is3rj 



F A 11 M E R S' R G GIST K R. 



187 



to this ire lie ral and proper limitation. It is a growth 

 ol" Eiiirli.sii ivy, wliicli was phuited, in a few small 

 /slipt?, 13 years airo, at one end ol'a tall and aiicieiif 

 brick buildiniT, whicli stands near the mansion. 

 It has now overspread nearly the whole of the 

 gable end ol' the house, has covered and over- 

 topped the chinmey, and is spreadinij over the ad- 

 jacent parttt ot' the sides and roof of" the house. I 

 liad otien belltreseen the ivy, when ofsmall i^rowth, 

 and had thouixhf iinliivorabl)- of it, as the green of 

 its leaves was dark and dull, and with an appear- 

 ance of while, as if mouldy— and being an ever- 

 green, I hati supposed its luits must be always less 

 vivid than those of deciduous creepers. Such is 

 now the color of the lower leaves of the ivy at 

 Shirley. But alter running some five or six feet 

 from the ground, the leaves become of a beautiful 

 glossy, and vivid green; and even their shape 

 is so changed, that no'one would suppose them to 

 belono; to the same vine. The largest of the stems 

 are two inches in diameter, and as closely fixed to 

 the brick wall, by their natural cluspers, as if they 

 formed a part of the buildin<T. The branches are 

 but slightly pcntlent, asarethose of other vines, but 

 have enough size and strength to shoot our. nearly 

 horizontally, to as much as live Itiet from the wall; 

 and over the whole space which the vines have 

 covered, these branches (brm a dense and iieavy 

 mass of tbiiage, yet sufficienliy varied and irregu- 

 lar in form, so as to be the most beautitlil vegeta- 

 ble ornament that I have ever observed. And yet 

 this is the Iruil of but little time and care, and can 

 be had wherever there is a wall for the vine \o 

 cling to, and overspread. There are two other pe- 

 riods when this vine must be very striking, in an- 

 other way — when covered with the small and deli- 

 cate flowers, which give a new tinge to the whole 

 mass — and in the depth of winter, when the still 

 green leaves present so marked a contrast to the 

 naked deciduous plants. There is no modern and 

 gay lookino; building which would not be increased 

 in beauty by such light and graceful drapery as 

 this vine would iurnish — and yet, to the most mas- 

 sive structure, and venerable rums, it would be 

 still more appropriate, and add doubly to the 

 gloomy yet highly pleasing sensations which such 

 objects inspire. 



^ neio marsh dike in progress. 



In passing up the Appomattox, I noticed a new 

 dike that was in the course of construction, de- 

 signed to embank and reclaim a piece of marsh. 

 It was a subject to me of disappointment and mor- 

 tification, to find, (as on so many other occasions,) 

 to how little purpose I had been lor years striving 

 to give plain instruction on this and some other 

 points in ajjriculture. But upon inquirino; who was 

 the proprietor of this marsh, and designed improve- 

 ment, I found that he was not a subscriber to the 

 Farmers' Register. This at least relieved me of 

 the reproach of my advice having been so little re- 

 garded by any one who had read it. Yet it is not 

 assuming too much to say, that the dike of this 

 gentleman, when finished, and the other works con- 

 nected with it, will cost him more than would a 

 subscription to the Farmers' Register lor fifty 

 years— and that an hour's reading of its contents 

 on this particular subject, might have saved all 

 the money that this scheme of embankment will 



<-OKt. 



SOME OF THK COMMON AND GKNICRAL ERRORS 

 WHICH SliRVK TO DEPRESS A(;«lCUI/rU KE. 



To tlic Editor of tlic Faimcis' Rcgistrr. 



Meckhnburg, June 12//;, 1837. 



I have for a long time intended to contribute 

 something towards piiying od' the larire debt due 

 to your valuable journal, but seeing the names of 

 so many older and more able gentlemen among 

 the list of your subscribers, being mysell" a liirmer 

 of but few years experience, I have felt a diffidence 

 in ofiering my little mite. I have at length con- 

 cluded to send you a lew crude ideas relative to 

 some of the causes of the present depressed state 

 of agriculture in Viririnia, hoping that with your 

 aid, as well as the assistance of some of your more 

 able corres|)ondents, we ma}' succeed in directing 

 more of the energy and talents f)f our young men 

 to the improvement of the agriculture of our na- 

 tive stale. 



That by proper legislation on the subject of agri- 

 culture, some benefit miyht be derived, I will not 

 deny; (but from our legislature as at present com- 

 posed, it is useless to expect any aid whatever,) 

 yet 1 cannot believe that our agriculture will be 

 generally improved, so long as all honor attaches to 

 ihe learned and political proli^ssions. No parent, 

 in the present age, thinks of employing his son in 

 aijricultural pursuits, unless he can make him a 

 rich gentlcmcm. If he cannot give him a fortune 

 in lands and negroes, he must be made a lawyer 

 or a doctor. How i'ew poor young men of high 

 standing and good education do we find engaged 

 in farming? Any occupation is preferred to this, 

 {f they cannot be doctors or lawyers, they will 

 seek employment as merchants, clerks, deputy 

 sherifi's, collectors, agents, or any thing whatever, 

 rather than as farmers. We find most of our 

 small farmers men of no education, no talents, 

 and of the most contracted views — upon whom all 

 agricultural improvements are entirely lost — who 

 farm it as their fathers taught them. The learned 

 prolessions, as they are called, are crowded to such 

 an excess, that no youn"; man can make the in- 

 terest on the capital, (which consisted, perhaps, of 

 the whole of his little patrimony.) spent in prepar- 

 inghim for its pursuit. Could ouryoung men, who 

 are captivated by the high sounding titles and 

 honors of the prolessions, witness the severe men- 

 tal labor — the painful anxiety of those preparing 

 themselves for the practice of them, they would 

 turn at once and seek the occu[)ation of the more 

 humble, but, at the same time, the more indepen- 

 dent and contented farmer, to which lot, many of 

 our professional men have at last to come, after 

 having spent their estates, and the prime of their 

 lives, in vainly seeking that fame which captivated 

 their youthful fancy. 



The employment of overseers, by most of our 

 farmers, I consider another great obstacle to agri- 

 cultural improvement. They generally n:e ignor- 

 ant, selfish, and obstinate — care but I'ttle flir the 

 interest of their employer, and are satisfied if they 

 make large crops, no matter what permanent in- 

 jury is done to the plantations on which they re- 

 side. Let any young farmer try it, and he will 

 find, that, by jittending personally to the manage- 

 ment of his negroes and plantation, he will at least 

 save the wages of his overseer — his negroes will 

 fare better, be better satisfied, and, in fact, every 



