■iGO 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No 8 



ON THE LANDS AND FARMING OF AMHERST. 



To the Editor of tlie Fanners' Register. 



yJmherst County, October 9th, 1837. 



Dear Sir — F herewith inclose you the amount 

 of one year's subscription to the Register; and 

 with the commenceaient ol" the relations which 

 are hereafter to subsist between us as eiJitor and 

 subscriber, I shall venture to submit a few cursory 

 remarks touching tlie quality of the soil and the 

 state of agriculture in the I'egion "I hail from." 



There is, perhaps, no county of equal dimen- 

 sions in the stale which contained originally a 

 greater proportion of rich land than the county of 

 Amiierst. In addition to the very large and fer- 

 tile body of James river low-grounds, I may men- 

 tion the fine bottoms bordering on Piney, Bufi'alo, 

 and Pedlar rivers, as also those lying on Thrasher's 

 creek. The general quality of the high land very 

 nearly resembles the Albemarle lands so well 

 known to the agricultural public. Indeed there is 

 a continuous vein of land commencmg in Orange, 

 and running parallel with the eastern base of the 

 Blue Ridge, through the counties of Albemarle. 

 Nelson and Amherst, and which is known as the 

 famous "red land district." The quality of this ' 

 land will be best known by reference to those who j 

 have had ample opjjortunities of testing its merits, 

 and the estimate placed upon it, when improved, 

 will be the best evidence ol" its value. To ofreat 

 fertility in its virgin state— and I believe it is not 

 surpassed by any land in Virginia— it superadds 

 the valuable property of durability. But it is its 

 adaptability to improvement which in my estima- 

 tion constitutes its greatest value. It seems some- 

 how to contain inherent in its composition, the ma- 

 terials admirably adapted to its resuscitation when 

 worn out and exhausted. I am aware that were a 

 stranger to see a great portion of this land in its 

 present unimi)roved and dilapidated condition, he 

 would naturally be led to the conclusion that the 

 encomiums I have pronounced upon it were exaff- 

 gerated; and, indeed, it is not to be concealed that 

 the present appearance of a larnre moiety of it is 

 not prepossessing. The original owners of this 

 soil, (peace to their ashes.) and I regret that it is 

 the case with too many of their descendants, ap- 

 pear to have been either wofully ignorant of the 

 value of land, or reckless as to'the consequences 

 of their vyretched and land-killing mode of culti- 

 vation. The culture of tobacco has been general- 

 ly charged with all the mischief, but, in n'ly opin- 

 ion, not correctly. Let us do justice to the great 

 staple of the "Old Dominion;" "and it: as I confess, 

 it is fairly entitled to bear its just and equitable 

 proportion of the blame, I must, nevertheless, pro- 

 test against its being held responsible for all. Its 

 cultivation on a large scale, I admit, is incompati- 

 ble with a very high degree of improvement; but 

 I deny that, when prutZen^Zj/ cultivated, it is incom- 

 patible with a degree of improvement fully equal 

 to that which can br attained when wheat is made 

 the exclusive market crop. The truth is, agricul- 

 turists have of late been too hasty and too u"niver- 

 sal in their condemnation of the growers of tobac- 

 co. It is the excess of the growth of the article 

 and not any exhausting quality in the article itself 

 which deserves condemnation. A highly manured 

 tobacco lot is perhaps the very best preparation for 

 wheat, as it doubtless is lor every species oforass. 



But it appears to me that our best policy is to cul- 

 tivate a mixed crop. The farmer »h/usZ have money, 

 and no other than a mixed crop can regularly in- 

 sure this great desideratum. Do not understand 

 me as opposing a liberal system of improvement; 

 on the contrary I urge its indispensable importance. 

 But this I would etiect, not so much by the total 

 exclusion of the tobacco crop, as by the improved 

 mode of cultivation — deep ploughing — the raising 

 and judicious application of manures — clover and 

 plaster, together with other artificial grasses, (both 

 as a vast improvement to the soil, as a great source 

 of profit, and also as an important addition to our 

 comfort,) — the Ibur-shift system, &c. 



Many enterprising and intelligent gentlemen in 

 this county are making praise- worthy, and, in many 

 instances, eminently successful efforts to improve 

 the system of farming among us. We have a t^ew 

 specimens of the short-horned Durham, and also 

 of the Devon cattle — also the Berkshire, Surrey 

 and Mackey breeds of hogs, besides several varie- 

 ties of improved sheep. I think the spirit of im- 

 provement is becoming general in our community, 

 as well as elsewhere through the state; and the 

 time, I trust, is not far distant, when Virginia, re- 

 deemed, regenerated, and disenthralled, shall re- 

 occupy her proud position in the front ranks of this 

 grand confederacy. 



From tlie Medico-Cliirurgical Review. 



ON THE INSALUBRITY OF THE AIR OF MARSH- 

 ES IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE SEA. 



By M. Georgini, of Lucca.* 



The deleterious influence of marshes on the 

 health of those who live in their neighborhood, is 

 but too well known ; and is a subject which well 

 merits the attention both of the physician and the le- 

 gislator. It IS also well known, though hitherto not 

 clearly accounted for, that all marshes, even when 

 close together, and consequently under the same 

 climatorial circumstances, are not equally inimical 

 to human health and human life. Of this fact It- 

 aly offers a striking example. In certain parts of 

 that interesting country, the vicinity of marshes 

 does not diminish the fertility or the population ; 

 while, in other localities, it exercises the most 

 baneful powers. It was long ago conjectured, but 

 not proved, that admixture of sea-water with that 

 of marshes, increased the malignity of the exha- 

 lations issuing thence, and the problem would now 

 appear to be solved by events which have taken 

 place in Italy. 



Between the Ligurian Appennines and the Med- 

 iterranean sea, lies a marshy tract of coast, about 

 twelve Italian miles in length, and varying from 

 two to four in breadth, traversed by several moun- 

 tain streams or rather torrents, which are dis- 

 charged into the ocean, or into the morasses bor- 

 dering thereon. The marshy plain in question 

 may be considered as an alluvion deposited by the 

 rivers Arno and Serchio, and is bounded on the 

 sea-line by a sort of embankment, only a few feet 

 above the level of the ocean. The waters collec- 

 ted by rains, &c. are discharged from three basins 

 into the sea by natural or artificial canals. The 



* Archives Generales. 



