1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



85 



renovale our exhausted soils. Jn this county, til- 

 \iiiie is jTeneraliy in an extremely rude suite. 

 Tlie ixreai bulk oC our liirniers and planters, hy 

 the course ol' euhi\alion and pasiurage wliicli 

 they pursue, would seem lo he sirivinii- how ra- 

 pidfy I hey can reduce iheir lands lo n caput mor- 

 tiium. 'i'heir hest lands, having been o|)ened at 

 the first settlement ol' the country, are long since 

 exhausted, and they are now rapidly removing the 

 forest from lands of an inlerior quality', which, un- 

 der their severe routine ol" tillage and pasturage. 

 are speedily rendered ulierly unproduciive. Tlie 

 culture of tobacco is exleusively pursued, and there 

 are many, who manage thai deparlment of agri- 

 culture with skill and success. i3ut to (his favor- 

 ite staple they devoie all iheir energies, all their 

 best lands, alf the manure they can make, all and 

 more than all the surplus labor ol' their li.unis. In- 

 dian corn, wheat and oals are greatly neglected; in 

 consequence of which, their stock of horses, cattle, 

 and hogs are inannserable condition. Few have 

 commenced the use of clover to any extent, and 

 still lewer the application of plaster. Their liirms 

 are generally divided into three or lour shifts, but 

 without the least benefit lo the land; lor, when not 

 in crop, it is subjected to the hoof and Ihe toolh, 

 from the first dawning of vegetation in the spring, 

 until the succeeding winter. Lands, capable of 

 producins good crops of Indian corn and wheat, 

 instead of being clothed with luxuriant herbage in 

 mid-summer, exhibit, under this process, tlie ap- 

 pearance of barren heaths, where the very sources 

 of vegetation are dried up and exhnusted. It is 

 obvious, that until this system of excessive graz- 

 ing is abandoned, the depreciation ot the soil must 

 be constant and rapid. Standing pastures are in- 

 dispensable, and our cultivated lands should be 

 either totally exempt from the hoof and the tooth, 

 or only pastured sparing!}' in the latter part of the 

 season. The crop of tobacco should be reduced, 

 and our manure applied exclusively to the im- 

 provement of our corn and wheat lands. Culti- 

 vated to a moderate extent, tobacco, I am satis- 

 fied, is not incompatible with a system of improve- 

 ment. It would be judicious to let tobacco be the 

 first crop in fresh land, because it succeeds l)est in 

 such land, and is an admirable preparation for oth- 

 er crops. But no system can be more ruinoas, in 

 my opinion, than the practice, so prevalent here, of 

 putting the whole offal of the farm on a small spot 

 for the production of tobacco. It is almost as bad 

 as ripping up the goose. Though the state of ag- 

 riculture here, is in general so gloomy, we are not 

 without some laint and occasional glimpses of the 

 approach of a better state of things. The larmers 

 and planters generally acknowledge the necessity 

 of a change, of doing something to prevent the fur- 

 ther impoverishment of iheir lands. That convic- 

 tion must, sooner or later, operate a revolution in our 

 agriculture. The family of the "Goodenoughs," te- 

 nacious as they are of old customs, must gradually 

 yield to the exannple of successful and profitable 

 improvement, exhibited before their eyes. Here 

 and there, may be found among us liirmers, who, 

 though they have nol done much, have laid the 

 foundation of improvement. Tlie fruits of this sys- 

 tem are beginning to he seen in the appearance of 

 their farms, in the increase of their crops, and the 

 improved condition of their stock. With the ma- 

 jority of men, facts placed under their own obser- 

 vation, prevail, more especially in agriculture, than 



the testimony of a thousand witnesses. That clo- 

 ver and plaster can be beneficially applied upon 

 much of the soil of Ihis couniy, has been suffi- 

 ciently tested by experiment. 'J hat it is calcare- 

 ous in many parts, is highly probable, though I 

 have never heard, that any portion of it has been 

 subjected to analysis. A small vein of limestone 

 passes through the heart of l he county, from north- 

 east lo south-west, and I have observed in many 

 places, a dark gray slate rock, which I suspect, 

 has a portion of lime. The soil formed, doubtless, 

 by the disintegration of that rock, is ofa dark com- 

 plexion, and I believe, is uniformly of good qual- 

 ! iiy. Tiiere is, however, great variety in the color 

 and appearance of our soil. On my farm, the dark 

 soil abovementioned, is intermixed with deep red, 

 presenting almost every intermediate gradation of 

 color. Last year, 1 had clover in lands of' all these 

 various descriptions. The efiect of the plaster was 

 so conspicuous in all, as to satisfy the most skepti- 

 cal of my neighbors. I have divided my fiirm into 

 five shifts, being satisfied that our exhausted soils 

 can never be restored under a more frequent culti- 

 vation. The three or four shift system, may per- 

 haps be introduced hereafter, when our lands have 

 been invigorated by long rest, and Ihe use of gyp- 

 i sum and clover. I have also standing pastures, 

 I by means of wdiich, i expect to sustain my stock, 

 j without subjecting my cultivated laiuls to much 

 I pasturage. I have no doubt, that when our lands 

 have been reclaimed, stock, under a judicious sys- 

 tem of management, may be profitably raised here 

 for market. All grasses thrive in our land, and 

 wherever it is in heart, it is peculiarly prone to the 

 formation ofa turf of greensward, a grass pre- 

 eminently adapted to pasturage. But tlie space I 

 have occupied, so much greater than I designed, 

 admonishes' me to conclude. I profi^ss to be only 

 a beginner in agriculture, and I am sure that my 

 name will add no weight to my opinions, or to my 

 practice. I must beg leave, therefore, to subscribe 

 myself 



A Young Farmer. 

 Campbell Couniij, March 2Bth, 1837. 



For tlie Farmers' Register. 

 SHEEP SHEARING. 



As the month of May is the time for shearing 

 sheep in our climate, I will venture to give a little 

 advice to those who are unacquainted with the 

 best mode of shearing sheep. The proper way 

 is never to tie tiie sheep to be sheared. It only 

 makes them struggle the more, for the tying gives 

 them pain, and ol' course, they will struggle to get 

 rid of it. Instead oftyiuir the sheep, place him on 

 the bench, or table, (which should be as high as a 

 tall man's knees) right upon his butt, ;md raise his 

 Itjet a little, so as not to touch the table, or bench; 

 and as he will have nothing to kick against, he 

 will make no resistance, but lie perfiictly quiet. 

 Then let hirr; lean upon your breast, with his feet 

 from you, and a little elevated, so that his feet can 

 not touch any Ihinir, not even your clothes, for if 

 you give him hold of any thing with his feet, he 

 will kick and struggle. After leaning him against 

 your breast, (as mentioned before) put his head 

 under your left arm, and you have entire command 

 of him. Then begin to shear the neck, near the 

 head, and shear from the fore, or under part of the 



