SHEEP IlUSBAiNDRY IN THE SOUTH. 363 



" The greater part of the land in Flanders is iiatiirdily poor ; Hnd in extensive districts, 

 which nnw havo the appoaranco ot'lJK; srreatest richiietfs athan(.'.-<t tiiii(>, thi; fniginal soil wa« 

 once litllo bt'ttor than the blowing sands vvhicli arc mot with in tiio nei<:}il)orhood of the sea. 

 Neither is it a fjenial climate which brings forward the fruits of the eiirth m abundance; for 

 the climate is inferior to that of I'" ranee or the soiilhoni paits of Germany. The soil may bo 

 divided into two classes. Tlio hrst consists of the alhivial clay loams near the coast ; the 

 second, of various .sands and lii;lit loams which are found in the interior. The most fertile is 

 that of llie low lands whicli Icive been i-eclaiuied from tlie sea by eml)ankments ; it is chiefly 

 composed of a muddy deposit mi.xed with fi'agment.s of maiiue shells and fine sea sand ... 

 In the interior of Piust and West Flanders the soil varies considerably ; but the principal 

 part is of a sandy nature. The sand, and a heavier loam which scarcely deserves the name 

 of clay, are found much intennixed, whicli is owing to an alternation of layers of sand and 

 loam, which are found by digging to a coiLsiderable dei)th. These layers are not of great 

 thickness, and the ac(^idental circumstance of the waslnng away of the sand in some places 

 and the depositions from riveis in others esisily account for this variety. Some i-f the eleva- 

 tions, which are nowhere coihsiderable, consist of a very poor sand, and suggest the idea of 

 their having onct; been the sands of the sea blown into hills, as is obsei"vable on the coast. 

 These hills, if thi'V may be so called, are naturally so barren that they were, not very long since, 

 covered with heath, or at best planted with fir t-rees ; but they have gradually been' culti- 

 Yated iiuil improved, and only a few remain in their original state of heath and wood. The 

 poorer sands have been brought into cultivation chiefly by the persevering industry of small 

 proprietors and occupiers." 



Have we not here a good general description of much of our southern 

 Atlantic coast — the tide swamp and sandy plain — and even a graphically 

 minute account of the " Sand Hill " region of South Carolina 1 



Instances of the reclamation of such lands might be indefinitely mul- 

 tiplied. 



1 do not offer the above facts to prove that it is either profitable or ex- 

 pedient to reclaim all the sterile lands of the southern sea-board by the same 

 means that have been resorted to abotit Albany, or in Flanders. Except 

 in the vicinity of cities, where maiuires are plentiful and cheap, and un- 

 common market facilities are off'ered, it would not be profitable, unless it 

 can be accomplished by less expensive means. 



But it proves one and an important position : that it is the sterility of 

 such soils — or perhaps their loose and "blowing" character in some places, 

 their sun-baked hardness in others — which prevents them from spontane- 

 ously producing esculent herbage ; and nothing in them, as has been 

 frequently fancied, positively deleterious to vegetation. And it follows, 

 hence, that whenever it is iirojitahle to convert them into grass lands, it is 

 practicable so to do by the proper application of manures. But do I hear 

 some of your South Carolina neighbors, of the anti-improvement school, 

 (if you have any such,) say, " If our soils are, or can be made, generally, 

 suitable for the production of the grasses, our climate cannot ? " This 

 position is obviously incorrect, as warmer climates, as, for example, Aus- 

 tralia, the Cape of Good Hope, and various others, produce, where the 

 soils are favorable, a luxuriant growth of grasses; and South Carolina 

 herself, as has been already shown, produces them bountifully in situations 

 where neither the latittide nor the elevation abates one jot of the heat of 

 your fervid climate. 



It is not impossible that the climate of the States farthest south — south, 

 Bay, of North Carolina — may l)e unfavorable to certain grasses and clovers ; 

 and perhaps so to the favorite ones of the Northern States. In relation 

 to red clover, however, the acclimation of which is regarded by many as 

 so important to those States, it seems Mr. Ruflin thought otherwise. He 

 says: 



" Perennial, or other permanent gi-asses, of wliich, dotd)tless, there may be found some 

 peculiarly suited to the warm climatt;, (South Carolina,) would still more scr^•e to give the 

 great benefits of changed condition to the fields, iiuhqiendent of the much needed benefitn 

 of grass husbandly for feeding of live-stock and giving rest and maimre to the land. The 

 grasses whose value has been fully established by long experience in more northern couu- 

 (747) 



