••s 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 1. 



^or twelve days of March, clover seed, in the qiian- 

 4i};y«ar a gallon to the acre, should be sown on the 

 wheat, during the morning when the ground is 

 frozen. The ihaw of the Bucceeding day, per- 

 mits it to eater the soil and be covered vvilh great 

 Tewularity. The writer hag found advantage in 

 ;r6lliTig his clover seed in tar and ground gypsum, 

 before sowinii. A gallon of hot water to a quart 

 ■of Har, dilutes it, without destroying its adhesive 

 properties. Clover seed, immer.sed in this mixture, 

 :and then made to re(;eive as much gypsum as will 

 adhere, is materially assisted in its subsequent 

 Igeriiiination and growth, by the process. The 

 •ensuing sjiring, after the clover is sown and in 

 •an early stage of vegelation, the clover should 

 be pJastered, with not less than a bushel of gyp- 

 •Sum to tlie acre. This will ensure a good crop, 

 'in almost every instance, where there are plants 

 ••enough en the ground to form an adequate cover. 

 The galls and gullies, where they exist, (and they 

 ■are the too frequent product of oiir bad agriculture) 

 •must be strengthened by the i.pplicalion of fiirrn 

 pen or stable manure, before they can produce and 

 support grasses. 



I'he best land is chosen for tobacco, and none 

 but the best will afford any profit in t lie culture. 

 The [ireparation does not diller troni that lor corn, 

 ■except that no furrows are to be run for planting 

 tobacco, but places marked with the hoe at the 

 usual distance of hills apart, and the plants de- 

 posited there. The surfiice between the water 

 liirrows, should be kept as smooth as possible dur- 

 ing the cultivation of the crop, and the water fur- 

 rows carefidly kept open. Wheat in the fall, and 

 clover seed in the sprinir, follow the tobacco crop. 

 And under this system, the land, if not loo severely 

 scourged by grazing or mowing, will be Ibund im- 

 proved in fertility at every rotation. In truth, this 

 ursorne other analagous mode nuist be resorted to, 

 il'the culture of tobacco is continued in this region; 

 as the forest is cut down to so great an exicni. that | 

 in many instances, woodland enough is not left lor 

 the support of the respective farms. 



Havino- hastily sketched the system of culture, 

 let us compute the probat)le income lo be obtained 

 li-om a farm containing lour fields applied to the 

 culture of corn and wheat, and lour smaller to the 

 culture of tobacco. Suppose the larger fields to 

 contain one hundred acres each, and the smaller 

 thirty. If the land is brought to as high a state of 

 fertility, as a few rotations such as I have describ- 

 ed, or rather alluded to, may be expected to brinfr 

 it, the land in corn will produce, according to the 

 season, from six to eight barrels. The corn land 

 sown with wheat, may be computed at ten bush- 

 els, the tobacco land at twenty bushels per acre. 

 Six hundred weight of tobacco "to the acre is a mod- 

 erate crop. 



The wheat and tobacco crops are always for 

 market, the corn only so far as there is a surplus 

 beyond the wants of the farm. 



Suppose the farm to consist of one thousand 

 acres, six hundred cleared, four hundred in wood, 

 at ten dollars an acre, (the flill selling price for 

 high land in this part of the country.) The stock 

 to work it — ten horses, each at 8 GO 00 



Twenty laborers per annum, each hired at 60 00 

 Farming utensils, waggons, &c. 500 00 



The capital invested, would be S 11,100 00 



The product, one thousand six hundred 



bushels of wheat, per bushel, $ 1 00 1,600 00 

 Tobac-.co, eighteeii thousand pounds, at 



$ 8 per cwt. 1,440 00 



83,040 00 



Deduct S 1,200 for the hire of labor, and $ 400 

 for the other expenses of the liirm, a sum that will 

 be found ample, and -S 1,440 will remain, being 

 about 13 per cent, profit on the capital invested. 

 Or if the laborers, with their families, are the pro- 

 perty of the land holder, supposing the whole 

 number to amount to forty, and estimating them 

 at an average of -^ 400 each, the capital then in- 

 vested, would be ;J 27, 100; from the gross pro- 

 duct, 3,040, deduct :$ 800 necessary annual expen- 

 diture, and add 3 per cent, for annual increase ir« 

 value of slaves, and the profit on the capital em- 

 ployed will be about 10 jier cent. The price of la- 

 bor would not be higher with us, than the amount 

 charged in the ])recedifig estimate, l)ut for the com- 

 petition of the public works, which is a temporary 

 matter. And when the commercial embarass- 

 ments of the south-west, are considered, witli theif 

 efiect on the p'rice of slaves, particularly recent fai- 

 lures, the value of that species of [iroperty, will be 

 deemed as estimated sufficiently high. 



The stock of horses and other working animais^ 

 may readily be sustained by those bred on the 

 place, and the wear and tear of farming tools, 

 wagons, &c. is supposed to be ftir more liian com-' 

 pensated by the beet" and other small articles that 

 may be annually sold. Sheep on such a liirm may 

 be kept in suihcient numbers tofurnisli wool for the 

 winter clothing of the laborers, and their fiimilies; 

 and more than hoirs enough reared to supply them- 

 with pork in the greatest abundance. In this esti- 

 mate, no allowrmce is made lor corn sold, because 

 it is deemed better matiagement to consume all on 

 the firm, in siqiporting working animals <md rear- 

 ing necessary live stock, the surplus of which, par- 

 ticularly hogs, will always command a ready sale. 

 The profits of the farm described, are stated hy- 

 pothetically, but the writer does nut believe them 

 overstated. The farm on which he lives under 

 much more unfavorable circumstances than those 

 supposed, (a larger part of it being unfit lor cultiva- 

 tion, and suhi(^ct to long absences on the part of" its 

 owner,) yielded last year, a clear income oi' eight 

 per cent, on the capital employed, (without refer- 

 ence to increased value in any thing,) after 

 charging the land and slaves at the belijre men- 

 tioned prices, and deducting every expense. Nor 

 has it lor some years |)ast done less. In addition 

 to this, the family have been abundantly supplied 

 with all such articles as the farm could aflbrd, and 

 carriage and ridino; horses maintained, who have 

 done no profitable labor. 



A large portion of the country between the head 

 of tide water and the Blue Ridge, is capable, by tol- 

 erable management, of at least yielding equal re- 

 sults. If a fair statement could be obtained of the 

 profits arising from cultivation in our south-wes- 

 tern country, al"ter a projier allowance is made tor 

 the lives destroyed by the climate, we shoidd be 

 enabled to make a comparison which miL''ht arrest 

 the attention of the great ruling passion of our coun- 

 try, ihe love of irain. Every other consideration is 

 held as little, compared with tlie prospect of making 

 money. To live among the squatter population. 



