IM 



F A R M E R S ' R E (J I S T J-] R . 



[N'o. 2 



nc-f.onni iherofore ihe Arab \\n^ sunk in tlie csti- 

 riiiinon (.1" hreeiiciv. 



/Jowover, I have iinifbi-mly iinticpd in ihe im- 

 moiliiiic desreniliint ot tlie real A rub, lliat li<rlit, 

 houniliriir, deer-like action, which is cnnsjiicudiip, 

 antl indeed a leading characleriptic in the (aitjiiial 

 breed; and which evidently decrease? the liirlher 

 we tro I'rom the true source, til! at lenitjih ihe mod.e 

 cii' ooiiifjp becomes clumsy and Ivmbcring. Even 

 with some of the liorscs which appear as racers, 

 this may he noticed; but such horses are seldom 

 successful on the turl'; nor can they be, since they 

 eubsiitute strength and stretch (or that elastic mo- 

 tion so essential to true running. 



Since, then, the Arab, or mountain horse, is oh- 

 jeciionalile to the breeder ot' lids country merely 

 I'rom his diminutive fi^iii'P, the Nubian, or liorse 

 ol' DotifTola, would liom an admirahle substitute; 

 if" we are to place confidence in the accounts of 

 those who proless lo have been eye witnesses, 

 wiiii every advan'ap-e of size, he possesses all 

 those essential requisites (in a superior deirree) 

 which eharaclerize what is called the thorough- 

 bred horse. 



It is to the spirit of the emulation on the turf 

 that we are indebted lor our prime hvmters and 

 liacks; if thereliire, the horse of Nrdiia be intro- 

 duced, and our hreed of racers thus improved, we 

 may fully expect that our hunters and hacks will 

 experience improvement precisely in the same 

 ratio. 



The inhabitants of these islands are evidently 

 Euperior to those of every other country in the 

 treatment of the horse; but tlie breeding depart- 

 nent is perhaps susceptible of improvement.- — 

 The introduction of the horse above noticed 

 might effect this to a certain extent; and the judi- 

 cious selection of individuals would essentially as- 

 eisf in furtherance of the same object. In the 

 choice of either stallion or mate, form should be 

 the criterion, since it is of no conseouence what 

 blood either may possess, if the requisite form be 

 wantincr. From forin alone, as I have already 

 observed, results both strenotb and speed. 



In the rearing of foals and young horses, atten- 

 tion is necessary, particularly in regard to the 

 ground or pasture. Hilly, dry countries are tn- 

 vorable to yountr horses: flat and marshy ground, 

 the contrary. Horses reared upon soft, moist and 

 flat grounds have large (trenerally flat and thin) 

 feet, since moisture promotes tlie growth of the 

 horny hoof; further, reared upon ground of this 

 description, their shoulders become upright from 

 the mode in which they are compelled to (eed — 

 bringing tiie head as low as possible, and thus the 

 shoulder necessarily comes forward. A straight 

 shouldered horse must be unsafe to ride, and can- 

 not he fleet. Horses reared in dry hilly countries 

 have upright hoofs, handsome and trood feet, atid 

 in consequence of fcedin<r principally by the sides 

 of the lulls, their shoulders will assume the de- 

 clining position — so essential to superior action, to 

 safe <rf>ing, to speed, and indeed to every thing 

 valuable in the horse. 



Kor tlie Farmers' Register. 

 DIKING IN CHARLOTTE COUNTY. 



On account of the little attention that has been 

 paid to arrest the washing of high lands, the flats 

 have, on many streams in this county, doubled 



their original depth of soil, and have become the 

 niQst valuable land on a plantation. To secure tlie 

 flat land from the etiects of inundation, should, 

 iheielore, be a great (hsideratvm with every culti- 

 vator of such lands. But as important as this sub- 

 ject is, it has received but little attention in this 

 county. Diking and straight ditching have in 

 many instances been attempted; but thcfreruire 

 lailure lo answer the end designed, proves that but 

 little exertion has been made by the underiakers 

 to get proper information on the sub]ect. I do not 

 mean by this remark to assert that there is no effi- 

 cient diking in the county; th.ere are a few excep- 

 tions of well planned and well executed dikes, that 

 answer a most valuable purpose. 



The two great errors in execution of nine-tentiis 

 of the dikes that have fidlen under my observa- 

 tion are — 1st, that they are not made wide enough 

 at the base — and 2d, they are not made of sufli- 

 cienr height. It is a remarkable fiict, I hat many 

 ■ntelligent planters will build a dike fbrthe purpose 

 of protecting a flat from freshets^ and stop at a 

 height lower than the known limits of high water. 

 In consequence of Avhich, the first freshet that 

 comes sweeps over their work, and destioys at one 

 "pjoecp" the labor of months. Rut a still more 

 remarkable fiict is, that when the dike is destroy- 

 ed, it should be again rebuilt a liitle higher than 

 1,'efore, but not sufficiently high to save it from a. 

 Sire// of the same height, as at first destrojed it. 

 There are, however, a few dikes in the county, 

 that have hitherto defied the hichest freshets on 

 the streams upon which they are located. I in- 

 tend, for the present, however, to notice only one, 

 that has been recently completed by lV3r. Jamea 

 W. Bouldin. Mr. Bouldin's flat land lies at the 

 junction ol Wardsfbrk with Little Roanoke river. 

 Its dimensions are about one hundred and twenty 

 acres. Wardsfbrk and Roanoke meet nearly at 

 right angles, and JNIr. B.'s flat lies partly on both 

 of these streams. There is an old dike, of several 

 years' standing, on the bard< of Waidslork, tlirown 

 up oripinally only with a \iew of keeping within 

 proper bounds the waters of Wardsfbrk; the flat 

 land of which stream lies lower than the flat of 

 Little Roanoke. Mr. B. has, recently, thrown up 

 another dke. conmiencing near the lower extre- 

 ntity of the old dike (and connected with it by a 

 natural dike or ridge.) and extending along the 

 banks of Roanoke, until it strikes the line or boun- 

 dary of his flat. It then follows his line until it 

 reaches a head land, where the dike termitiates. 

 The new part of this dike is thrown up two or 

 three feet higher than the highest watermark that 

 has been made on Little Roanoke for many years, 

 and may be regarded as a ccniplete proleciion of 

 the flat liom the effiects of freshets. The dike is 

 twenty-four feet wide at the base where it com- 

 mences. Its height through the whole extent, is 

 made on the same level; but inasmuch as the 

 surfiice of the groimd, which is the foundation of 

 the dike, rises as it approaches the head land, the 

 actual height of the dike is not more than half as 

 prear where jt leiminates, as at the beginning. 

 The dike has four feet of base for everv foot of ele- 

 vation. The cost of the part recently executed, 

 was estimaUnl at five or six hundred dollars: or an 

 average of SO cen's to the yard. If the old dike 

 was raised to such a height as io render the Wards- 

 fbrk flat equally secure with the Pcanoke 'ow hrd 

 (protected by flie new dikes) the v\ho!e of the 120 



