I'ARMERS' REGISTER— REPORT ON ALBEMARLE FARMING. 



225 



REPORT ON FARMS, OF THID COMMITTEE OF 

 THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ALBE- 

 MARLE. 



Made to the Society at their Show and Fair, 21st Octo- 

 ber, 1828. 



We the undersigned committee actmg under an 

 ^rder made by the Agricultural Society of Albe- 

 marle at their meeting in JMay las=t, and appointed 

 to view the farms offered for premium, conuneuced 

 our duty by viewing the farm of John II. Craven 

 (one of the competitors) on the 20th of October. 

 We fbvmd that i")art of his farm, called Pen Park, 

 on the western side of the ri\-er in a rapid state of 

 improvement; and, from the information of Mr. 

 Craven, together with the knowledge of some of 

 the committee as to the exhausted state of this 

 part of his farm when he came into possession of 

 it, are of opinion that it lias been judiciously man- 

 aged. But that part of his farm called Franklin, 

 lying on the eastern side of the river Ijas not im- 

 proved so rapidly, which may have been caused 

 D}' closer grazing or more frequent cultivation. 



On this farm the negro cabins and other out 

 houses are very good, and his fiirm pen shows, 

 that there is great attention paid to his stock, 

 which are of superior quality for this section of 

 country. His horses, colts, hogs, &c. appear to 

 have been well attended to. 



We gave Mr. Craven and all the other compet- 

 itors a copy of 22 questions marked A, Avith a re- 

 quest that they would answer them as explicitly 

 and with as much accuracy as circimistances would 

 admit, in their several reports. They have been 

 answered by Mr. Craven in his report marked 

 B. 



On the next day we proceeded to view the flirm 

 (RiJgeway) formerly tlie property of Peter Minor, 

 dec'd. This farm, when Mr. M. came into pos- 

 session of it was, we believe, the greater part, in 

 woods; consequently, we suppose, fertile when 

 cleared, and comprehended likewise a large quan- 

 tity of alluvial land, of fertility almost inexhausti- 

 ble. We know of no farm for which nature has 

 done so much. These circumstances together 

 with tolerably good management, have made it, 

 perhaps, the most valuable farm within our know- 

 ledge. 



iThere has been more stone fencing done on this 

 farm than any of those exhibited for premium, 

 and the out houses (viz) negro cabins, tobacco 

 houses, mill, barn, &c., have, we think, been judi- 

 ciously arranged, and, are of superior quality. 

 Most of them are built of stone. The work horses 

 on this farm are of superior quality and well attend- 

 ed to. We gave Mrs. Minor also a copy of our 

 questions marked A, to be answered in her report 

 which we have received marked C.*^ 



We viewed Wm. H. Meriwether's farm next. 

 This farm is in a state of improvement, and a very 

 valuable plantation. But, from the circumstance 

 of his cultivating large crops of tobacco, and ap- 

 propriating the greater jmrt of his manure to the 

 cultivation of this crop, his farm has not improved 

 so rapidly as it would otherwise have done. This 

 crop has also prevented paying that attention to 

 neatness, &c. which usually goes hand and hand 



with good farming. Our questions have also 

 been answered by Wm. II. Meriwether marked 

 D. 



We next, and lastly, viewed the farm of John 

 Rogers. This farm, we think, has been most ju- 

 diciously managed as it regards profit, neatness, 

 improvement of the soil, arrangement of the 

 fields; and in fact all his management denotes him 

 as being a farmer of more than ordinary merit. 

 We have thei'efore awarded to John Rogers the 

 premium of ,*|50 for the best cultivated farm. 



We furnished M r. Rogers also with a copy of 

 our questions marked A, which he has answered 

 in his report marked E. This report has entered 

 less into detail and is less explicit than we could 

 have wished, but he has made an apology to the 

 Society, and a promise to us, that he will at our 

 next spring meeting give to the society an account 

 in detail of his whole progress from the commence- 

 ment of his operations to the present day.* 



In awarding the second premium the committee 

 confess themselves to be somewhat at a loss. 

 Here two farms come into comparison; one worn 

 out and exhausted at the time the owner came 

 into possession of it; the other but very recently 

 cleared and but a ver}^ small portion of it that was 

 ever worn out and possessing immense resources 

 for fertilizing itself 



But Mr. Craven has, notwithstanding his limit- 

 ed resources of both money and manure (too yeiy 

 important articles in making an exhausted farm 

 rich,) not only improved his farm as it respects 

 fertility of soil, but has added much to its appear- 

 ance by the stoppage of innumerable gullies; and 

 a considerable quantity of stone fencing put up in 

 a very handsome manner. 



Taking all the circumstances into consideration 

 relative t'o these two farms, we have given Mr. 

 Craven the pref(?rencej and, accordingly, award to 

 John H. Craven the premium of ^25 for the second 

 best farm. 



The above reports together with the several re- 

 ports of the competitors^ are respectfully submitted 

 to the society, and the committee beg they will 

 take those reports as part of their own. 



N. H. LEWIS, 

 JAS. CLARKE, 

 JOS. HARPER. 



Question 1st. What is the number of acres 

 in your tract of land, and what proportion of it is 

 in cultivation? 



2d. How many changes or fields have you, 

 and what are their size? 



3d. What is your rotation of croy»s7 



4th. At what' season of the year do you plant 

 or sow the principal seeds; (viz) corn, v.'heat, lye, 

 oats, and clover, and in what manner do you pre- 

 pare the earth for them? 



5th. What is your mode of cultivating the crop 

 of corn? 



6th. What quantity of wheat do you sow to the 

 acre, and do you vary the quantity according to the 

 quality of soil and season when seeded? 



7th. What kind of wheat do you think most 

 productive, and.are you particular in selecting the 

 best for seed? 



I *This report was withdrawn by Mr. Rogers; and irt 

 *The report marked C,was by permission of the So- i j^s stead, the fuller and more satisfactorj' one whirl* 



ciety, withdrawn 

 Vol. II.— 19 



now accompanies this publication handed in 



