THE FARMERS' REGISTER, 



383 



But although we must remain for the present 

 uncertain as lo the application ol lime to peat, there 

 are some rules wlucn those who are desirous ol 

 reciaimmg their peaty laniJ may gather from the 

 practice oC English farmers, to serve lor their 

 guidance until turther discoveries shall have been 

 made. Peat must in the first place be laid dry by 

 open ditches, and I'uriher, where necessary, by 

 under-drains also. It may be pared and burned, 

 and sown with a shallow lurrow (lor all larmers 

 agree that this first ploughing should be shallow) 

 lo rape, Swedes, or tuini|)s — sown early lor the 

 reasons already given. It is next necessary that 

 some other earth should be laid on the peat ; il 

 tlie subsoil be clay, that clay should be brought up 

 Irom wide trenches — it il be gravel or sand, [ 

 would bring up a ()oriion ol it, however poor ii 

 may be : ii clay be near at hand, I would cart it 

 upon the peat. 



There is, however, some difiiculty in cariing 

 clay upon jjeaiy gruund, lor the lumps of clay 

 must be spiead on the ground and exposed lo 

 alternate Irosts and thaw-^, expanding and con- 

 tracting them, which gradually break down by 

 the spring. The peal, however, is generally so 

 soil in winter, thai it will scarcely bear up a load- 

 ed cart, unless during a Irost, so that the work is 

 olten interrupted. The clods may also be reduced 

 by exposure lo alternate drought anii mois'.ure in 

 summer ; but this is a less convenient tune ibr 

 cariing the clay, and it must take place on the 

 rye-grass, which is therefore lost. If spread m 

 vvinier alter rape or Swedes, tne clay is harrowed in 

 dry spring vveati.er, and ploughed in with a iwo 

 inch lurrow, or scarified. 1 would on no account 

 burn the surlace again after it has been spread, 

 because it is well known that clay once brought to 

 the stale ol brick, however finely ground, never 

 recovers its tjualiiy ul'cohesion. 



It must be remembered, also, that there is a 

 wide dilference among clays ; and, where the 

 heavy expense of carting is incurred, it isol course 

 important to chouse the most etieciive clay, in or- 

 der that a smaller bulk maybe sufficieni. Clay 

 lor this purpose should be, I believe, of the most 

 solid and giuienoue kind. However wet the place 

 J'rom whence it is taken, it should leel solid when 

 rolled in the hand ; if il be loose and liquid, it. 

 probably contains loo much fine sand ; il gritty, 

 coarse sand. 



Generally in draining, but almost always in peat 

 draining, it is necessary to dig deep open ditches 

 as main ouilalls lor tlie water. The strand or 

 clay thus thrown oui, should not be left in a high 

 ridge, but should be spread by wheelbarrows over 

 the peat land in winter. The steep banks, howe- 

 ver, of a ditch five !eet deep will crumble in year 

 by year, and, unless the water-course be constant- 

 ly cleared, there will arise some obstruction. But 

 in Scotland, as Mr. Morton iniorms me, there is a 

 very neat practice ol shelving back the banks 

 from the water's edge by a gradual slope of 15 or 

 20 leel into the field, so that the new level of the 

 water-course is thus placed Ibr ever beyond the 

 chance of neglect ; and if the field be arable, the 

 plough works down to the very brink. The ap- 

 pearance of this Scotch practice is exceedingly 

 neat, and its application lo peal land is, I see, 

 very easy. 



REPORT TO THE STATE BOARD OF AGRI- 

 CULTURE, 



ON THE AGRICULTURE OF PRIKCE GEORGE 

 COUiXTY. 



At a meeting of the Prince George Asricultu- 

 ral Society, on July the 4th, the lollowing report 

 was submitted by the committee previously ap- 

 pointed, and adopted by the society, and a copy 

 ordered lo be sent to the Corresponding Secretary 

 of the State Board of Agriculture. 



It is with the most unfeigned gratification, that 

 your committee have seen the legislature of our 

 native slate, by the appointment of a State Board 

 ol Agriculture, at last begin lo move in this great 

 and all-imporiant mailer. Agriculture is univer- 

 sally admitted lo be not only the main-spring of 

 all other interests, but the very basis of all per- 

 manent power and prosperity in every communi- 

 ty ; and yet ihe liact is notorious, that il has here- 

 tolore been uferly neglected by our governmenl. 

 It has not only been denied all direct legislative 

 aid, but has been crippled and shackled by in- 

 judicious enaciments, and measures of proleciion 

 extended to other and opposing interests. Your 

 committee trust that this suicidal couroe is at an 

 end, that a new and brighter era is about to dawn 

 for the cause of agriculture. Of this there is an 

 earnest in the promptness and zeal with which 

 Ihe members of the board undenook the arduous 

 labors of their appointment. Without the pros- 

 pect of one cent as remuneration, or of even 

 having their necessary expenses delrayed, and 

 aciuaied alone by a sense ol duly to their country, 

 and the noble ambition of benefiting their fel- 

 low countrymen, they at once resoried to the 

 capital, some ol them Irom the remotest parts 

 of the state, for the purpose of laying the jjround- 

 work of their luture operatiuns. For this they 

 deserve and will receive the hearty thanks of 

 every patriot. And can it be doubled that within 

 the limits of our extensive teiriiory, there are 

 many such spiriis willing and ready to do good, 

 waning only lor the means ol action? Let all 

 such remember, that the means are now at hand. 

 A beginning has been made. Let them re- 

 spond to the ertbrts of the board, give ihera all 

 their aid, encourage them in their arduous task, 

 and by the good fruit which the board so support- 

 ed will assuredly bring Ibrih will our legislature 

 in their turn be encouraged to go on in its sup- 

 port of agriculture. What the Highland Agri- 

 cultural Society has done lor ihe improvement 

 ol Scotland, our board, properly seconded by the 

 societies and farmers of the state, can and will do 

 for that of Virginia. Without funher preface 

 your committee will proceed, lo the best of their 

 ability, to report on the agriculture of Prince 

 George county, and in doing so they will aim to Ibl- 

 low as closely as they can the queries of the Board. 

 1. Geugraphical state. — Prince George county 

 extends along the southern borders of Appomat- 

 tox and James rivers, from Petersburg to Cabin 

 Point Creek, a distance ol about lorty miles. On 

 the south it is bounded by the county of Sussex. 

 Blackwater, having its source in the vicinity of 

 Petersburg, and emptying into the^ Chowan, runs 

 through the whole extent of the county, dividing 

 it into nearly equal parts. Baily's, Powell's and 

 Ward's creeks, with many minor streams of the 



