FARMERS' REGISTER— REFLECTIONS ON FARMING. 



179 



that a change in our farming business, is taking 

 place for the better, it may not be amiss to cite 

 some of the evidences upon which I ground my be- 

 liet^^ — several oJ" which 1 will now brietly mention. A 

 farmer and planter in our vicinity who conducts 

 business on a very large scale, is now setting us 

 in the management of his farms, a uselljl and va- 

 luable examj)le, and so ti^ir as he is concerned, it is 

 highly profitable, while it gives full scope to an in- 

 dustry and sagacity, of which but i'ew can boast. 

 Strangers would be astonished at his rapid pro- 

 gress annuall}-, in improving his farmsj by ma- 

 nuring largely, clovering and plastering, in con- 

 nexion with sk'ilful management, while at the same 

 time, very large crops are made. 



He has given a practical illustration of the fact, 

 that an extensive and judicious system of im- 

 provem(^nt, is by no means incompatible with 

 great annual profits; and that the expense and la- 

 bor of improving is Amply repaid by the addition- 

 al productiveness and increased value of the land. 

 Another neighbor is devoting a portion of his 

 time and capital to raising the most improved 

 breeds of cows and sheep — and I dare say, that 

 no one Avho has seen his stock can tliink them un- 

 worthy of the attention either of the proprietor, or | 

 of the public. The introduction of such animals | 

 will be highly advantageous to our section of the 

 state, as well as creditable to the liberality and en- 

 terprise of the intelligent and worthy gentleman, 

 under whose auspices they were introduced. A 

 third gentleman has been for several years past, 

 enjoying all the luxuries which a spacious garden, 

 containing a very great number and variety of the 

 most choice fruits and vegetables, selected from 

 all quarters oi the union can afiord. It is true, 

 his garden could not be compared either with a 

 green-house establishment, exhibiting splendid 

 trifles, and foreign plants of every latitude, tiintas- 

 ticall)^ arranged to please the eye or regale the 

 .senses, or with Prince's noted collection, but it is 

 .<;uch an establishment as would be a valuable ap- 

 pendage to any larm, indicating at the same time, 

 the good sense and taste of the proprietor. Such 

 persons as those above alluded to, combine the 

 "utile et dulce," or to give it a farmer's version, 

 they can work and talk too. They have done, 

 and will do more towards advancing our perma- 

 nent interests, than a small host of p&eudo-politi- 

 cians; and the public countenance should make it 

 manifest, that such evidences of good manage- 

 ment and laudable enterprise, though they may 

 not elicit songs of praise, yet that they are viewed 

 with great satisfaction. I have heard many very 

 gr)od planters say, they had rather improve apiece 

 of tolerable land, than clear the same quantity 

 even tor tobacco. Now this, a few years ago, 

 would have been thought rather singular, but it 

 peetlis we are now finding out, that it costs about 

 the same labor to make good land first rate, that it 

 does to prepare the like quantity for cultivation. 

 Tliis I consider a great point gained. Our culti- 

 vation is better than when I could first recollect — 

 we have less surface Avork, less ploughing uj) and 

 down hills — but we are deficient in many things 

 yet— that is about the depth of turning lands — the 

 propriety of breaking all lands deep — the advan- 

 tages of coulters, and the best time and method 

 of preparing lands for different crops — also, the 

 most judicious method of making manure — 

 whether it would not answer as well to use most 



articles as manures previous to their undergoing 

 partial decomjiosition in the farm pens, and 

 whether a top dressing, or the usual Avay of using 

 manures, is most advantageous? The plan of hav- 

 ing farms divided into from lour to five fields, and 

 a more frequent rotation of crops, seems to be more 

 generally pui-sued. A rotation of crops, I have 

 no doubt, could be carried to a much gi-eater ex- 

 tent, and with greater profit, than most persona 

 are willing to believe. Many instances have been 

 recorded, of fields being cultivated in various crops 

 in quick succession, and of their rajndly improving. 

 Our farmers would do welHo investigate this sub- 

 ject. Probably almost as much depends on a 

 quick and varied succession of crops, as on skilliil 

 cultivation or manuring. To ascertain in our cli- 

 mate and soil, Avhat crops succeed best after each 

 other, is not unworthy of notice, as Ave have all 

 seen more or less of its efTects, and it may not be 

 unreasonable to suppose, that some crops would 

 be to their successors almost as a coat of manure, 

 by the superior condition in which they leave the 

 ground for their propagation. The propriety of 

 cultivating less land, and of having that good, is, 

 I think, daily gaining ground, and in fact most of 

 us appear for a long time, to have thought, that to 

 make crops, a great deal of land must be culti- 

 vated, even if it was rich, but if poor, then an 

 enormous quantity. We seemed to have lost 

 sight of our reason, and to look only at the land 

 and the crop we Avished to get, without taldng into 

 consideration the labor and the best plan of ap- 

 plying that to produce Avhat we wanted. Most 

 persons are Avilling to admit, that a s.nall crop well 

 Avorked, is better than a large one half Avorked, or 

 that one acre of rich land Aviil produce as much as 

 two of common. Now Avould it not be best in 

 good land to lessen the crop, and to spend a part 

 of the labor which Avould be used in the cultiva- 

 tion of tAvo acres of poor land, and make one rich, 

 and then get the crop? Suppose, for example, you 

 take fiekls instead of acres — say a farm AA'ith four 

 fields, sub-divided into eight — say you improve one 

 of these small fiekls every year; in eight years 

 your farm Avould be rich — then you could go on 

 to double and treble what you formeily made. 



It is true, in the commencement, these things 

 Avill be on a small scale, but every year they are 

 gaining, and this annual addition will increase so 

 rapidly, that belbre many j-ears haA'e jiast by, a 

 person's means of improving will comparatiA'cly 

 speaking, be almost u'ithout limit. We all re- 

 member a sum in arithmetic, about a smith's un- 

 dertaking to shoe a liorse, Ibr the first nail, a cer- 

 tain price Avas to be given, and for every other 

 nail the price Avas to be doubled, and the prodi- 

 gious sum it amounted to. Apply this to a judi- 

 cious method of im]iro\-ement, and I dare say, it 

 Avill not be very deceptive; if the result Avould not 

 be so great, it Avould at least be most astonishing. 

 The great barrier, AAdiich prevents most persons 

 from readily giving into this jjlan, is their not haA- 

 ing matters so arranged, as to bfi able, AA'ith tole- 

 rable convenience, to make a commencement. 

 This it is true, will at first require some additional 

 labor, anil a little extra expense — but is it not most 

 Avise at this particular juncture, in the manage- 

 ment of our aflairs, to take a. prospective view and 

 conduct them accordingly, and lay aside for a sea- 

 son our great eagerness for present profits — the 

 more especially as it is very (luestionable whether 



