1857.] The Raw Material. 115 



ferred by me. The only credit I could claim — were I claiming any 

 — connected with this all important and vital question, might be, 

 that to some extent, I have here performed the humble and unpre- 

 tending part of a pioneer, in proving, not only its positive practica- 

 bility and its easy accomj)lishmeut, but its most admirable adaptation 

 and its panaceanic potency in curing the diseased condition and min- 

 istering to the gulliedly glaring wants of this particular section of 

 country,- at least. On my plantation it has stood the test of the se- 

 verest ordeal ; and having its great, incalculable and almost incredi- 

 ble advantages, in the shape of a satisfactory, individual experience, 

 I willingly — though I fear very feebly — offer them to others ; and 

 do most earnestly urge upon all to run every row, every furrow — and 

 were it practicable, I would say, every footpath, every mark made by 

 a plow, in going to and from work, and every rut, regardless of their 

 length — upon a downright dead level. In this connection, at least, I 

 agree in and echo Falstafp's philosophy, that ' Eight yards of 

 uneven ground is three score and ten miles with me.' 



I have not now a gully, wash or break of any importance on any 

 of my arable land ; and wherever the smallest wash or break is seen 

 at any time, upon the application of the level, it is invariably found 

 to be consequent upon some fall in the rows — though sometimes so 

 slight as to escape the eye, and so short as to be easily spanned at a 

 single step. 



In so earnestly engaging in the advocacy of this system of cul- 

 ture, I can assure you, no idle purpose of acquiring empty and ephe- 

 meral eclat actuates me. I have tried it, know of its many great ad- 

 vantages, and have proved it a positive protection against the most 

 crying evil of the South — the washing away of the soil ; and I do again 

 urgently urge upon all to level your land. Do it by all means, and 

 do it at once. Do it for your own sake, for the sake of your chil- 

 dren, for posterity and the good of your country; and don't do it, 

 as too often practiced, with rf ' little fall.' No, no ! not even with 

 ih.Q fraction of an inch in a mile, or in twenty, should your rows be 

 so long. Do this, and you may then discard your hill-side ditches, 

 and save the space devoted to them, and the labor of making and 

 keeping them open. Do this, and you wipe out the sickly hues 

 from the face of your hill-sides, and get rid of those ghastly giillies 

 which glare upon you at every turn, and like Banquo's ghost, tell 

 of murder. Do this, or stop scratching and scarring the bosom of 

 your kind mother. . * * * * * 



