l<*ARMli:RS' REGISTER— SOUTH WEST MOUNTAIN LANDS. 



705 



I yielded cheerful obedience to the order of the 

 society, which enjoined on me the duty of present- 

 ing i\tthis time, an essay on some subject connect- 

 ed with the purpose of our institution. My only 

 re;^ret was tliat the task had not been assigned to 

 abler hands. 



In looking about for a subject, a dissertation on 

 which niigl'.t not be unacceptable, I have selected 

 the Soutii West Mountains; the rather as they are 

 the abodes of many of us, and to such portion ot 

 the society, therelbre, they are lull of interest. 

 This unique region stretches from the Rappahan- 

 nock to James River. I have heard indeed of 

 claims to a continuance ol" this peculiar soil, as 

 reaching further both to the north and south. I 

 can only say, as iiir as my observation has extend- 

 ed, these claims are not sustained. Its length may 

 therefore be given at 110 miles; its average 

 breadth at 5, and containing 320,000 acres — its la- 

 titude in ST" and 38°. Of this tract of land one- 

 half at least, in its virgin state, was very lertile — a 

 fourth sufficiently so as to yield a fair return to la- 

 bor. The other fourth steril and rocky, but cover- 

 ed with fine timber — particularly the chestnut, 

 whose duration in rails may be fixed at 60 or 70 

 years. 



The advantages of this region are many, and 

 Bome of them peculiar. It presents the singular 

 fact that the mountain is fertile to the summit, 

 (1000 feet the highest mountain, Peter's,) and 

 much more so than the country at its base. It is 

 more abundantly watered than any other I have 

 ever seen. Sprino;s of cool living water are to be 

 found in every dell; and on my own estate, I have 

 a copious and lasting spring near the top of the 

 mountain, at an elevation of 600 i'eet at least. Its 

 vegetation is 14 or 20 days in advance of the level 

 conterminous country; and still it is usually exempt 

 from the late fi-osts, while the fruit in "the level 

 country is destroyed by them. Mr. Jefferson told 

 us "the fi-ost of May 4, 1774 while destroying even 

 the forest trees at the summit and at the foot of the 

 mountain, left a zone of considerable breadth mid- 

 way the mountain, where even the fruit esca|)ed. 

 The elevations on its western side present the most 

 beautiful sites for building, furnishing, as they do 

 to a great extent, a prospect of the Elue Ridge, 

 distant twenty-five miles, and the intermediate 

 country between; and above all we may fairly 

 claim that no spot on the earth is more health} . 

 The soil of this region seems equally adapted to 

 tobacco, corn and wheat. All these great staples 

 grow finely here, and come to great perfection. 

 The texture of the soil, in its virgin state, is a dark 

 Joam on the surface, varying from two to six inch- 

 es, reposing on a ckiy so red as to resemble Span- 

 ish brown, and of unlimited depth, in which, as 

 well as on the surface, ferruginous rock (inconve- 

 niently in many cases) jirevails. It is entirely free 

 from sand. It gives swill proof ol" the justness of 

 the theory, that all soils have a continued inclina- 

 tion to return to their original condition if left to 

 themselves. For we allknov/, no matter how 

 naked and full of galleys it may be, if uncultiva- 

 ted, it will in thirty years be in condition to bring 

 even fine tobacco — an infallible test of the best 

 land.* These, with many others that might be 



* It abides drought, and an excess of rain, better than 

 any other lands we have. At the base of the moun- 

 VoL. 11—54. 



enumerated, are the advantages belonging to thia 

 liivored region. 



Its disadvantages, however, are not a few. The 

 land is steep and stofi}'. For although rolling land 

 is preferred for most crops, jiarlicularly wheat, it is 

 fi"e(juently so steep that the soil, and even part of 

 the crop is swept oif by heavy rainfs. Its greatest 

 difficulty is, the growth of which it is so fruitful, 

 the brier, the locust, the sassafras, and above all, 

 the [lersimmon, which add excessively to our la- 

 bor in cultivating our crop.s, as well as diminish 

 the products, 'i'o war against these difficulties 

 successfully, and to reclaim our wasted lands, the 

 result of a barbarous system of cultivation, is an 

 object of the first importance, and to which I wish 

 to call the attention of the society. 



The original system of tobacco and then corn, 

 without rest till the land was exhausted, has been 

 generally given up. It was abandoned from ne- 

 cessity. The first, and among the most important 

 improvements was horizontal ploughing, intro- 

 duced by the late Gov. Randolph— then a judi- 

 cious routine of crops, the cultivation of clover, 

 the free use of plaster, and the application of 

 straw to the galls. The routine is generally corn, 

 wheat, and clover for two years, fallowing some 

 portion annually for wheat on a clover lay of two 

 years' standing. The exemption of the clover aa 

 tar as practicable, from the hoof; and to this end 

 the establishment of standing pastures would be 

 highly desirable. The cultivation of our corn 

 crops exposes our steep lands to greatdanger from 

 the heavy rains to which we are subject, and to 

 resist which the horizontal ploughing has been 

 found not sufficient. In the August of 1813, ac- 

 cordmg to the observation of Mr. Jefferson, there 

 tell ten inches of water in 12 hours. The efiijcts 

 were disastrous. So much so that it suggested to 

 me the necessity of adopting some additional 

 means of security, and I think I found them. I 

 began immediately the process of hili-side ditch- 

 ing, which I have pursued ever since, and with 

 great success. This process is particularly benefi- 

 cial in saving our valleys. The term describes the 

 position between two hills or mountains. Com- 

 mence the ditch as high up the ravine as you wish, 

 let it reach entirely across the valley, and in such 

 form (that is a crescent) as that the water may be 

 conveyed with such a descent as to keep the ditch- 

 es open — which are carried on the sides of both 

 hills, descending of course till you reach the bottom, 

 where in the mountains we always find a stream. 

 But I use them with great success in all steep 

 lands, by running them about midway the descent 

 so as to save the lower part, which without the 

 ditch, by the accumulation and violence of the 

 flood, would be destroyed. All the land within or 

 below these ditches, becomes almost as valuable as 

 the valleys, and when cured of their galls is worth 

 .■glOO the acre — because they will yield on an 

 average six percent, annually, net profit, on an in- 

 vestment at that price. Still however, nnich is to 

 be done in saving our lands by judicious cultiva- 

 tion apart from hill-side ditching. The plan, once 

 followed, of leaving the balk in clover between the 



tains on the east, there is a bed of limestone, say fifty 

 yards in width, and attending this region through its 

 whole extent. 



