666 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 11 



through which I travelled in my way to your 

 town. 



Previous to leavintr home for Peferi=burg, I had 

 occasion to visit Prince William, StaHord, Cul- 

 peper and Fauquier. In these counties I saw 

 leaves used, in some way or other, as Jitter lor 

 etables, farm pens, hog styes, &c. From this, I 

 passed through Spottsyivania, Carolmo, Hanover, 

 Louisa, Goochland and Chesterfield. In many of 

 these counties' the farmers appeared to have com- 

 menced the collection of leaves upon a Iar<re 

 Bcale. In Goochland, they were more extensive- 

 ly used. Those with whom I conversed upon the 

 subject, in almost every instance, were induced to 

 the use of leaves, from hearing of or reading in 

 the 'Farmers' Register,' your account of Mr. 

 Sampson's mode of applying ihem, and the results 

 obtained in the improvement of the soil. Some 

 persons may think this ado about leaves a small 

 matter; if so, let them use leaves in their stables, 

 farm pens, hog styes, &c., for the better comfort of 

 stock — carryingasmany as opportunity may permit 

 to the field intended foroals; spread them, and those 

 who have no plaster, may substitute two bushels 

 of ashes per acre; and if ihey aie not convinced 

 of their great acquisition, as increasing their 

 quantum of valuable manure, I will agree that 

 this is "much ado about noihinsr." 



MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS OW PRACTICAL 

 AGRICULTURE. 



[Continued from No. 9.] 

 Deep ploughing. 



To the Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



We read that when an ancient orator Avas ask- 

 ed what he considered the first great ingredient 

 of oratory, his answer was, actinn. What the 

 second? actton. What the third? action. And 

 if the most distinguished agricultural'st in the val- 

 ley or other limestone regions of our country had 

 three interrogations propounded to him, as to the 

 first, second, and third cliief element of success 

 in tillage, I have no doubt, his consecutive re- 

 sponses might be deep ploughing ! deep plough- 

 ing! .' deep ploughing I ! ! 



There is certainly more reason and truth in the 

 dogma of the agriculturist, than in that of the 

 distinguished Athenian. One may be traced to 

 the effect of imposition upon the credulity, the im- 

 agination, or the vitiated taste of mankind; the 

 other is a powerful physical cause, sustained by 

 reason, argument and experience, conducting to 

 important, useful results. 



In the valley of Virginia, and more especially 

 those regions of country where I am most familiar, 

 I have never known along-continued system of 

 deep ploughing, which was' not followed by .signal 

 benefit to the farmer. I care not what the'chaTac- 

 ter of the land is, be it the highest grade of fertil- 

 ity, or the lowest of sterility, I feel a confidence, 

 which may be pronounced presumptuous, though 

 confirmed by experience, of the paramount advaTi- 

 tage of deep ploughing. Having passed through 

 near two thirds of the states of the union, and 

 been no careless observer of the difl^erenl soils and 

 modts of cultivation, every where I find the best 



' farmers lay the most stress upon the importance of 

 deep tillage; an\l thus my experience has ever 

 been fortified by observation, that in liusbandry, it 

 is indispensable to set your coulter deep. 



There is a communication in the September 

 number of the 'Register,' li-om General Cocke of 

 Fluvanna on this subject. I have not the pleas- 

 ure of a personal acquaintance with that gentle- 

 man, but am disposed to attach much weiirht to 

 his opinions, although I can not ni;ike the snme 

 discriminations wiili respect to soils which he 

 does. He acknowledges the importance of deep 

 ploughing in general, but thinks that upon the 

 light sandy lands of the lower country, which he 

 formerly cultivated, he inflicted lasting injury by 

 oloughing deep. Did he continue the system 

 long? By frequent turnings, was the subsoil of clay 

 thoroughly incorporated Aviih the upper soil? Did 

 he think, or do any of our low-land agriculturists 

 think, that by penetrating below the clay, the 

 sand is exposed, and injiuy to the soil results? 

 Credat Jvdeas Jjpella — non ego. However, sir, 1 

 may go too lar. Great respect is due to the expe- 

 rience of so distinguished and intelligent a iarmer 

 as General Cocke, and I admit if there be an ex- 

 ception to a system which ensures so much bene- 

 fit generally, it must be in those soils where the 

 under stratum of clay is based upon a deep, po- 

 rous sand. If the upper soil be shallow, but kind 

 as most fresh lands are. and the under a poor 

 clay, deep plouirhing as a system is certainly not 

 fo be deprecated. We know that in Norfolk, 

 England, where the soil is sandy, and probably 

 not superior in its naiural state to the lands of Sur- 

 ry, Sussex and Southampton, they have brought 

 that county to a high state of productiveness by a 

 system in part of deep plouuhing. A writer in 

 the December No. of the 'Farmers Register,' in- 

 forms us that in the most sandy lands of Flanders 

 an nnparalelled degree of improvement has been 

 attained by periodical digging to the depth of 

 eighteen to twenty-four inches. 



But I must be allowed to bring the subject 

 home. For the purpose of" illustration. I will give 

 a sketch of my own farm. I have 1,400 acres in 

 my tract, 1000 as I have before said is under cuhi- 

 vation. The cleared land embraces every variety 

 of soil as to quality, and chemical character, and 

 furnishes a fine field for experiments with the 

 plough. About 400 acres of this is a stiff lime- 

 stone clay, quite productive, and especially well 

 adapted to wheat and clover, and iiom experi- 

 ments detailed m a former communication, to tim- 

 othy also. In addition, there are 200 acres ofalluvial 

 or meadow land, most of it very fertile, and pro- 

 ducing well under almost any system of cultiva- 

 tion; also 400 acres of mixed soil, Cliniestone and 

 slate) or of unalloyed slate. The timber upon 

 the first, and second classes, was black-oak, wal- 

 nut, and ash: upon the last, white-oak and hickory, 

 and upon a narrow strip of it, say 100 acres, a 

 f.j arse admixture of pine, the latter of course a 

 second rate soil, but very susceptible of improve- 

 ment, as the crops have liilly demonstrated. It 

 was a part of a tract which was settled 106 years 

 ago by a grantee of Lord Fairfax, whose resi- 

 dence (Greenway Court) was a few miles off. 

 The early settler was invited hither, probably by 

 the healthfuiness of the situation, and the number 

 of springs and fine rivulets, the latter affording 

 numerous mill-seats. The fact may not be deem- 



