487 
EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 
LABOR AND COTTON PRODUCTION. 
Dooly, Georgia.—There is a great deficiency in the labor system here. Most of the 
planters rent their lands to the freedmen, or take them in as “ croppers,” and in mosi 
cases the freednten are too anxious to “lay by” the cotton-crop entirely too soon. It 
has been proved that late light plowing is of great advantage to cotton ; it hasa tend- 
ency to keep the plant healthy and in a growing condition; it is also held by some | 
farmers that it is a preventive against rust ; but my experience has taught me that it 
depends upon the condition of the weather and the manner in which the plowing is 
done. When the land isnot too wet, late light plowing is certainly of great advantage 
to cotton. 
There are two kinds of rust, the yellow and the black; the yellow is the most inju- 
rious, as it spreads all over the farm, while the black only makes its appearance in 
spots. Iam of the opinion that there is no remedy for either. 
Liberty County, Georgia.—The agricultural prospects of Liberty County are improv- 
ing. The small farmers, who owned but few slaves and were inured to labor before 
the war, are now getting rich under the improved prices of all produce. The freedmen 
are also purchasing land and all kinds of stock. The better class of them prefer farm- 
ing “on their own hook.” The refuse can generally only be hired by the day or week. 
They must be paid on Saturday, and their earnings go for groceries and liquor. Labor 
is scarce and exacts high wages. The prospect is that common schools among the 
whites, with separate schools for the negroes, are about to be successfully inaugurated. 
FAILURE IN GRASS-SEED. 
Oldham, Kentucky.—Our orchard grass-seed crop is not over 40 per cent. of the usual 
yield. This county makes an average of some 30,000 to 40,000 bushels anaually for 
sale, for which we have been getting from $1.50 to $2 per bushel. This year the crop 
will not exceed 15,000 bushels ; cause of the failure, hard freezing and no snow to cover 
the ground in January last. 
TOBACCO PRODUCT OF DAVIESS COUNTY. 
Daviess, Kentucky, August 1, 1873.—The number of pounds of tobacco reported by me, 
(of the product of 1872,) June 26, 1873, was 11,417,000. The amount since reported as 
sold in McLean County is 350,000 pounds; reported by purchasers previously over- 
looked, 360,000 pounds; total raised in Daviess County in 1872, 12,027,000 pounds. I 
feel confident that the above number is not over the mark, as I have the reports of each 
purchaser, and may have overlooked some small purchasers. Does any county in the 
United States beat Daviess County, Kentucky, in the quantity of tobacco raised? 
Average price, leaf, lugs, and trash, 71 cents per pound, or $902,025 for the crop. 
COAL-ASHES AS A FERTILIZER. 
Franklin, Pennsylvania.—I have always believed that coal-ashes had a value for agri- 
cultural purposes, and have advocated the free use of them, particularly on limestone 
soil. This season I determined to get closer to the root of the matter, and test their 
value fully. I had a plot of ground on which I had been unsuccessful for several years 
in raising good Early Rose potatoes. The soil was in the best condition always. The 
tops did well. This spring I had the ground scored about six inches deep, placed the 
_ eut potatoes in the bottom, and filled up with coal ashes. The plants grew finely, not- 
withstanding the dry weather. The tops did not fall over even after the weather 
changed, and I secured a crop of the very best potatoes for the table I ever raised. 
~The second experiment was with onion-seed and coal-ashes. I put out five good- 
sized beds in seed. In four the seed was covered with soil; the fifth I covered with 
sifted coal-ashes. The result surprised every person that knew of the experiment and 
watched its progress. 
