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FARMERS^ REGISTER— MR. RADFORD'S ADDRESS. 



ADDRKSS OF WM. RADFOUDjESQ: 



President of the New London jfgricultural Socie- 

 ty, at its late j^nnivcrsary. 



Gentlemen of the Society. — Among tlie various 

 and diversified occupations of man, there is no sub- 

 ject of more importance, or whicli is more necessa- 

 ry to his comfort and weUlire, than a judicious sys- 

 tem of agriculture. Land is tlic kind and prolific 

 parent, which furnishes Jbod in all its varieties for 

 the sustenance of our bodies, and the clothing 

 which is necessary to protect us from the inclem- 

 ency of the weather. How important is it, then, 

 that every means should be adopted to add to its 

 fertility and to increase its product? Yet it is lam- 

 entable to say, that, in the extensive range of sci- 

 ence embraced in our seminaries of learning, from 

 the laws which govern the motions of the heavenly 

 bodies to the minute study of insects, no place is 

 found for acquiring the knowledge of that employ- 

 ment, which, of all others, most conduces to our 

 comlbrt in this life, and which in fiict is indispensa- 

 ble to our existence. Well has it been remarked, 

 "that whoever could make two ears of corn or two 

 blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground, 

 where only one grew before, would deserve better 

 of mankind, and do more essential service to his 

 country, than the whole race of politicians put to- 

 gether." Yet while each branch of science has its 

 appropriate professor, agriculture has been letl to 

 flounder along, unaided and unassisted. Each cul- 

 tivator of the soil tbllows the murdering process of 

 his ancestor, until the fields become unable to sup- 

 port the beasts that work them, and the hapless pro- 

 prietor abandons his home, to seek, in the recesses 

 of the western forests, other- lands, which will fur- 

 niali him a more abundant harvest. We are igno- 

 rant of the nature of the soils we cultivate; and 

 consequently we cannot know what substances are 

 proper to restore their lost fertility. How melan- 

 choly is it to see the fine rich vein of red land, run- 

 ningthrough the counties of Nelson, Amherst and 

 Bedford, reduced by an unskilllil system of culti- 

 vation, to a point bordering on sterility? Yet amidst 

 the general gloom which pervades our agricultural 

 pros])ects, it is pleasant to see a gleam of light 

 breaking in upon us. May I not congratulate the 

 members present, upon the formation of this soci- 

 ety, and upon a spirit manifested by all in relation 

 to it? It is proof, strong as we can desire, that we 

 are becotming aware of our defective system, and 

 are determined to amend it. It will be the means 

 of interchanging our ideas ujioa the various 

 branches connected with agriculture, and of intro- 

 ducing a spirit of rivalry, which will be attended 

 with the most beneficial results. Good ploughing, 

 the first step in the improvement of land, is be- 

 coming general. The attention of farmers is now 

 directed to the production and ajjplication of ma- 

 nures, without which, all other labors are almost 

 vain. The great success of the farmers in the 

 county of Albemarle, in improving and fertilizing 

 their lands, so similar in quality to much of the 

 land in this part of the country, i? calculated to 

 make the most favorable impression; and we may 

 with confidence indulge ourselves in the pleasing 

 anticipatk)n, that by a similar system of improve- 

 ment, our fields may, in like manner, teem with 

 exuberant crops, affording abundance to man and 

 beast. The great leader of agricultural improve- 

 ment in Albemarle, the late Col. ThonvGs Mann 



Randoljjh, although lie did not live to enjoy the 

 benefit of it, has proved himself to be one of the 

 greatest benefactorsof his native state, and is enti- 

 tled to the highest gratitude. The system of hori- 

 zontal ploughing alone, is of incalculable advan- 

 tage in luliy lands, and owes its introduction to 

 him. Let us then, fellow-citizens, availing our- 

 selves of the lights which have been held out to us, 

 advance to the good work, with the pleasing assu- 

 rance, that, while we are adding to the value of our 

 lands, and to the comforts accruing from their im- 

 provement, we are increasing the resources of the 

 beloved state of which we are members. 



In the general address which the president of 

 this society is called upon to dehver, it is not ex- 

 pected that he should go into any detail of the va- 

 rious subjects connected with agricultural improve- 

 ments. It will not, however, be amiss to men- 

 tion some of the impediments which have retarded 

 their success in this part of the country. 



The cultivation of tobacco, by withdrawing 

 nearly the whole labor of the fiirm and all the avail- 

 able means of imj)rovement to one subject, has, 

 more than any other cause, diminished the fertility 

 of our soil. 



A second obstacle to improvement, and nearly 

 connected with the former, is the habit of giving a 

 share of the crop, instead of a fixed salary, to tlie 

 overseer or manager. W hen a part of the crop is 

 given, it is the interest of the overseer (and we are 

 all guided by our interest,) to make the highest 

 product on the iiirm for one year. The improve- 

 ment of the farm, the care of stock, and attention 

 to the comforts of the slaves, form no part of his 

 wages. He does not know that he will be emj)loy- 

 ed longer than one year; and the largeness of his 

 crop lor that year, not only advances his present in- 

 terest, but is his best recommendation for em- 

 ployment elsewhere. On the other hand, where 

 the habit of giving standing wages is general, it in- 

 troduces a salutary emulation among managers; it 

 is not the heavy crop of one year that establishes 

 his reputation, but it is the progressive improve- 

 ment of land and stock, and of the comforts con- 

 nected Avith them. The situation of the manager 

 becomes more })ermanent, and he becomes better 

 informed and more respectable. When fixed salaries 

 shall become general, that class of persons will not 

 be, at the end of every year, moving about, like 

 figures on a chess board. In fact, the owners of 

 moderate sized farms should be their own mana- 

 gers: it would make them more careful of improv- 

 ing their estates, would greatly diminish the ex- 

 penses of agriculture, and, by furnishing constant 

 employment to the mind and body, would tend, 

 more than any thing else, to give them health and 

 contentment, the two great sources of happiness in 

 this life. 



An injudicious rotation of crops, and the close 

 pasturing of the fields, are heavy drawbacks upon 

 the profits of farming and the improvement of land. 

 To remove these obstacles, and to adopt a more ju- 

 dicious system of cultivation, constitutes the prin- 

 cipal object of the formation of this society, for the 

 success of which we must unite our best exer- 

 tions. 



The cheapest and most convenient medium for 

 the improvement of the soil, in the district of coun- 

 try running parallel with the Blue Ridge, and for 

 thirty or forty miles below it, is unquestionably 

 gypsum or plaster of Parie; the free use of this up- 



