lOS 



FARMI<:RS' Ri<:(nSTER, 



[No. 



a srand total ol" 170.0()0.00(K). In 1S35, the quan- 

 tity in lintli kiriffdnnip, couid nnt have been les? 

 than 340,000,000 ol' bushels, [n 1755, the popu- 

 laiioii of the whole ishnid, did not much, il' anv, 

 exceed 7,500,000. !n 1831 i^ had risen to 16,525,- 

 180. beins; an increa,<e of 9,000,000 or 120 p-.-r cent! 

 Now the improvements in auriciilture, have more 

 than kept pace with this prodigious increase of de- 

 mand lor its various productions ; lor it is agreed 

 on all hands, that the 16,500,000, or rather the 

 17,500,000, (lijr more than a million have been 

 added since 1831,) are much fuller led, and on 

 provisions of a tar better quality, than the 7,500,- 

 000 were, in 1755. Nor is Great Britain indebted 

 at all, at present, to fbreiirn markets tor her sup- 

 plies. Since l'^32, she has imported ro grain, 

 worth mentioning, and till within the last six 

 months, prices have been so exceediniily depress- 

 ed, as to call Jbrth loud complaints ti'om the whole 

 agricultural interes'. of the country. England is, 

 at this moment, so far /i'orn wanting any of our 

 bread-stuffs, if we had them export, that she has 

 been supplying us all winter liberally from her 

 own granaries, and according to the latest advices, 

 she has still bread enousrh, and to spare. Again, 

 it is estimated by British writers, of hiijh authori- 

 ty, that the subsistence of 9,000,000 of people 

 costs, in raw produce, no less than £72,000,000, 

 or £8 lor each individual per annum. Accord- 

 ing to this estimate, the annual product of this 

 great branch of national industry is .9350,000.000 

 more at present, than it was in 1755 ; which is 

 more than twice the value of the whole cotton 

 manufacture of the country, in 1831. Now if ii 

 costs ifli 350,000,000 to teed the increased popula- 

 tion of 9,000,000, then to teed the present popula- 

 tion of 17,500,000, must cost near )9700,000,000 ! 

 What an amazing atrricultural product, tor so 

 small a territory! And yet, it is the opinion ol 

 practical men of the highest respectibilify in Eng- 

 land, that the raw produce of the island miirht 

 be well nigh doubled, without any greater propor- 

 tional expense being incurred in its production. 

 That is to say, 35,000,000 of people might draw 

 their subsistence from that one little speck in the 

 ocean ! Now ive have a territory, more than fif- 

 teen times as large as the island of Great Biitaui; 

 and what should hinder it, when it comes to be 

 brought under no higher cultivation than some 

 parts of England and Scotland, from sustainintj a 

 population oi' Jive or six hundred millions of peo- 

 ple? This would give to Virginia something like 

 thirty millions — to Illinois and Missouri about the 

 same number, each — to New York near twenty- 

 five millions?, and so in proportion to the other 

 states. I am quite aware, that this estimate will 

 be regarded as extremely visionary and incredible, 

 by many of your readers ; but not more so than 

 it would have been thought in the middle of the 

 last century, that England, Scotland and Wales 

 could ever be made to sijstain thirty-five, or even 

 thirty millions. 



Among the causes which have more than dou- 

 bled the agricultural produce of Great Britain, 

 within the period just alluded to, may be mention- 

 ed the enclosing of six or seven millions of acres 

 of commons and common fields, by which their 

 annual product has been increased, in many cases 

 more than tenfold — the cultivation of heaths and 

 other waste lands — the redeeming of extensive 

 and inexhaustibly rich fens, from the possession of 



aquatic birds and aninuils — the great improvement 

 in agricultural implements — llie furrow draining of 

 clay and othercold and sliff soils — tlie better rota- 

 lion of crops — the extensive introduction of turnips 

 and clover— the immense increase of common 

 manure, and the introduction of one at least, 

 whose extraordinary nutritive qualiiies have but 

 recently been discovered. Next to wheat, the 

 turnip crop, which Ibrty years afjo was hardly 

 worth mentioning, is novv more valuable ilian any 

 other, boih to landlords and tenants. It is used 

 chiefly in feeding and tiittening caiile and sheep: 

 and while immense numbers of both are kept in 

 the most healthy and thriving condition upon this 

 vegetable, one species of which, the ruta baga, 

 has lately been introduced and is extensively pro- 

 ductive, the lands are greatly enriched and soon 

 prepared tor any other crop, which the farmer 

 may find most profitable in his system of rotation. 

 Clover, too, is doing much to enrich the soil of 

 England and Scotland, and to reward the labors 

 of those who moisten it with the sweat of their 

 brows. It is surprising to see, to what an extent 

 the light sandy lands of England have already 

 been redeemed from comparative sierility under 

 this cultivation, and are now sowed with the finest 

 wheat. The process is still going on, and bids 

 f .:r to proceed as long as there remain any such 

 lands to be reclaimed and enriched. Indeed, who 

 can tell how mu(-h the cultivation of the turnip 

 may ultiiriately add to the wealth, and help to sus- 

 tain the populatiiin of Britain. According to an 

 estimate which I have lately seen, it is now worth 

 laany millions sterling, per annum, to the single 

 county of Norfolk. Carrots, also, are found to be 

 a very profitable crop in some parts o( England, 

 and the fiirmers are turning their attention to the 

 cultivation of this very nutritious esculent, with 

 increasing interest and advantage. 



Among the several kinds of manure which 

 have long been in high repute, lime and marl are 

 inexhaustible ; particularly the former, which the 

 low price of coal brings at a cheap rate. On 

 some soils, and near the kilns, it is used in great 

 quantitities. I have seen fields covered with it, 

 just as ours are with barn manure ; and when it is 

 spread, the ground appears, at a little distance, as 

 if it were covered with snow. 



But the richest and most [irofitable kind of 

 dressing which has yet been tried, and which is a 

 new source ol" agricultural wealth to Great Britain, 

 is bo7ie manure. It began first to be used, on a 

 large scale, in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, where 

 its influence has been all but miraculous ! Exten- 

 sive tracts of country, which a few years ago 

 were mere wastes, occupied by rabbit warrens, 

 have been converted into some of the finest and 

 best managed farms in England. This signal im- 

 provement, thouixh it did not begin, has been car- 

 ried to iis present perfection, by the use of the 

 manure just mentioned. Since bone dust has 

 come into general use, the turnip crop has been in- 

 creased in many instances, tenfold, and in fevv less 

 than four or jive told, and the efiect has been 

 equally surprising upon the succeeding crops of 

 grain, on the same land. This is the testimony of 

 practical men, well acquainted Avith all the cir- 

 cumstances, and they have no doubt lliat the soil 

 will Sfo on progressi\ely improving, and requiring 

 a less quantity of bones, annually, fiom its in- 

 creased fertility and power. It ansW'Crs best on 



