1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



59 



For the Farmers' Register. 



ESTIMATES AND REMARKS ON THE PROFIT 

 OF IJIPROVING LAND AND FARMING. 



To the farmers of Virginia, who are too cautious 

 and too much of false economists to improve their 

 lands, by bringing all the means of improving with- 

 in their reach, the Ibllowing remarks are respect- 

 fijlly offered. He who gets rich as a merchant by 

 buying and selling produce, runs great risk of be- 

 ing poor by some Ibrtuitous accident. Every day 

 occurrences teach us this. He who speculates in 

 etofk, in gold mines, in multicaulis buds, may sud- 

 denly get rich in imagination, be a nabob to-day, 

 to-morrow a beggar: of this we have too many 

 examples, in these days of lottery offices, and all 

 Bhort cuts for getting rich in an hour. But he who 

 ventures a penny to improve his h^nd, in fact runs 

 no risk at all; he gains his pound without a ven- 

 ture of a penny; his return is certain. Who, from 

 the days of ^Esop until now, ever heard of any man 

 who seduously and understandingly went about 



to improve his land, and lost by it? Some may have 

 come to ruin from extravagance of another sort; 

 but never by any money spent directly on the im- 

 provement of the soil they cultivate. This may 

 be a slow, but it a certain way of becoming inde- 

 pendent, and riches got in this way stick. They 

 don't come like an April shower, and vanish like 

 the dew. Why then, farmers of Virginia, shall 

 we leave our calling and follow after that which 

 belongs to speculators'? "Slow and sure," saya 

 the proverb — and "a bird in the hand is worth two 

 in the bush;" let us then leave the golden bird 

 that perches in the multicaulis, to those who are 

 more expert bird-catchers than we; and let us hold 

 steadily to the bird in our grasp. You who are 

 the holders of rich land, I ask to look at the fol- 

 lowing calculations, for encouragement to keep it 

 rich : you who hold poor land, read them, and be 

 stimulated to make it rich; but both read poor 

 Richard's almanac the while, and learn, that "he 

 who by the plough would thrive, himself must 

 either hold or drive." No manure will answer 

 without the master's foot. 



Landlord JVo. 1. 



Dr. In acH twenty acres Land, at S 100 per acre, Or. 



To interest on cost of land, $2000, 

 To cost of a man and horse, 1 year, 

 Wear and tear tools. 

 Additional labor in harvest, SiC. 

 Cost, fiauling and spreading 300 bus. lime. 

 Cost, hauling and spreading; 300 bus. ashes 

 Cost, hauling and spreading 240 loads ma 

 nine. 

 To seed, wheat, corn and potatoes, 

 To plaster and clover seed. 



To whole am't expenses. 



By 72 bbls. corn, at $4 00 per bbl. 



By olfal from corn. 



By 150 bus. wheat, $1 50 per bush. 



By 24,000 lbs. clover-hay at $7 00 per m. 



By 400 bus. Irish potatoes, 50 cts. per bu 



By wheat-straw, peas, &,c., say, 



By whole am't profits, 



Balance Cr. 



Landlord A'o. 2. 



L>r. In acH 20 acres Land, at $10 per acre. 



Cr. 



To interest on $200, 



To cost man and horse for 1 year. 



Wear and tear of tools. 



Additional labor. 



Seed-oats, corn and peas. 



To whole am't expenses, 

 Balance Dr. 



By 18 bbls. corn. 



By ofFal from corn. 



By 6000 lbs. oats, at $7 00 per m. 



By 12 bush, peas, at $1 00, 



By pasturage, 8 acres poor land, 



To whole amount profits, 

 Balance, 



In the annexed account No. 1, I have sup- 

 posed the twenty acres laid off into three equal 

 fields of six acres each, with a lot of two acres for 

 trucking (if I may make a word.) It will be seen 

 by reference to it, that landlord, number 1, atier 

 paving a high price for his land, put manure of 

 different sorts on it to the amount of §250 per an- 

 num; and still the land pays this sum, current ex- 

 penses, and pays him within a fraction of 12 per 

 cent, on his investment; so, that it is apparent, un- 

 der this system, he will be able to keep his capi- 

 tal increasing in value, while he is at the same 

 time, making 12 percent, on it. It is equally ap- 

 parent, that landlord number 2, who wraps his 

 one talent in a napkin, will be brought in debt 

 every year, to an amount equal to more than 

 tivelve times the amount of the inleresi on his in- 

 vestment. What (oily then to work poor land 

 without improving it; the'means for which every 

 man possesses more or less, on or near his land. 

 If the class I address could lift the veil which co- 



vers my name, they might say "ph3'sician heal 

 thyself;" but I hope with less truth every day, for 

 1 am striving to benefit myself and posteritj^, 

 while I am helping to brace up our dear old mother 

 Virginia, who is fast sinking under the ruthless 

 treatment of her children; who nourish her with 

 nothing, while they are tugging at her empty 

 dugs, and killing her, while they are starvincr 

 themselves to death; all for the want of a little en- 

 ergy and enterprise. As a general rule, let me 

 advise my fellow-laborers, if you want productive 

 seed-corn, manure your land, and carefully save 

 the seed; if you want fine wheat, fallow and use 

 lime, and your seed will be good; if you want im- 

 proved cattle, first rear grass lor them to eat, and 

 don't buy a Durham bull at ^1000 or 2000 to feed 

 him on straw and shucks in winter, and buds and 

 marsh grass, in spring and summer. It will not 

 answer; his breed, in ten years, will be no better 

 than the common cattle of the country; whereas 

 if you had laid out this .^2000 in manure, lime, 



