^44 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



jure the crop. The water is kept on nearly through 

 the whole lime of growih, but i;ot quite, ae thai 

 would render the grovvlhtoo "?piiid!iu<r" and lee- 

 ble. The product is very great, and also the pro- 

 fit. Siill I cannot but consider the culture ol" rice 

 as a curse to any region, as it must cause tlie pro 

 duction of malaria and iis consequent diseas^ee. 

 This did not seem to be admitted by the inhabit- 

 ants of Wilmington, and the rice planters, or, il 

 admitted, but little iinporlance is aitached to it. 

 An intelligent young planter, of whom I made 

 some inquiries on this head, told me that he ex- 

 pected, as a matter of course, to have an attack o( 

 bilious fever every year ; but he did not appear to 

 think that of n u>jh account. 



1 crossed the river to see a rice field. The 

 plants had but just come up, and there was 

 noiliing to be seen that was interesting. About 

 15 miles lower down the river, at Dr. F. Hill's 

 plantation, when passing in the steam vessel, I 

 saw the rice ground flood(>d. The river water is 

 there mixed with ihe salt of the ocean, and would 

 kill the rice; and therefore fresh water is brought 

 by a canal from a large pond, distant several miles 

 in the country. 



As I supposed, from my experience of embank- 

 ed tide lands on James river, these rice grounds, 

 wet as they are kept, and therefore the soil less 

 liable to decomposition, are annually rotting away 

 and sinking; and some have been thereby made 

 worthless, and thrown out of cultivation. But, as 

 to these grounds at and above Wilmington, there 

 is a counteracting operation of the river freshes, 

 which bring down and deposile on the land mud 

 enough to compensate for ihe waste of the original 

 soil l)y decomposition. The rice grounds lower 

 down the river are therefore most subject to this 

 lessening of the height ; and these are black soils, 

 while those higher up the river are brown, or 

 " mulatto" land, that color being given by the de- 

 posite of sediment left by the river during freshes. 

 The present and ordinary color of the river is the 

 clear cofiee color caused by vegetable dye, and 

 which belongs to all the rivers of lower Carolina, 

 except the great Roanoke, which flows from lime- 

 stone and other clear sources in the mountains of 

 Virginia. 



Steaming to and from Charleston. 



On the 16th, at 2 P. M., our party proceeded, 

 by the steam sea line of the Wilmington rail-road 

 company, to Charleston, S. C, 180 miles, which 

 full disiance was passed over in less than 15 hours. 

 At 5 P. JM. of the 17th, we set out on our return, 

 and the next morning, before 8, Ave were again 

 at the Wilmington wharf The steamer is one 

 of four belonging to the company, the best for 

 speed, saft'ty, and accommodation; and the wea- 

 ther was as delightful and as favorable as could 

 have been desired. There was nothing for me to 

 desire, except relief from the necessity of leaving 

 Charlesion in so short a time, and upon the first 

 visit. But so llir as could be in the space of the 

 few hours spent there, I was highly gratified with 

 all that was seen and met wiih. Even that short 

 time did not prevent the offer of hospitable atten- 

 tions from entire strangers, which though but the 

 common characteristics of warm-hearied south- 

 rons, were not the less appreciated. 



As a hearty well-wisher, though personally a 



stranger, to the commercial capital of South Caro- 

 lina, I was as nmch graiified as surprised to see 

 iiow liir and how well it liad already recovered 

 from ihe desolating ellects of the great fire which 

 but a lew years ago swept over so large a portior> 

 of the city. But lor the knowing of tliat great 

 calamity, and the looking for its destructive effects, 

 I should scarcely liave guessed that so much of 

 the city had been so recently destroyed. 



The inertness and indolence and improvidence 

 of my southern countrymen are unlbriunately so 

 conspicuous in my own state, as well as else- 

 where, that I had taken up the opinion that these 

 delects were to be seen the more strongly display- 

 ed as we proceed southward ; and hence 1 had 

 unconsciously taken up a very improper idea, and 

 made much too low an estimate, of Charleston. 

 Without toucliing on other matters, the buildings 

 and general appearance of this city are more 

 pleasing to me than of the more populous and 

 splendid cities of tf.e north. In ihe usual style oJ' 

 this one, there appears to be an unpretending dig- 

 niiy and beauty, and in some cases even gran- 

 deur, combined with simplicity. In this respect, 

 Charleston may be likened to a gentleman born 

 and bred, simply but perliictly well dressed, com- 

 pared to a nmslachioed dandy and exquisite. In- 

 deed, it seemed to me that the population contain- 

 ed a larger proportion of those who appeared to 

 be gentlemen than I had ever seen in any other 

 city ; and, lor some lime, I believed that not a pair 

 of 7noiistaches discraced the city ; but I was com- 

 pelled to learn otherwise, by seeing before my de- 

 parture several specimens of these ape-imitating 

 " lords of creation." 



The Battery is a newly constructed and de- 

 lighllijl promenade along the border of the Cooper 

 river, extending to the point of junction with the 

 Ashley. The pavement of the wall is of very 

 broad tlat stones, with a low railing next the wa- 

 ter, and open to ihe prospect of the harbor and 

 islands below. The beauty of lliis view was en- 

 hanced still more when seen from an upper apart- 

 ment of a splendid old mansion to which we were 

 invited by its owner, and in which I was lold had 

 been entertain.ed my distinguished countryman 

 who was sent as mediator and ambassador fi-oiu 

 Virginia to South Carolina, both acting in their 

 capacities of sovereign states. I had always felt 

 proud of that occasion, as to both commonwealths, 

 and was gratified to have now re-awakened, by 

 the narrative and the scene, emotions which I had 

 felt so vividly. 



In the rail- road and steamboat route from the 

 Roanoke to Charleston, there is nothing to be de- 

 sired by the traveller, except the removal of the 

 existing cause of detention of travellers am! the 

 mail, a" Wilmintjton for 17 hours. This remark- 

 able delay in a journey so rapid in all its other 

 parts, is now made necessary by the want of 

 lights to direct at night the course of \he difficult 

 navicration of the Cape Fear river. If this were 

 done, it would only be necessary for the southern 

 train li"om CharIe^^t.on to wait two hours later than 

 at present, and it would receive the mail and pas- 

 sengers a day earlier than now, and the whole 

 journey would be expedited 15 hours to Charles- 

 ton and all southward, without any additional 

 speed while moving. If the Cape Fear river was 

 north of Washington, it would have been lighted 

 by government, and properly so, even if only ihx 



