra- 
ver fc  Baker  machines  are  doing  in  Cuba.  We  have  twenty-five  of  your  machines  in  use,  making  govern- 
ment clothing  for  ihe  army,  and  j)bjntation  j^ewing,  which  we  liave  had  in  use  now  about  eighteen  months, 
and  their  performance  has  far  exceeded  our  most  sanguine  expectations.  We  run  the  machines  constantly 
by  steam,  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  nnd  we  find  them  to  require  but  little  repair — indeed,  they  seem  not  to  be 
worn  at  all.  We  have  tried  both  the  Singer  and  Wheeler  &:  Wilson  machines,  but  'hey  have  been  long 
since  laid  aside  in  the  race.  One  thing  we  are  sure  of— that  the  Grover  &.  Baker  machine  is  ihe  only  ma- 
chine for  our  work.  John  J.  iSLoctJM, 

Sup' t  of  the  Industra,  Cabona,  Havana. 


Some  years  since  I  purchased  a  Shuttle  Machine,  and  found  so  much  trouble  in  working  it,  that  I  gave 
it  away,  and  after  closely  examining  the  mechanism  and  working  of  every  u)achine  within  my  reach.  I  pur 
chased  a  Grover  &  Baker,  as  best  suited  to  do  the  sewing  of  my  family.  I  have  found  it  simple,  easily 
kept  in  order,  and  in  evidence  of  its  simplicity,  will  state  that  my  dau£hter.  whpn  about  ten  years  old,  with- 
out any  particular  instruction,  had  no  dilticulty  in  working  it,  and  finds  it  very  fascinating  employment. 

ROBERT  CHILSDEN,  Beaufort,  S.  C 
Jan  1860- 6t. 


GRAIN  CRADLES !  GRAIN  CRADLES ! 

COSBY'S  WOOD  BRACE, 

SAUNDER'S   WOOn   PR  ACE, 

GRANT'S  WIRE  BRACE. 

GRANT'S  WIRE  BRACE.  Southern  Pattern. 

BROWN  &  CO.'S  WIRE  BRACE. 

COLTON'S  WIRE  BRACE. 

Also  Clover  and  Grass  Scythes  complete,  Wood  and  Iron  Swaths,  Gleaners,  Rakes,  Barley  and  Wheat 
Forks,  Wood  Tines.        For  Sale  by 

June  GU— It  W.M.  PALMER,  SOA  &  CO. 

(ILTIVATORS,  SHOVEL  PLOWS,  SINGLE  PLOWS,  No.  21],  18^—3  and  4 

Wiley  and  1  Livingston,  for  Cultivating  Corn.     For  sale  by 

June  60— It  WM.  PALMER,  SON  &  CO. 

TOBACCO  CULTIYATORS,  Stationary  and  Expanding. 

For  sale  by  WM.  PALMER,  SON  &  CO. 

June  60 — It 

BOOK,    JOB,    AND    ORNAMENTAL    PRINTERS, 
Corner  Bank  and  12th  Streets,  Richmond,  Ta. 


10 


SOUTHERN  PL A.NTEIU— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


VIRGINIA  FERTILIZER, 

OR, 

S.  McGRUDER'S  SONS 

PHOSPHO-PERUVIA^^ 


OUA 


We  offer  for  sale  PHOSPHO-PERUVIAX  GUANO,  Manufactured  by  ourselves,  and 
warranted  to  contain  EIGHT  PER  CENT  OF  AMMONIA,  and  FORTY-FIVE  to 
FIFTY  PER  CENT  OF  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME. 

PRICE,  $50  CASH,  PER  TON,  OF  2000  POUNDS. 


Having  been  for  many  years  largely  engaged  in  the  Guano  trade,  and  carefully  observed  and 
had  reported  to  us,  by  reliable  practical  farmers,  tlie  result  of  experiments  with  nearly  every 
variety  of  Guano,  enables  ns  to  furnish  a  Fertilizer  which  we  with  great  confidence  recommend, 
and  believe  to  be  much  cheaper  than  the  Peruvian,  when  used  alone. 

The  ingredients  in  this  preparation  are  the  very  best  Peruvian  and  Phosphatic  Guanos,  se- 
lected with  great  care  and  by  rigid  analyses — ground  to  a  very  fine  powder,  and  thoroughly  and 
intimatel)'  mixed.  There  is  no  secret  as  to  the  ingredients  used,  or  process  of  manufacturing, 
and  our  Mill  will,  at  all  times,  be  open  to  Farmers  who  desire  to  see  for  themselves. 

FOR  TOBACCO,  OATS,  AND  CORN, 

We  do  not  think  this  Fertilizer  can  be  excelled;  and   its   beneficial   effects,  in  the  improvement 
of  the  land,  is  unquestionable. 

We  shall  alsij  keep  constantly  on  hand  a  supply  of  FL\E  GROUXD  BO'KT.  DUST  and 
BONE  ASH.     S^  PRICE  $35  per  Ton. 


Mar  60 — 6  m 


S.  McGRUDEE'S  SONS,  Biclimond. 


SOUTHERN'  PLANTER.— ADYZRTISIXG  SHEET.  11 

RICHMOND  FERTILIZER  MANUFACTURING  MILLS! 

ROCKETTS,    RICHMOND,   VA. 


S.  HARTMAX,  GENERAL  AGENT, 

OFFERS  FOR  SALE 

EXTEA  FIXE  BOXE  DrST, 

HAHTMAN'S  AMMONIATED  SUPJiR  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME, 

HARTMAN'S  IMPROVED  MANIPULATED  GUANO, 

Adapted  to  WHEAT,  COEX,  OATS,  TOBACCO,  COTTOX,  and  aU  Vegetables 
and  Grasses. 

6®=- THESE  MANURES  ARE  WARRANTED  GENUINE.^^a 

Tlie  BOXE  DUST  is  made  r.f  Rnes  in  their  Natural  Stale,  with  all  their  orsanic  matter. 

SUPER  PHOSPHATE  OF  LLME  is  manufactured  from  Crushed  Bones.  «-hich  also  have  all 
their  organic  matter. 

LN[PROVED  MANIPULATED  GUANO  is  composed  of  one  half  Best  Phosphatic  Guano, 
decomposed  bv  Sulphuric  Acid,  the  balance  of  the  Best  Peruvian. 

To  be  had  at  the  MILLS,  or  of  Messrs.  WOMBLE  &  CLAIBORNE.  BLAIR  &  CHAMBER- 
LAYNE.  ALEX.  GARRETT.  Richmond:  D.  GRIGG.  Esq..  Petersburg,  and  Messrs.  GUY  & 
WADDELL,  Staunton.  ^  April  60— tf 

Or  XJ -A.  INTO. 

We  would  call  the  attention  of  Guano  Dealers.  Planters  and  Farmers  to  the  article  which  we 
have  on  hand  and  for  sale  at 

Forty  per  cent  less  than  Pernyian  Guano, 

and  which  we  claim  to  be  superior  to  any  Guano  or  fertilizer  ever  imported  or  manufactured  in 
this  country.  This  Guano  is  imported  by  WM.  H.  WEBB,  of  New  York,  from  Jarvis'  and  Bakers' 
Islands,  in  the  "South  Pacific  Ocean,"'  and  is  sold  genuine  and  pure  as  imporiei!.  It  has  been 
satisfactorily  tested  by  many  of  our  prominent  Farmers,  and  analyzed  by  the  most  eminent  and 
popular  Agricultural  Chemists,  and  found  to  contain,  (as  will  be  seen  by  our  circulars.)  a  large 
per  centage  of 

Bone  Phosphate  of  Lime  and  Phosphoric  Acid, 

and  other  animal  organic  matter,  yielding  ammonia  suificient  to  produce  immediate  abundant 
crops,  besides  substantially  enriching  the  soil.  It  can  be  freely  used  ■«-ithout  danger  of  burning 
the  seed  or  plant  by  coming  in  contact  with  it,  as  in  the  case  with  some  other  fertilizers;  retain- 
ing a  great  degree  of  moisture,  it  causes  the  plant  to  grow  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  as  experi- 
ence has  proved 

Free   of  Insects. 

For  orders  in  any  quantity,  (which  will  be  promptly  attended  to,)  or  pamphlets  containing  full 
particulars  of  analyses  and  tests  of  farmers,  Applv  to 

JOHN  B.  SARDY,  Agent, 

Oct — ly  No.  5S  S,  uth  St.,  comer  ci"  Walt  St..  New  Y.rl:  C  :y. 


The  sub.scrilier  has  for  sale  two  very  fine  Essex  BOARS,  rather  more  than  a  year  old.  -Also,  one  Suffotk — 
one  Chester  CoMu/y,  and  sereral  Essex  Sows,  Price  |30  each,  delivered  on  the  cars,  or  other  puMic  freight 
lines. 

Nov.  1st,  1859.  JAMES  E.   WILLIAMS. 


12 


SOUTHERN  PLAXTER.— ADYERTISIXG  SHEET. 


9(© 


Q      >« 


SOLUBLE  PHOSPHATED 


r^  "^ 


MADE  OF  GUAXOS  OF 


DIEECT  IMPORTATION, 

Under  the  personal  supervision  and  direction  of  Dr.  R.  H.  STABLER, 

Chemist;  of  this  City. 


THIS  FERTILIZER  we  confidently  recommend,  as  the  most  permanent  and 
cheapest  yet  offered  to  the  pullic.     Being  composed  of 

NO.  1  PERUVIAN  AND  SOMBRERO  GUANOS 

OF  OUR  OWX 

IDI:E^.:E]OT  I:]VE:poI^.TA.TIO^s^, 

FROM  THE 

CHI^THA   AXD   SO]^IBRERO   ISLANDS, 

WE    WAEEANT    IT    IN    EVEEY    RESPECT. 


THE   SOMBRERO    GUANO 

Before  being  mixed,  is  rendered  immtdiatdy  toluble.  by  the  addition  of  Sulphuric  Acid.  This 
treattnent  is  nniTersally  recommended  by  the  most  eminent  Agricultural  CljeinUts.  Wiihcut  it, 
the  action  of  the  two  Guanos,  tvhen  mixed,  is  not  simultaneous,  and  consequentHy  comparatirely 
inefficient. 

This  is  the  03iLT  mixtare  of  the  Amraoniated  and  Phosphatic  GU.irsOS  we  know  of,  yet  offered 
to  the  Agricultaral  Commnnity,  in  a  rea.li.y  sol<:ble  form. 

P»rice,  S50  per  Ton  of  2.000  lbs. 

Onr  reports  from  those  who  applied  the  above  FERTILIZER  tr.  their  crcpj  last  fall,  are  highly 
tatitfaetanf — so  mnch  so,  indeed,  as  to  convince  ns  that  our  SolubU  Photphaled  Peruvian  Guano 
will  ere  long  be  altogether  used  in  this  section,  as  a  substitute  for  the  Penavjan  Guano,  which, 
teithoHt  the  addition  of  PhosphaUs,  tends  rather  to  exhaust  than  permanently  improve  the  soil. 


FOVrLE    8C   CO., 


May  60— tC 


ALEKANDKIA,   VA. 


SOUTHERN  PLAXTER,— ADTERTISIXG   SHEET. 


VALUABLE  LOUISA  LAND 
FOR  SALE. 

Wishing  to  dispose  of  my  Real  Estate,  in  order 
to  divide  the  proceeds  among  my  children.  I 
oiFer  for  sale,  privateU.  my  Farm. 

SUNNING  HILL, 

This  most  desirable  tract  of  Land  lies  ia  the  heart 
of  the  valuable  tobacco  Lands  of  Louisfi.  on  both 
sides  of  the  south  branch  of  the  .North  .Anna  river, 
adjoinin;:;  the  lands  of  H.  P.  Poindester,  Gabriel 
Jones,  Joseph  M.  Baker  and  others,  eight  miles  from 
Louisa  Court-House  and  Tolersville.  on  the  Virginia 
Central  Railroad,  and  equally  convenient  to  both. 

This  Farm  contains  1,010  acres,  of  which  200  are 
wood  land,  more  thnn  three-fourths  of  which  are 
heavily  timbered  with  oak,  pine  and  hickory  of  origi- 
nal gronili.  The  arable  land  i^  fertile  and  iu  a  high 
state  of  improvement — well  adapted  to  the  growth  of 
wheat,  corn  and  tobacco.  There  is  a  comfortable 
DVVELLLNG,  with  eight  rooms,  a  good  barn,  tobac  :o 
house.-:,  and  all  necessary  ou'  biiildiogs.  The  locality  , 
is  healthy  and  the  neighborhood  pleasant.  Presuming 
that  any  one  wishing  to  purcha.*e  will  visit  the  Farm 
and  see  for  themselves,  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  : 
speak  t'lrther.  The  Farm  is  capable  of  being  divided 
into  three  tracts,  if  desired.  Being  very  desirous  of 
selling,  terms  will  be  made  to  accommodate  pur- 
chasers. 

My  manager,  Mr.  Groom,  will  take  pleasure  in 
showinj  the  premises  to  anv  one  who  wishes  to  pur- 
chases.'^ JLLIA  A.  HOLL.\D.\Y. 

For   further   information,  apply  to    Dr.    \V.    C.    N.  t 
Randolph,  Charlot'esville,  Va,;'or.  H.  T.   Holliday. 
Rapid  Ann  Station,  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad, 
who  is  authorized  to  sell.  Feb  tO — tf 

THE  GEE  AT  SOITTHEEN 

Hat  and  Cap  Manufactory  and  Depot. 
JOHN  DOOLEY, 

No.  81,  Main  Street,  BicTimond  Va. 

MANCFACTUEER  of  HATS  and  CAPS  on 
the  largest  se-ile,  and  in  every  possible  variety, 
and  Imponer  of  North  .American  and  European  Furs,  ^ 
HATS,  CAPS,  PLUSHES,   TRI.M.Ml.NGS,  and  all 
other  articles  belonging  to  the  Trade,  is  always  sup- | 
plied  with   a  splendid  stock  of  Goods,  for  Wholesale  ; 
and  Retail,  which  in  quality  and  quantity  cannot  be  ; 
excelled  by  any  other  house  in  the  South.     His  man- j 
ufacturing  arrangements  are  of  the  completesl  kind,  i 
and  his  facilities  for  supplying  country  merchants  a   | 
the  shortest  notice  cannot  be  surpassed. 
JulylSo*— ly 

EARKSDALE  &  BROS., 

ooMmtsstoN 

MERCHANTS, 

Corner  of  13th  and  Gary  Sts.,  Up  Stairs, 


.ALBANY  DRAIN  TILE  WORKS. 

Corner  Clinton  Avenue  and  Knox  Sts., 
ALBIXY,  X.  T. 


Ix  inches  Round..  . 


^  ?.iju  per  n.".','  leet. 
1-2,<X)     "       "       " 
40,00     '•       '•       " 


2^  inches  Rise 
3h     •■ 


.  $10.00  per  10<X)  feet. 
1-3.00     "       "       " 


•2  inches  Rise. •$• .  10,00  per  1000  feet. 

-3      ••            •     "  1«>.0«3     «       "       •* 

4  "            "     30.00      «       «       '■• 

5  "            '•     50,00      "       "       -^ 

6  "           "       80.00     "       «       " 

9      "           "     200,00     "       "       " 

Orders  solicited.     Terms  Cash. 
Address  C.  &  W.  3IcCAMM0X, 

April  00— ly  Albany,  N.  Y. 


Liberal  offer  for  lSo9  I 

NASH'S  TRIAL  PIAIOS 

-^^•^ •  \\  e  w;ll  take  upon  ourselves  the  irou- 

"'"11'  '.-?  and  re~|'onsihiIitv  nf  selecting 


F»IA.]SrOS 


CLAIBORNE  EARKSDALE, 
C.  B.  BARKSDALE. 
CHAS.  H.  BARKSDALE. 


RICHMOND,  YA 

Feb  60— ly 


f(.r  an.i  nrwnr.'inz  to  such  persons  as  may  wish  to 
purchase,  and  if  thev  do  not  turn  out  to  be  reallv  rood, 
we  WILL  BEAR  ALL  THE  EXPE.NSE.   '  " 

We  know  what  the  PLANOS  are,  and  hare  no  hesi" 
tation  in  taking  the  risk  of  eivin?  satisfaction. 

E.  P.  .N.ASH   &  CO.. 

April  1859.  Petersburg,  Va. 

J.    R.    KEININGHAM, 

DEALER    IX 

BOOKS  &  STATIONERY. 

211  Broad  Street,  between  4lh  and  5th,  RICH- 
MOND, VA.  March  1859, 


14 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER.— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


FOR  THE 
CELEBRATED  PREMIUM 


Grain  Drill, 


Witli   tlie   Improved   Guano   Attacliment   and   Grass    Seed   Sower 


MAXUFACTURED    BY 

BICKFORD    &    HUFFMAN, 

BALTIMORE,  MAUYLAND. 

Those  wishing  this  article,  and  one  that  is  universally  a('knowlr<l2Ptl  by  the  Farmers  of  the  South,  North 
and  VVest.and  by  all  that  have  examined  it,  to  be  the  liest  ever  offered  to  the  public,  uill  bear  in  mind  thg-t  un- 
less they  order  early,  may  be  disappointed,  as  hundreds  were  last  season,  by  delay. 


9  TUBE  DRILL, 
8        "  " 

7 


PRICES, 


Guano  Attachment, 
Grass  Seed  Sower, 


$90  00 
85  00 
80  00 
All  Orders  promptly  filled  and  information  given,  by  application  to 

C.  F.  CORSER, 
General  Agent  for  the  Southern  States, 
Offire,  No.  90  S,  Charles  Street,  between  Pratt  and  Camden,  Baliimore,  Md. 
For  sale  by  H.  M.  SMITH,  Agent,  Richmond,  Va. 


$25  00 
10  00 


CA.UTio:Nr. 

_  Notice  is  hereby  given  to  all  whom  it  may  concern  :  That  this  is  to  forbid  all  persons  making,  vending 
using  or  infnnfrmg  upon  our  Guano  or  Compost  Attacliment,  patented  April  2-2d,  1856,  re-issued  Mav  18th, 
1858.  Any  person  violating  our  rights,  will  be  held  uccountable.  None  g.;nuine  except  manufactured  by 
us,  where  they  can  be  had  on  application  to  C.  F.  CORSER,  our  General  Agent,  at  No.  90  S.  Charles 
Oireet.  Baltimore,  Md.,  or  to  agents  appointfld  to  sell  the  same  by  said  Corser. 

beptcmber  1S58.— yly  BICKFORD  &  HUFFMANN, 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


15 


HIGHLY   IMPROVED 
BREEDING  STOCK. 

Satisfied  that  stock  ot  any  Uiiid  to  breed  from, 
should  be  of  tm  established  breed,  not  an  accidental 
result  (Vom  a  cross  of  extremes,  I  have  selected  the 
best  males  and  females  to  be  procured  of  lMor£ran 
Horses,  Durham  Cattle  and  Chester  County  Hogs 
for  breeding  purposes  ;  the  otTspriiis  of  ttie  cattle  and 
hogs  can  be  bad  now,  and  the  services  of  the  staliions 
after  the  1-t  of  April. 

Black  Hawk,  sired  by  the  famous  Vermont  Black 
Hawk,  nine  years  old  past,  a  noble  animal  of  2.44 
gait,  and  perfectly  gentle  and  docile,  and  his  son,  a 
bay,  four  years  old,  larger  than  his  sire,  and  very 
promising,  are  both  horses  that  will  recommend  them- 
selves. 

In  proof  of  ray  confidence  in  these  breeds  and  ani- 
mals, 1  have  expended  over  $7,000  without  waiting 
endorsation  and  patronage — satisfied  that  those  who 
try  tbem,  will  not  resret  it. 

'For  particulars  address  S.  VV.  FICKLIN, 

April  60 — 3t  Charlottesville,  Va. 

GREAT REDUCTIOX  in  THE  PRICE  0F\ 

HATS  AND  BOOTS. 

From  15  to  2(»  per  cent,  saved 
by  buying  from  J.  H.  ANTHONY,  Co 
InmbiMn  Hotel  Building. 

Moleskin  Hats  of  best  qualify.  $3J; 
do.  second  quality,  $3;  Fashionable 
Silk  Hats,|-J  50: 'Fine  Calfskin  Sew- 
ed Boots,  $3  50;  Congress  Gaiter 
Boots,  $3  25;  Fine  Calfskin  Sewed 
Shoes,  |:2  25. 

J.  H.    ANTHONY  has   made    ar 
rangenients  with  one  of  the  best  ma 
kers  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  to  .supply  him  with  a 
handsome  and  substantial  Calf-skin  Sewed  BOOT, 
which  he  will  sell  at  the  unprecedented   low  price  of 
Three  Dollars  and  a  Half.  July  59— ly 

Southern  Clothing  House 

KICHMOND,    VA. 

The  subscriber  keeps  con- 
stantly on  hand  a  large  and  Fash- 
ionable assortiiienl  ot  Keady-made 
Ciolning.of  his  own  m;inufactnre, 
of  the  latest  and  most  approved 
Styles.  Also  a  large  assoriment 
of  Gentlemen's  furnishing  Goods, 
such  as  Hanclk'fs,  Cravats,  Neck 
Ties,  Shirts,  Drawers,  Gloves  ntld 
Suspenders,  Collars,  Umbrellas. 

In  addition  to  which  he  keeps  a 
large  and    general   assortment  of 
, Piece  Goods   of  every  Sivle  ana 
prepared  to  make  to  measure  at 
the  slioriest  notice  and  in  the  best  and  most  fashiona- 
ble style.  E.  B.  SPENCE. 

No.  120,  Corner  of  Main  and  13th  Sts. 
July  59— ly 


TROTTING  STALLION 


This  fine  bred  young  Trotting  Stallion,  who  is  not 
surpassed  in  blood  by  any  horse  of  his  age,  has  com. 
menced  a  season  at  the  stable  of  the  subscriber  on 
the  Mechanicsville  Turnpike,  cne  mile  from  the  city 
of  Kichmond.  The  season  will  expire  on  the  15th  of 
July. 

TERMS; 

$15,  if  paid  at  the  6rst  serving  of  the  mare,  or  $20 
payable  at  the  close  of  the  season.  Insurance  $30. 
Groom  fee  $1.  Mares  put  by  insurance,  must  be 
returned  on  their  regular  days,  and  parting  with  a 
mare  will  forfeit  the  insurance. 

SULTAN  was  foaled  in  the  State  of  New  Y'ork, 
on  the  13th  of  July,  1;*54,  is  a  rich  ilark  bay,  fifteen 
hands  three  inches  high,  of  extraonlirrirv  lar^e  bone 
and  muscular  power,  and  promises  to  be  a  valuable 
stallion,  not  only  for  speed,  but  for  general  purposes. 
He  has  made  two  seasons  in  the  county  of  Orange, 
and  has  proved  himself  a  sure  foal-getter,  and  his 
colts  are  extra  fine  and  large. 


Quality,  which  he 


FOR  SALE. 


A  BEAUTIFUL  AND  VALUABLE  FARM, 
Within  an  hour  and  a  half's  ride  by  Rail  Road  ot 
this  City.  Contains  600  acres,  (more  or  less): 
Neighborhood  is  excellent.  Improvements  ample 
and  neat,  and  the  situation  of  tlie  houses  beautiful. 
THIS  IS  A  GOOD  STAND  FOK  A  PHYSICIAN 
OR  LAWYER,  OR  A  FIRST  CLASS  SCHOOL. 
A  smaller  farm,  or  City  property,  will  be  taken  in 
part  pay  of  the  purchase  money.  For  further  par- 
ticulars apply  to 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS, 
Mar  60.  Office  of  Southern  Planter. 


PEDIGREE. 

SULTAN   was    sired    by    the    Trotting    Stallion, 
Young   Andrew  Jackson,  out  of  Ladt  Ai  dalah,  and 
she  out  of   Kossuth's  dam,  by   that  ^>t^d  Trotting 
Stallion,  Old  Abdal.il),   a  grandson  of  Old   Imported 
Messenger,    "the    Fountain    Head'    of  all    the    best 
trotting  stock  in  .America.     Young   .Andrew  Jackson 
was  by  the  celebrated  stallion,  .Andrew  Jackson,  (the 
sire  also  of  New   York   Black    Hawk,   and    Kemble 
I  Jackson,  two  ol  the  best  trotting  stallions  that   have 
I  ever  been  on    the    turf,)   the  fastest  trotting   horse  of 
his  day,  bavins   beaten    Daniel   D.   Thi>mpkiris,   Fire 
King,    Lady   Warrington,    Slodesty,   and    others — he 
I  was  sired   by   Young  Bashaw,  who  was   by  the  im- 
ported  Arabian   horse,  Grand   Bashaw.     The  dam  of 
I  .Andrew  Jackson  was  by  Why  Not,  and  Why  Not  by 
'  Messenaer  ;  the  gr.nd  dam  of  Andrew  Jackson  also 
by  ol  !  Messenger,  all  ren>arkable  for  hardy  constitu- 
tion and  great  speed.     Tlie  dam   of  Young   .Andrew 
Jackson    was    by    the    distinguished    trotting   mare, 
Great  Western,  raised  near  Rochester,  N.   Y.     She 
was  a  fine,  large  .Messenger  mire,  fL>ll  sisteen  hands 
hiirb,  and   possessing  great  speed.      In   a   match   at 
Rochester,  she  beat  Polly  Roe,  trotting  her  mile  in 
]  two  minutes  and  thirty-tour  seconds  ;   was    then  sold 
!  and  taken  to   Philadelphia,  where  she  again  trotted 
and    won  :   time,    two    minutes  and   thirty-seven  sec- 
onds:    after   which,    she     was   put    to    Old  .Andrew 
:  Jacks'>n    and    produced    Toung    Andrew    Jackson. 
I  Good  judges  piouoimced  him  one   of  the  best  stock 
'  horses  for   all    purposes  in  this   country.      He    was 
I  si.xteen    hands    one    inch    high,    and    weighed    1300 
I  pounds,  and  in  condition   could  trot  his  mile  in  two 
minutes  and  forty  seconds  ;    he  received  the  first  pre- 
'  miuui  at  the    Mechanics'    Institute    Fair,   held    iu    the 
I  citv  of  New   York,   in  the  Fall  of  1856,   and    also  at 
I  the    New  Jersey    State    P'air.     He  was  s  ild    in   the 
spring    of    18-57,    and    taken    to    La    Salle,    Illinois, 
where  he  stood  at  $50  the  season,  but  before  the  sea- 
son expired,  was   poLsoned   l»y  some   malicious  per- 
son. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above,  that  SULT.\N  can 
be  traced  generation  after  generation  to  the  best 
trotting  slock  in  this  country. 

H.   J.    SMITH, 
Xear  Fairfield  Race  Course. 
Richmond,  May,  1S60.— 2t 


16 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


BALTIMORE  MADE 

AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS 

VERSUS  EASTERN. 

We  notice  that  ^Messrs.  R.  Sinclair.  Jr..  &  Co.. 
of  this  city,  received  FIRST  PRE3IIU-MS  for 
their  deservedlj'  famed  Agricultural  IiuiWements 
at  the  recent  Agricultural  Exhibitions  and  Fairs 
held  in  .Maryland,  Virginia,  Xorth  Carolina,  and 
the  Southwestern  States,  namely: 

By  the  MARYLAND  STATE  AGRICULTU- 
RAL SOCIETY,  14  Premiums. 

Bv  the  VIRGINIA  AND  NORTH  CARO- 
LINA AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY,  9  Pre- 
miums. 

Bv  tlie  SEABOARD  AGRICULTURAL  SO- 
CIETY, held  at  Norfolk,  12  Premiums. 

Also  awarded  to  Sinclair  &  G©..  bv  the 
KENTUCKY  AND  TENNESSEE  STATE 
AND  COUNTY  FAIRS,  FOUR  (Fikst)  PRE- 
MIUMS on  Sinclair's  Patent  Masticator,  for 
mashing  and  cutting  Corn  Stalks,  Straw,  &c., 
making  in  all 

THIRTY-NINE  FIRST  PREMIUMS 
In  Eavor  of  SINCLAIR  &  CO.'S  Wares, 

And  showing  a  decided  preferenceby  the  judges 
in  favor  of  Baltimore  Made  Implements. 

Included  in  the  above  Premiums  were  Stet- 
son's Patent  Reaping  and  Mowing  Machine, 
Sinclair's  Patent  Straw  arid  Fodder  Cutters, 
Sinclair's  Patent  Spiral  Threshing  Machine, 
Wheat  drill  with  Guano  Attachment,  Serrated 
Clod  Roller,  Corn  Shellers,  Corn  Drills,  &c. 

In  the  above  estimate  of  Premiums,  the  fol- 
lowing were  not  included  in  the  ditferent  con- 
tests, all  having  received  their  quota  of  Premi- 
imis  at  Fairs  previouslv  held,  viz: 

HORSE  POWERS,  Spur  and  Bevel  Geared  ; 
CORN  MILLS.  Burr  and  Iron;  FANNING 
I^IILLS:  ROLLING  SCREENS:  AGRICULTU- 
RAL FURNACE:  CH.\IN  PUMPS;  LIME 
SPREADERS;  GARDEN  TOOLS,  &c.,&c. 

]g^^  The  Agricultural  Implements  and  Ma- 
chinery manufictiied  by  us  are  constructed  in 
the  most  substantial  and  durable  manner,  great 
capacity,  and  particularly  adopted  for  Southern 
use  and  usage.  Planters  or  Merchants  wanting 
supplies  will  be  furnished  with  Price  Lists  on 
application. 

R.  SINCLAIR,  Jr.  &  Co., 

]Manufacturers,  Baltimore.  ^Id. 
Aptil  60— 6mo 

SADDLES,  HARNESS,  &C. 

/^^Jk.     I  manufacture  a  superior 
Pn^^  COLLAR 

Jf  which  I  warrant  not  to  chafe  or  gall.  I  have 

ahvays  on   hand  a   Ercod    assortment  of  all  articles  in 
my  line,  which  I  will  sell,  wholesale  or  retail,  as  cheap 
as  they  can  be  procured  niivwhere.  Noriii  or  South. 
CHARLES  I.  BALDWIN, 
Franklin  St., 2d  square  above  Old  Market. 
Sept— ly 


MANUFACTORY 

or  THE  CELEBRATED 

PITTS'  THRESHIIG  MACHIIS. 

AND 

Portable  Steam  Engines  on  wheels.  tVc. 

Those  celebrated  Threshing  ^lachines  are  so 
well  and  universally  known  in  all  sections  of  the 
country,  that  certificates  and  notices  of  their 
merits  does  not  seem  to  be  necessary  in  an  article 
of  this  kind.  As  it  is  conceded  by  all,  both 
Manufacturer  and  Operator,  that  there  is  no  other 
IMachine  in  the  world  can  compare  with  it. 

We  have  had  numerous  calls  for  smaller  sizes, 
and  are  making,  for  this  season,  of  suitable 
capacity  for  either  two,  four,  six,  eight,  or  ten 
Horse  Power. 

Those  MarhitKS  are  all  Warranted. 

Descriptive  Circulars  and  List  of  Prices  fur- 
nished upon  application  to  the  proprietors. 

BRAYLEY  &  PITTS,  Buffalo,  N.  T. 

Or  to  either  of  our  .igents — 0.  F.  Wallace, 
Winchester,  Va. ;  W.  H,  May,  Alexandria,  Va. ; 
A.  M.  Jordan.  Salem,  Roanoke  countj',  Va. 

April,  1S60— 6  mos. 


PURE  BRED  STOCK 
FOR  SALE. 

Pure  Bred  Durham  Cattle,  at  $75  to  $250. 

Spanish  .Merino   Sheep,  Silesiau   Merino  Sheep,  and 

Freuoh  Merino  Sh  ep.  at  $7  lo  $20 
Esses    Pies,    .Suffolk    Pi£s,   and    Gee's  Improved 

White  Pigs,  at  $S  each. 
MailaL'ascar  Kahbils  at  $10  per  pair. 
Brood  Mares  served  by  "Bush  Messenger,"  at  $125 

to  $500. 
Colts  got  by  •'  Cotrill  Morgan,"  and  by  "  Bush  Mes- 
senger," 50  10  200. 

All  animals  sold   will  be   carefully  boxed   or  hal- 
tered, and  placed  at  the  Express  office. 

31_v    residence   is   4J    miles    east    of   Brownsville, 
Favetle  Couiitv.  Pa. 

POST  OFFICE  BOX  No.  6. 

JOHN  S.  GOE. 

Feb  60-ly 


FOR  SALE. 

A  great  many  FAR^IS.  at  various  prices,  and 
on  accommodating  terms, 

AUGUST  &  WILLIAMS, 
Office  of  the  Southern  Planter. 


INDEX  TO  ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Page 
R^      AGRICULTURAL  LMPLEMENTS. 

;co.  Watt  &  Co.,  Richmond, 2 

H.  M.  Smith,  ._ «  

J  no  Haw,  OUl  Church,  Ya., ' 

Wm.  Palmer,  Son  &  Co., 9 

liickford  &  Hutfman.  Baltimore,  Md., 14 

R.Sinclair,  Jr.  &  Co.,                              16 

Bvayloy  &  Pitts,  BiifTalo.  x\.  Y  , !« 

AGRICULTURAL  FAIR. 

Virginia  State   and  Virginia  Central  Socie-  \ 

ti-< 8 

BOOKSELLERS  AND  STATIONERS. 

r.  W.  Randolph,  Richmond, 1 

.  R.  Keiningham,  Richmoml li 

BOOTS  &  SHOES. 

'    H.  Anthony,  Richmond, -      15  j 

City  Savings  Bank,    2J 

CLOTHING.  1 

E.  B.  Spence,  Richmond. 

DRUGS  AND  MEDICINES. 

Wm.  P.  Ladd,  Richmond, 5 

Purcell,  Ladd  &  Co.,  Richmond,  (cover.).  . .        1 

DRAINING  TILE. 
C.  &  W.  McCammon,  Albany,  N.  Y., 13 

FOOD  FOR  CATTLE. 
Address  21  Broadway.  N.  Y .3 

GAS  APPARATUS,  &c. 
-:.  ^:-Mi~  .K   rulleu. '2 

GROCERS   AND   COMMISSION  MER- 
CHANTS. 

R.  O.  Haskins,  Richmond, 2 

Edmond,  Davenport  &  Co.,  Richmond, 6-7 

Barksdale  &  Bros.,  "  13 

Alex.  Garrett,  (cover,)  "  2 

GUANO  AND  OTHER  FERTILIZERS. 

F.  G.  Rnffin,  Richmond, 4 

Edmond,  Davenport  &  Co.,  Richmond, 6--7 

S.  McGruder's  Sons,  .....      10 

■^.  Hartman,  Agent,  11 


Page 

B.  M.  Rhodes  &  Co.,  Baltimore,  M.L, S 

Fowle  &  Co.,  Alexandria,  Va., 12 

HATS  AND  CAPS. 

Jno.  Dooley,  Richmond, 1-3 

J.  H.  Anthony,  Richmond, 15 

JEWELLERS. 

Mitchell  &  Tyler,  Richmond,,    2 

LAND  FOR  SALE. 
J.  A.  Holladay, 13 

LAND  AGENCY. 

J.  J.  Hite.  Lovingston,  Nelson  Co.,  Va 3 

OPTICIANS. 

M.  I.  Franklin  &  Co.,  Richmond, 5 

•  PIANOS. 

E.  P.  Nash  &  Co.,  Petersburg, 13 

PUMPS. 

Jas.  M.  Edney,  New  York, 5 

SADDLE  AND  HARNESS  MAKERS. 

S.  s.  Cottrell,  Richmond, 6 

Chas.  I.  Baldwin,     "  16 

SCHOOLS. 
H.  P.  Lefebvre,  Richmond,  (cover,). .....        4 

SEWING  MACHINES. 

Grover  &  Baker,  Richmond, 9 

STEREOSCOPES.^ 
-M.  I.  Franklin  &  Co.,  Richmond, 5 

STOCK--THOROUGH-BRED   AND   IM- 
PROVED. 

Frank.  G-RulFm,  Richmond, • ...        'i 

Dr.  T.  J.  Wooldridge,  French  Hay  P.  O., 
Hanover  Co.,  Vn., ,       2 

C.  S.  Wainwright,  Rhinebeck,  N.  Y 2 

Jas.  Gowen,  Philadelphia, 3 

Angnst  &  Williams,  So.  Plan.  Otiico, 5 

Jas.  E.  Williams,  Richmond, 5-11 

August  &  Williams,  So.  Planter  Office, 3 

Jno.  S.  Goe,  Brownsville.  Pa., 16 

S.  W.  Ficklin,  Charlottesville,  Va., 2-15 


SOUTHERN  PLANTER— ADVERTISING  SHEET. 


:SIR.   LEFEBA^JRE'S    SCHOOL, 

Grace  Street,  Between  Ist  and  Foushee,  Eichmond,  Va. 

The  next  session  of  our  School  begins  on  the  first  dav  of  October,  1853,  and  terminates  on  the  last  dav 
of  June,  18(Xl. 

Our  long  experience  in  leaching,  and  the  rerj  libenil  patronage  we  have  received  for  eo  raany  jcars, 
Lave  botli  enabled  and  encouia^ed  ns  to  make  important  improvements  in  our  Instituliou. 

A  course  of  Literatare,  comprising  Euglish,  Fn  neb,  German,  Italian  and  Spanish  classics,  (the  four  last 
through  the  medium  of  the  French,)  has  been  sucressfuUy  tried  during  the  last  sessiun,  and  will  be  con- 
tinued and  enlarged  in  the  nest. 

We  have  engaged  Mr.  Edward  C.  Howard  to  lake  charge  of  the  English  part  of  this  course,  as  well  as 
the  Rhetoric.  Belles-Letires  aid  First  Kendirj  da??***  of  our  Institution.  Mr.  H.  is  a  genileinao  of  tlje 
bi?he«t  qtiali5cations— and  we  feel  confitlc  "       serricei  will  be  duly  appreciated.     We  would  ear- 

nestly recommend  our  Literature  classic  .  'upils. 

The  new  liouse  which  we  have  erected  •■  ^  _.  add  lo  the  convenience  as  well  as  to  the  comfort  of 
the  young  Ladies  boarding  in  our  family.  Two  )  ouag  Ladies  only  will  occnpy  one  room,  except  in  cases 
w  hen  three  would  desire  to  occupj'  the  same  chamber. 

HUBERT  V.  LEFEB\T%E,  A.  M.,  Principal, 

.\£':r:!  Philosophv,  Litcr-:f;re,  Mom!  and  Mentnl  Pl.i'osophv,  French. 

WILLIAM  G.\V  ~    X.h.,VicL  ts,  Chemistry,  Historv,  Latin. 

EDUARh  C.   1:  Literaiurv 

BIRS.   GRACE    ;—        -1,  English    L  .    ..:    .......        .     lORDON,  English  Branches. 

Wl:i.-5  ELIZA  BARiLtn,  Enslish  Bpudies.  MADAME  L-  V.  BLA.\CHETT,  Fr.  nch  Goveruess. 
SENOR  CARLOS  CARDORVEZ  MER.A,  Spanish  and  Italian.  MADAME  MARIE  E.S  IVAN.  Vocal 
Music.  SIG.NORI.NA  A.NTOMKITA  ERBA,  Vocal  Music.  SIG.\ORI.\A  MARIETTA  ERBA,  Piano. 
JOH.\  A.  CAL\U,  Drawine  and  Painting.  WILLIAM  F.  GRABAU,  Piano,  Organ,  Sacred  Music. 
C.  W.  THILOW,  Piaiio.     HE.NRICH  aCHNEIDEll,  Harp.     O.  ERlCSSO.V,  Guitar. 

TERMS. 

For  Board,  .             ....        fiO'O  For  four  lessons  (of  an  hour)  a  week,    16000 

For  Washing.  .             •             •             •             •  "~'"  '''  For  Sacred  Music  iu  class,         .           .         8  O'l 

For  Lights,  .         ....  1'    '-'  For  the  use  of  Piano,          .             .             .             1000 

For  Fuel,          .                                                     •  1*^"  For  Drawing,  from  Models,         .             .           .      20  00 

For  E-ielf'b  Tail?'                                      .           •  ^-"  ""  For  Dra^iir.  from  Nature,  ...          40  <tO 

F       ■■     '         V                       a- ••■,         .             .  i'O  00  Fori"               :     '.Vater  Colors,  .           .             .40  00 

r                                           j  exclusively  of  the  For*  .    .            ,            .            .            50  Ou 

.  4^  00  Prio;                        ent,  for  children   under    11 

For  LaiiB,    .          .              .            .            .  S20  00  yenrs  u:  age,  .            .            .            .         .     30  00 

For  Literatare,  .             .             .             .             .  20  00  ^=  No  extra  charges. 

For  Music  on  Piano,  Guitar,  Organ  or  SiBgtog  .n  i  ..        .     u       u  i. 

For  one  lesion  (of  aa  hour)  a  week.  40  00  |      All  letters  to  be  addres.=ed  to 

For  two  lessons  (of  an  hour)  a  week.  SO  00  ;  HUBERT  P.  LEFEBTRE,  Eifhmond,  V^a. 

For  three  lessons  (of  an  hour)  a  week,    120  00  aug— tf 


PA^IINTTS.  P.A.IlSrTS.  P^IISTTS. 

POBDILL,  LADD  &  00. 5 

13rtTTC3rC5-ISTS, 

So.  122  Main  Street,  comer  13th,  BICHMONS,  VIEGINIA, 

Offer  at  low  prices,  a  large  and  well  assorted  stock  of  articles  in  their  line — embracing 

PAINTS,  COLORS,  VARNISHES,  OILS,  8lC, 

LEWIS'  WHITE  LEAD,  '  MACHl.NE  OIL. 

KEW  J.  WHITE  ZINC,  Horsehead  brand,  PARIS  GREE.X, 

CHROME  GREEN,  CHROME  YELLOW, 

VERDIGRIS.  TURKEY  UMBKE, 

TERRA  DI  SIEN-VA,  LAMP  OILS, 

LI.NSEED  OIL.  SPTS.  TURPENTINE. 

All  Colore  for  Faiaters,  Coach  Makers,  and  others.  Dry  and  io  Oil,  Paint  Brushes,  Sand  Paper,  and  a  very 

large  stock  of  best 

Tri:srDOT^^  OE^SS, 

oroprisins  nearly  every  size  made.    We  are  also  prepared  to  take  orders  for  Imported 

Polislied  Kate,  Sky  Light  and  Ornamental  Grlass. 

ly  Particnlar  attention  to  packing  and  forwardinp  all  eood»— and  the  qnalify  warranted. 

PCKCELL,  LADD  &  CO,  Druggists^ 
iv.THf  1838.  s','3  Main  Street.  Kjcbmood.