SOLON ROBINSON, 1850 347 



he of success, that he has lately purchased 900 acres more 

 of swamp, which he intends next to commence upon. He 

 owns some 10,000 acres of land, 3,000 of which is under 

 cultivation. A great portion of the balance is piney- 

 woods sand, and of very little value for tillage. 



His crop of last season was 1,100 acres of corn, which 

 averages 10 to 15 bushels per acre, and 650 acres of cot- 

 ton, 570 of which was swamp, and cultivated entirely 

 with hoes. The balance of the land is "resting;" a term 

 peculiar to the south, and does not mean that it is cov- 

 ered with a luxuriant crop of clover or grass, by which 

 the soil of northern farms is renovated, when it needs 

 rest from long-continued tillage crops. "Resting" is the 

 only renovating process known to most of the planters. 

 Gov. H. thinks that a crop of weeds is highly beneficial 

 to the land. I think if it were shaded with a coat of 

 straw, it would be better. 



Governor H. plants cotton in drills, 4 to 5 feet apart, 

 and stalks 15 inches apart in the drills. This, at an aver- 

 age of 30 bolls to a stalk, will give 1,800 lbs. to an acre. 

 He says that he has seen 700 bolls and forms upon one 

 stalk; and that it made 4 lbs. of cotton. It grew upon a 

 dung heap. This is pretty conclusive proof that it would 

 be profitable to grow the whole crop upon a dung hill. 



Corn is planted 3 by 4 ft. apart, one stalk in a square 

 only, being allowed to stand. The average crop in the 

 district does not exceed ten bushels per acre, and probably 

 not over eight. Upon upland, ten bushels is considered 

 a good crop. The average crop of cotton is about 400 lbs. 

 per acre. A common hand tends ten acres of corn and ten 

 acres of cotton, upon the light lands of this part of the 

 state. 



It was in consequence of having worked this kind of 

 land until it would no longer produce remunerating crops, 

 that induced Governor H. to try what he could make out 

 of the swamp lands. In speaking of renovating light land 

 with peas, he says that he has found more benefit from 

 letting the vines decay upon the surface, than he has in 



