1837] 



F A R M E R S' REGIS T E R. 



^89 



7. As to "the perioil that laiid may remain un- 

 der grass, for im[)rovemeiit, hol()re liillowinjO^ vvith- 

 out caiisiiio; the crop to be Ibul" — there is a ilil- 

 iereiice of opinion anioni>; the iiirmers of this quar- 

 ter, but I think there is a preponderance in I'avur 

 of the opinion, that clover, (we cuhivate no other 

 i^rass,) ouiiht to be plou<rhed liie summer twelve 

 months after sowinif it, and of course where ii is 

 cut at all, tiie same year of taldnjr olf the crop. 



iNly own practice has been to plough in clover 

 the summer two years after sowiiiir it, ihinUing it 

 reasonable that the land would be more improved 

 by its longer rest, and giving the whole growth of 

 the year it is ploughed to the soil; hut the result, 

 especially li)r the two last years, has disappointed 

 me. It may be objected to my praclice generally, 

 too, that the earth becomes much more firmly set- 

 tled, and is brought into tilth with greater dilficul- 

 ty. On the other hand, it may be said, there can 

 be but little more than the mere roots counted upon 

 for the improvement of the soil, where the first 

 crop is taken for hay, and the second lor seed; and 

 this, too. necessarily limits you to the latest period 

 fi>r the performance of your ploughing for the fal- 

 low crop, thereby diminishing the chance for a 

 timely preparation. ■ Where clover is sown merely 

 lor the improvement of the land, and not intended 

 to be cut at all, there is little doubt that the best 

 time lor ploughing; it in, would be the summer 

 twelve mouths afier sowing it; but that seems to 

 be an objectionable clover system, on more ac- 

 counts than one, which afibrds neither hay or 

 seed. The other practice, of cutting hay and 

 ploughing the same year, has been practised by 

 the best farmers on this river, and as tliey are more 

 experienced, and have been more successful than 

 myself, I cannot in justice but recommend their 

 practice, in preference to my theory. 



8. "Whatdepth of ploughing is necessary where 

 the soil does not exceed three or four inches?" 

 As far as my experience has gone, the depth of 

 ploughing should in all cases depend upon the 

 character of the subsoil. Light soils, based on 

 eteril sand, I 'vould plough no deeper than the 

 vegetable mould; but where clay is the foundation, 

 and especially of that description which is fertil- 

 ized by exposure to the atmosphere, I would bring 

 up the largest possible proportion of it, that would 

 leave the soil irt undiminished productiveness by 

 the mixture; nay, I should be inclined to increase 

 the proportion to a small diminution of its imme- 

 diate productiveness, for the sake of the great fu- 

 ture amelioration. Upon all good wheat soils, the 

 ploughing should be as deep as three horses can 

 perform with the best constructed plough. I am 

 sure I know of no upland soil, that would not be 

 rendered eniirely unproductive, lor at least one 

 year, by being ploughed eighteen inches, or two 

 leet; for although some of our clays become fertile, 

 by exposure to ihe atmosphere, it requires (he ope- 

 ration of at least one winter, for any sensible effect 

 to be produced. It is, however, stated, that the 

 celebrated Fellemburg, whose scientific and agri- 

 cultural establishment, at Hofwyl, hasatiracted so 

 much attention throughout Europe, has plou<jrhed 

 two feet deep, with an implement requiring the 

 power of fourteen horses. During my residence 

 in the lower country, and in the course of my ex- 

 periments on the sandy soils of that section of the 

 state, I am satisfied that I did great and lasting in- 

 jury to some land by ploughuig it about six inches 



Vol. V-37 



deep. Tliiri land was on a poor sandy founda- 

 tion. 



Having gotten througli yuiu-cjuorics, 1 will add, 

 as succincily as possible, my thouiihts on a plan of 

 husbandry, suited to the liuht sandy lands of the 

 lower parts ol' the state. I should adopt a system 

 excluding clover, because from the nature of your 

 soil, and the generally reduced state of the land, 

 the attempt at the field culture, upon a large scale, 

 would be attended with no other result but the loss 

 of your seed; and as summer lidlows should only 

 be practised as the concomitant of clover, those 

 likewise I should consider as out of the scheme. 



Assuming it as the basis of all good husbandry, 

 that for every exhausting crop, there ought to be 

 some counieractin<T improvement, I would culti- 

 vate no UMjre land in corn than I could manure. 

 This I think can be effected under a six-field rota- 

 tion, wdiich would reduce the quantity to be ma- 

 nured to one-sixth of the arable surface, and the 

 succession of crops should be, first, corn; second, 

 wheat; third, pasture; fourth, peas, and all legu- 

 minous crops; cotton, pumpkins, and potatoes, 

 might occupy a corner of this field; five, wheat; 

 six, pasture. 



The first, and most ostensible objection to this 

 scheme, is, the apparent small proportion of corn, 

 not insuring a sufiiciency of that necessary crop; 

 and secondly, the difficulty of raising the required 

 quantity of manure. In answer, it may be said, 

 that in the best cultivated counties of England, 

 we are fold, they manure as much as one fourth of 

 the arable surfiice yearly. It is lrue,that some part 

 of this manure is derived from other resources than: 

 those of the farm; to wit, their (owns, raanufiic- 

 tories. and marl pits; but the improvement derived 

 from all these sources, I presume, does not amount 

 to the dilTcrence between one sixth and one quar- 

 ter. Besides, all the tide water districts of Vir- 

 ginia abound in marl, so that, in this respect, you, 

 in all probability, stand on an equal tooting with 

 the English liirineis — and if all that labor, which 

 is now bestowed on clearing land, and renewino- 

 our quick-decaying fences, and other perishable 

 improvements, which ought to be substituted by 

 more permanent ones, were directed judiciously 

 to the accumulation of the materials of fertility; 

 digging marl, collecting rich earth fi-om bottoms 

 and swamps, those depots of nature, which are 

 constantly by the operation of natural causes swal- 

 lowing up the primest principles of tisrtility, to be 

 added to the materials common to every farm; I 

 am persuaded, we should find there would be less 

 labor in collecting the means of fertilizing an acre, 

 than in preparing it, fi-om the forest state, and in- 

 closing it lor a crop. 



An accurate statement in detail of the relative 

 expense of manuring an acre of land, and bringing 

 one from the forest state into cultivation, is a desi- 

 deratum as much called ibr in V^irginia husbandry, 

 as any that has ever occurred to my mind. If I 

 am not much mistaken, it would prove, that less 

 labor would be required to improve the lands 

 throughout Virginia, than it has taken to reduce 

 them to their present deteriorated state. 



As to the objection that one sixth part would be 

 an insufficient portion of the arable land to have in 

 corn, it may be replieii, that that portion, manured 

 at the i-ate of 20 or 25 loads, of 30 bushels each to 

 the acre, would, on ordinary land, produce a dou- 

 ble crop — and, therefL»re, would not only be equal 



