FARMERS' REGISTER— SUBTERRANEAN VILLAGE. 



401 



point IS certainly thorough maturity — any thing 

 siiort of this must be imperfect. Tiie best plant- 

 ers I know, are those who let their tobacco get 

 thoroughly rijie — and the best tobacco I ever saw, 

 was that which was cut the ripest. My own ex- 

 perience has been, that tobacco cut "belbre the 

 \vhole leaf is ripe, will be found tender and devoid 

 of elasticity; as well as unilbrmity of texture and 

 color throughout the leai^— while perfectly ripe to- 

 bacco is almost certain to present these qualities. 

 It the tobacco is suffered to stand in the field until 

 it has passed the point of perfect maturity, then I 

 concede there is a loss both in the weight and 

 the beauty of the crop. The question turns then 

 upon this pomt — when is tobacco matured? I hold 

 that when the leaf will break readily on doubling 

 between the finger and thumb, and presents a 

 beautifully varied conijilcxion of green with yellow 

 spots, and a surface smooth and rich throughout, 

 even to the fringe or ruflle around the stalk, where 

 the stem grows to it: that then it is mature — and 

 such will belts appearance in all ordinary seasons. 

 In very wet seasons, the yellow spots do not always 

 appear, owing to the great quantity of sap — which 

 was probably the case with those crops of Wards- 

 fork, which turned out so well — but in this case 

 the brittleness is increased. 



I hope Wardstbrk will duly appreciate my mo- 

 tives in declaring my dissent to the doctrine he 

 has advanced. With the highest respect for his 

 character in ail the relations of life, and especially 

 as an enlightened agriculturist, and with the most 

 unfeigned good will personally towards him, I can 

 have in view no object but to elicit truth, and to 

 promote the cause in which we are both engaged. 

 For however we may differ in relation to the point 

 in dispute, I do not pretend to set my skill up in 

 competition with his, but merely caution those 

 wlio are accustomed to make good tobacco, not to 

 listen too much to suggestions, not sustained by 

 long experience, or convincing testimony. 



From the Southern Danner. 

 SUBTERRANEAN VILLAGE. 



Naucoochea Valley, June 8, 1834. 



Gentlemen — A singular discovery has recent!}' 

 been made in this vicinity^ of a subterranean vil- 

 lage, which tliough not so extensive as Hercula- 

 neum or Pompeii, involves much mj^stery and spe- 

 culation, and offers a new subject of inquiry to the 

 geologist and antiquary. The houses were dis- 

 interred by excavating a canal for the purpose of 

 washing gold. The depth varies from seven to 

 nine feet — some of the houses are embedded in 

 the stratum of gravel, which is auriferous, and 

 yields fine profit to the operators. — The logs are 

 but partially decayed, and fiom ten to twelve feet 

 long. The walls are from three to six feet in 

 height, joined together, forming a straight line up- 

 wards of 300 feet in length, comprising 34 build- 

 ings or rooms. The logs are hewn at the ends, 

 and notched down as in ordinary cabins of the 

 present day. In one of the rooms were found 

 three baskets made of cane splhs resting upon the 

 slate, also a number of fragments of Indian wear, 

 similar to that manufactured by the Gherokees at 

 the present period. 



From the circumstance of the land having been 

 covered with a heavy growth of timber previous 



to its cultivation by the whites (twelve years since,) 

 we must necessarily infer, tliat they were built at 

 a remote period, and by some powerful cause have 

 been submerged and covered by continual addi- 

 tions of alluvion. The stream is about 30 leet 

 wide, and is said by Mr. Saniord, (who is now 

 operating on it for gold very successfiilly, and fi-om 

 whom I derived most of my information with re- 

 o'ard to the houses,) to be one of tlie most produc- 

 tive gold depositcs in the countiy. The houses 

 are situated from fifty to one hundred yards from 

 the principal channel of the creek and as no far- 

 ther excavations have been made, it is more than 

 probable, that new and more interesting deve- 

 lopcments will be made when the land is worked for 

 gold. 



A great number of curiouf! sj^ecimens of work- 

 manship have been found in siiufitions, which pre- 

 clude the possibility of their having been moved 

 for more than a thousand years. During my min- 

 ing operations last year, I found at one time, about 

 one half of a crucilale, of the capacity of near a 

 gallon. It was ten feet below the surface, and im- 

 mediately beneath a large oak tree which mea- 

 sured five feet in diameter, and must have been 

 tour or five hundred years old. The deposite was 

 diluvial, or what may be termed table land. 



The stratum of quartz gravel in which tlie ves- 

 sel was imbedded, is about two feet in thickness, 

 resting upon decomposed chlorite slate. 



It is not difficult to account for the deposite of 

 those substances in alluvial soil, for the hills are 

 generally very high and preci|;itous, and from tlie 

 immense quantity of rain which falls, the streams 

 are swollen to a great height, sweeping every thing 

 wilh them, and frequently forming a deposite of 

 several feet in thickness in a season; but some of 

 the diluvial land is from ten to fifty feet above the 

 present level of the streams. These deposites ex- 

 hibit appearance of as great attrition as those re- 

 cently formed. 



There was a vessel, or rather a double mortar, 

 found in Duke's Creek, about five inches in diame- 

 ter, and the excavation on each side was nearly 

 an inch in depth, basin like, and perfectly polish- 

 ed. It was made of quartz which had been semi- 

 transparent, but had become stained with the iron 

 which abounds in quantity in all this country. In 

 the bottom of each basin was a small depression 

 half an inch in depth and about the same in diam- 

 eter. What its use could have been, is dithcult to 

 conjecture. Some suppose it was used for grind- 

 ing paint, &c., or in some of their plays or games. 

 The high finish, and its exact dimensions, induce 

 me to believe it is the production of a more civilized 

 people, than the present race of Indians. 

 Respectfully jours, 



M. S. 



From the Soutliern Planter. 

 BRiatSTONE FOR CATTLE. 



Dr. Barllett: It is probably not known to many 

 of our farmers that brimstone is valuable for cattle 

 in keeping them free fi'om ticks. These vermin 

 are not only filthy in their appearance, but an in- 

 jury to the cattle. A piece of brimstone as large 

 as a grain of corn, well pulverized, given in a lit- 

 tle salt, will cause them to drop off, and prevent 

 others from getting on for eight or ten days. J 

 consider brimstone as necessaiy for a cow in the 

 summer, as salt. 



