FARxMERS' REGISTER— POUNDED BONES. 



379 



a^sijjned. Wilhout attempting to account for it alto- I 

 getlier from the fact that slavery here exists?, which, 

 perhaps, would be taking a position that many 

 would he disposed to controvert, it appears to me, 

 that some other things may be mentioned, wliich 

 are evils that more easily admit of correction, that 

 are extremely injurious in their operation, and the 

 removal ot" which should forthwith enlist the ex- 

 ertions of all who have influence, and who love 

 "the land of their birth." Owing to existing in- 

 stitutions, and to the influence of immemorial cus- 

 tom in Virginia, it has happened, that nearly every 

 thing relating to the cultivation of the soil, as 

 mode, implements, &c. has been committed to the 

 hands of slaves, or to white men whose ingenuity 

 and knowledge, (might it not without impropriety 

 be said, whose ignorance and unskilfulness, as a 

 class?^ gave to them qualifications for their em- 

 ployment scarcely superior to those of the untu- 

 tored negroes. The consequence is, that the in- 

 tellect of this country has never been brought to 

 bear on the interesting subject of agriculture. It 

 has been diverted into other channels. Virginia 

 has had her orators, and her professional men of 

 eminence, but iew of them have thought it worth 

 their while to employ their intellectual energies on 

 "the first and finest" earthly occupation ol" man; 

 an occupation which opens a range most delight- 

 ful, and of sutficient dimensions, to call into exer- 

 cise the resources of the most expanded mind. If 

 you, sir, can have success with your fellow citi- 

 zens in directing mind and thnught to the subject 

 of agriculture in this. State, it will flourish, and 

 you will do much, perhaps more than any other 

 man for its ultimate prosperity and happiness. 

 Would it not be advisable, (vou will excuse me 

 for the liberty I take in making the suggestion,) 

 to endeavor by a|)plication to the legislature, or to 

 private individuals of enterprise and public spirit, 

 to put into o})eration a plan for the purpose of 

 training suitable persons to the pursuits of agricul- 

 ture, who should ac(iuire themselves the informa- 

 tion necessary tor constructing agricultural imple- 

 ments, and using them dexterously, and who 

 should be able to teach others the same? The dis- 

 advantages under which laborers perlbrm their 

 tasks, arising from bad implements, and, as ap- 

 pears to me, still more (rom their unskilful use of 

 them, are incalculably great. It is difficult to do 

 that adroitly which we have never seen done in 

 this manner. To tell how it should be done is 

 not enough. There must be the practical exhibi- 

 tion, or the lesson designed to be conveyed will 

 not be learnt. Negroes, as all acquainted with 

 them know, are exceedingly dull of apprehension 

 at best. There seems to be an inversion of intel- 

 lectual vision peculiar to the race, which presents 

 right to their view as wrong, and wrong as riffht: 

 and this characteristic trait seems as natural to 

 them as it does to some persons to use their \ei\ 

 hand instead of the other. I have seen the expe- 

 riment tried, in a great number of instances, of 

 using the rake to irather into a bundle for bindincr, 

 the wheat that had been thrown in a row from the 

 cradle, and I do not recollect to have ever seen a 

 single negro who, when left to himself, did not 

 begin and go on with the operation, with his feet 

 treading against the heads, instead of the lower 

 ends of the straw. The same awkwardness is 

 seen in a thousand other things. Would it not 

 be good policy in their owners to have them com- 



petently instructed in these matters? White men 

 do not know how to labor themselves, or what 

 amount of work a laborer ought to accomplish in 

 a given time. To this cause, I am inclined to 

 think, is owing a great deal of the laziness, and 

 deceptive artifices so common to the negro race; 

 hence the little that They accom|jlisli in comparison 

 with a dexterous European, or New England la- 

 borer, as those acquainted with the performances 

 of each are well aware. Slave labor, if unpro- 

 ductive and unprofitable, is chiefly so, in my ap- 

 [irehension, because it is injudiciously directed, and 

 unwisely managed. Much, therefore, I conceive, 

 might be gained to the interests of agriculture in 

 this country, were a suitable attention to be paid 

 to implements, and to the qualifications and ma- 

 nagement of laborers. But I am happy to find 

 that these topics have not escaped your notice, 

 and hope that your useful publication will hereai- 

 ter pursue them to still greater lengths. 



Can you not say something that will be likely 

 to have an influence in leading greater numbers of 

 our white population to labor, working with their 

 own hands? and thus do away the most unrea- 

 sonable, the most pernicious, and, as I consider it, 

 the most unchristian ol'all rej)roaches, the reproach 

 (f labor. Agriculture will flourish in Virginia 

 when white men put their hands to it, and not very 

 extensively, I apprehend, until this event is 

 brought about. 



BEKJAMIN F. STANTON. 



Prince Edward, October 9, 1834. 



POUNDED BONES THREE AND FOUR-SHIFT 



ROTATIONS. 



To tlie Editor of the Fanners' Register. 



Richmond 1th Oct. 1834. 

 In your last number, as well as in some former 

 ones, you recommend the use of bone manure. 

 From various accounts of itthati haveseenin Eng- 

 lish works, I have been long satisfied of its great va- 

 lue; and as bones might be collected in large quan- 

 tities in and about this place, I have very often 

 thought of having them collected, and ground for 

 manure, but have in vain sought for inlbrmation 

 as to the best method of reducing them to pow- 

 der. On this subject all the English works I have 

 seen, as well as your Register, are silent. If you 

 could ascertain the best mode of performing this 

 operation, your making it known would be a pub- 

 lic benefit. Animal bones are generally so hard 

 that I apprehend they Avould not be sufficiently 

 ground without water-power, or at a greater ex- 

 pense than the object would justii'y. Perha|)s 

 they might be broken into fragments small enough 

 (or grinding by one of the common horse mills 

 ibr breaking bark, an old mill stone drawn round 

 a verticcil axis; but I think it would cost too much 

 labor to reduce them in this way to a powder sufti- 

 cienlly fine. I have thought of passing the frag- 

 ments of large bones, and the smaller ones, between 

 iron rollers,''fluted or plain— the common plaster 

 mill made stronger than usual, a tan bark mill, &c. 

 but am by no means sure that either would an- 

 swer: and as there are many bone mifls in Eng- 

 land, and some no doubt in this country, (I think 

 I have heard of one or more in Baltimore) it is 

 very desirable that it should be known among us 

 what kind of machine has been found best in 

 practice. It would be very desirable to have pub- 



