1838] 



F A R Rl K H S ' REGISTER, 



189 



were worth using as manure, it could hardly be | 

 supposed that the Creator would have buried it so 

 deeply in the earth. However, even this curious 

 o priori arijMment against the value ol' the marl, 

 has no ground to rest on in Gloucester. 



From what I could hear, the high and well de- 

 served reputation of Philip 'I'abb as a liirmer, was 

 founded upon his unconnnon forecast, and excellent 

 judgment, as a crop raiser, iuid his neat, atlmira- 

 ble, and successful execution in cultivation, and in 

 the management of whatever he undertook; and 

 not upon his improvement of the ItM'tility of the 

 soil; allhuugli he did much, fiir his time, in apply- 

 ing putrescent manures. Upon soil so productive 

 and so durable as his, good drainage, tjood cultiva- 

 tion, and general judicious and provident arrange- 

 ment and management, were all that were neces- 

 sary to render his farming profitable, and to main- 

 tain, and even for along time to increase, the pro- 

 ducing power of his land. J3ut his farming, and 

 his views, would not liave served to make poor 

 land rich, nor to have maintained an increased 

 production on a soil less durable than that of his 

 fine farm. 



There was another former resident and culti- 

 vator of Gloucester, of whom I tried in vain to 

 collect some intbrmation. This was Clayton, the 

 learned botanical cultivator and author. Some 

 remains of his garden were still visible a few years 

 ago. 



The seat of Warner Taliaferro, esq., is one of 

 the most beautilul situations (where all are beau- 

 tiful,) on North river. Like all the others, the 

 surface of the grounds around the houses does not 

 appear to be more than four feet higher than the 

 adjacent water, at ordinary high tide; and as far 

 as the sight can stretch over the lands of Matthews 

 county, on the opposite 'side of the river, there is 

 no greater elevation. The neighborhood here, 

 (and it is so in a high degree throughout the 

 county,) is delifrhtful. Mr.' Taliaferro told me 

 that the houses of twelve of his neighbors, all re- 

 sident proprietors of farms, were within three 

 miles of his own ; and 1 believe that every one is 

 within a hundred yards, or less, of the edge of navi- 

 gable water. The farms of this neighborhood 

 were long ago estimated by old Mr. Philip Tabb 

 as worth £10 the acre, (.>S;33.33,) and that price 

 has been generally maintained. Under peculiar 

 circumstances, some have been sold fornot imlf that 

 price. Half the Elmington tract, 500 acres, with- 

 out a house, or any thing but the land, was 

 bought two or three years ago by Warner Talia- 

 ferro, esq. at ^30 the acre, in cash, and at private 

 sale. This may be therefore deemed to be the 

 fair price of land alone. 



A few minutes' passage, in a beautilul sailing 

 boat, carried us across from the last-mentioned 

 residence to that of Wm. H. Roy, esq. in Mat- 

 thews. This fiirm, and the adjoininij one, be- 

 longing to Dr. Tabb, were made the limit of my 

 excursion, liut so unilbrmly low and level are 

 the lands of Matthews, that the smallspace which 

 1 saw, furnished, as I was told, a fair and sufficient 

 specimen of the natural features of almost the 

 whole county. Rut not so as to improvement 

 and product; (or both of which, these two farms 

 stand much higher than the county in ireneral, 

 The.se are principally corn farms ; as is the case 

 through the whole county, as wheat is consi- 

 dered comparatively unproductive. But this is 



not caused by the too great sandiness of the soil, 

 nor by wetness. The soil is a loam of medium 

 texture, and though lying so Ioav, is drier than 

 most of the somewhat higher lands of Gloucester. 

 'I'lie lands of Mali hews were originaily covered by 

 a fine irrowth of white oak-trees, which would be 

 sufficient to prove that the soil is not too light for 

 iiood wheat. Until the woods were mostly clear- 

 ed, the peoi)le were more eniraged in cutting tim- 

 ber for sale, and in ship-building, than in cultiva- 

 tion ; but recently, as the former pursuits have 

 been necessarily abandoned, liu'miiig 1ms greatly 

 im[)rove(l, in manner and in product. 



Air. Roy's farm has been improved, from a for- 

 mer very poor state, to a present product of corn 

 varying in dirt'erent fields liom 5 to 7 bbls. per 

 acre. Of course, I inler that the soil was origi- 

 nally good and productive, however much im- 

 poverished afierwards. The marl stratum ex- 

 tends also under his land ; but is there reduced to 

 a thickness of only about 18 inches, so that its 

 digging can scarcely be profitable. The great 

 improvement made on this fiirm is owing to the 

 very large quantities of farm-yard and other pu- 

 trescent manures made and applied ; and which 

 now extend overmuch the greater part of the field 

 for corn in a three-shift rotation. Leaves from 

 pine woods, m quantity, as well as all the ofi'al of 

 the crops, are used as litter; and through all sum- 

 mer, as well as winter, for littering standing cattle 

 and hog-pens. No waste or other evil is found, 

 as I had feared, from too rapid fermentation during 

 summer. 



I was surprised to find that the old-fashioned 

 three several hand-hoeings, (or weedings, as 

 called,) of corn, were still approved and practised 

 on Mr. Roy's farm. But as I hope to receive- 

 from his own pen a more particular account of his- 

 farming, I shall present no more of my own hasty 

 and imperlijct observations. 



Looking from the shore near Mr. Roy's house 

 towards the Chesapeake, there is nothing but wa- 

 ter and sky to bound the prospect; as it is a 

 straight course through the capes of Virginia on to 

 the ocean. It was a clear and bright morning, 

 with a gentle wind from the east, which is the 

 state of weather lavorable to the optical illusion 

 called "looming," and which I soon witnessed in 

 a remarkable degree. Before suspecting the ef- 

 fect produced, or thinking of it, though not entire- 

 ly inexperienced, I saw, towards the sea, at such 

 apparent distance as to be not distinct except in 

 shade and in outlines, a very high and large ob- 

 ject, nearly square in form. Had I not known 

 that no such thing existed, I should have guessed 

 it to be a castle, or some other pnormously large 

 dark buildint;, at more than 20 miles distance; 

 and, as the nearest to such an appearance that 

 any real object could present, 1 supposed it to be 

 really a thick cluster of very tall pines, on some 

 low island, or point, made very conspicuous at so 

 great a distance by being seen against the clear 

 sky beyond. Upon asking what the object was, 

 ( was told that it was a "sliip's-head bunch," 

 which is a little brush fiistened down by a few low 

 stakes, and which is made as a baiting i)lace for 

 angling lor that kind of fish. The actual height 

 above the water was not tlu'ee feet, and the dis- 

 tance to the bunch was not exceeding three miles. 

 The deception of the sight was not removed, and 

 scarcely lessened, by being informed of the true 



