116 



THE FARMERS' ilEGlSTER. 



i»- :_ 



misty England, — our early planted sugar beets 

 never grew in greater perfection witli us, than du- 

 ring the last summer, the hottest and driest season 

 we have had in many years ; and there is little 

 doubt but that one acre of sugar beets is worth two 

 acres of turnips. 



We lully agree wiih Mr. Garbutt that it would 



Tront and extending to the wet land or slash. 

 This is the most easily reclaimed if exhausted by 

 cultivation. Nothing more is required than deep 

 ploughing and grass. Sow heavily with clover, 

 graze Jightly, and use the scythe to prevent weeda 

 Irom rffaiuruig. Feed hay, cornstalks or straw on 

 it, and you will soon recover all its lost lertiliiy. 



be lolly lor our farmers to I'oliow the rural econo- Your w'^t land presents two varieties, tlie one an 

 my ol England in all is variety, but lor very dil^ open prtW'ie pond, originally covered with water, 

 lerent reasons than a part of those set out in his the othe»'clothed with timber. I believe the arc 

 otherwise interesting and well written arlicle. of man bas never yet invented any means of 



fVaterloo, N. Y. S. W. renderinfrsuch lands available to uselul purposes 



withoujiTirsl draining. Water impoverishes as 

 rapidlysgs cultivation. In vain will you look for 

 the healthy action of plants on land saturated 

 with^vatcr, or reap Ihc amelioiatmg influence of 

 frosts in pulverizing your soil and adapting it to 

 the growth of vegetables. 



Such land in every instance should be vveli 

 drained, by either open or secret ditches, using 

 such as your resources will most readily command. 

 If only thrown up in beds in the direction of the 

 slope, and the centre furrows well cleared, the 

 surface water will pass oil', adding much to the 

 value and production of the lands. 



Your open prairie poi^Qs are exceedingly rich, 

 abounding in vegetable matter, and, when 

 thoroughly drained and acted on by the sun and 

 frost, will yield most abundantly. I am convinced 

 that the surface of all wet lands, when reclaimed, 

 sinks, and these ponds more than any other, occa- 

 sioned by a greater decomposition on their expo- 

 sure to the atmosphere. Hence open ditches, that 

 when first cut answered the purpose, will have 

 repeatedly to be deepened as your land settles ; for 

 you need expect no permanent improvement 

 until you have thoroughly commanded the 

 water. 



On the subject of wet land, and the great im- 

 portance of thorough drainmg, I have never seen 

 a better illustration of its happy effects, than an 

 anecdote given by the late Judge J3uel, "An 

 acquaintance called upon a Scotch farmer, whose 

 farm had been under-drained, and being informed 

 that the improvement cost sixteen dollars an acre, 

 till having been used, remarked that it was a 

 costly improvement. ' Yes,' was the farmer's 

 reply, ' but it cost a deal mairnoi to do it!'' which 

 he illustrated by pointing to an adjoining farm, 

 like situated, which had not been drained, and 

 was overgrown with rushes and sedgegrass, and 

 then lo his own fields teeming with luxuriance 

 and rich in the indications of an abundant har- 

 vest." 



Those elevated tables of sandy land, so common 

 to the Ohio, many of which now look like thfe 

 sterile anil worn out fields of the lower part of 

 the state, have once, as I have often been inform- 

 ed by the first settlers, been the most beautiful 

 part of all our bottoms. Before the hand of man 

 had thrown them open lo the sun, they were 

 carpeted with wild grass and pea vines, looking 

 like some splendid park, with all ils undergrowth 

 removed, well stocked with deer. Settlements 

 commenced, those lands were soon cleared ; but 

 the constant and immense demands for grain to 

 supply the Kentucky drovere, impelled their own- 

 ers to the ruinous practice of repeated and conti- 

 nued corn raising, until they have nearly exhaust- 

 ed the whole lile blood from them, and will now 

 require that mode of treatment which modern 



ADDRESS TO THE KANAWHA, MASON, AND 

 CABELL AGKICULTUKAL SOCIETY. GUYAN- 

 DOTTE, Nov. 11, 1841. 



By Gen. Peter II. Steenber^en, of Mason county. 



Gentlemen of the Agricultural Society :— A'rro- 

 ther year has rolled on, and we are once more 

 assembled under the rules of our organization. 

 The spirit and leeling of its members present, 

 together with the exhibitions on this occasion, will 

 ehow whether it has been productive of all the 

 advantages so earnestly desired by its forma- 

 tion. 



Whatever of success and prosperity such 

 institutions are calculated to insure will depend 

 much upon the zeal, energy and indomitable 

 perseverance of all who belong to the society. 

 We should permit no trivial circumstance to delay 

 us from promptly fulfilling the duties incident to 

 our situation ; sufier no rivalry for the prizes to 

 estrange, or eniiender unpleasant feelings in their 

 distribution. We should move on in peace and 

 harmony, combined as brother farmers embarked 

 in one common cause, and sailing under the flag of 

 improvement. 



It is difficult for me to determine what topic 

 would be most acceptable to the majority of my 

 friends present. This being the first meeting 

 held in your county, and its good effects, if any, 

 intended for your improvement, I have thought it 

 best to take a review of some peculiarities exist- 

 ing in your soil, some causes operating to your 

 benefit or injury, and thus correctness and truth 

 will be equally applicable to all sections placed 

 under similar circumstances. With your lands I 

 am well acquainted. I will now notice the vari- 

 ous shades and character of soil that your large 

 county furnishes ; and in doing so I beg of you to 

 believe, that whatever remarks I may make are 

 predicated upon a judgment matured and formed 

 by a comparison of this section with that of others 

 in our country. 



Commencing 'hen at this place, the town of 

 Guyandolte, and descending the river, you are 

 first struck with the infinite variety of soil your 

 bottoms afford ; first alluvial, then an elevated 

 table of sandy land, and sunken ponds reslin^r on 

 a substratum of clay impervious to water. The 

 uplands bordering on these are of excellent quality 

 for grass or small grain. In what way can the 

 owners of such various grades of soil beet improve 

 them 1 How should they be managed 1 How 

 can their fertility be most readily increased ? 



I will notice them in the order named — Alluvial, 

 first in character and value, resting on the river 



