1S39J 



F A II M E Ft S ' R E G i S T E R . 





common throughout the lide-water region of Vir- 

 ginia. CcrUiiii ii i:=, (hat none but tlie richest 

 soils, such as those oi' Shirley and W'eslover, on 

 which the successful experiments oi" filcssrs. Car- 

 ter and Selden were made, can bear three grain 

 crops in four years, without frequent and liberal 

 supplies ol' enriching manures. I very soon dis- 

 covered, after the publication of my essay, that 

 the comparaiive poverty of our soil?, (it" there 

 were no other objection to the system,") \vo\dd |)re- 

 clude the profitable cultivation of our jiirms, or the 

 four-field rota'ion of corn, wheat, clover, wheat, 

 which I at that time intended lo adopt. 'Fhe le.?s 

 exhausting, but much less profitable (bur-field sys- 

 tem of corn, wheat, clover, clover, has been 

 adopted by some persons in this neigliliorhood. 

 Eut to that, there are such obvious and weighty 

 objections, (of which I shall meniion but two,) 

 that it must soon be abandoned. 1st. Corn is the 

 great staple of eastern Virginia. It is the most 

 certain and by far the most profitable crop ; and 

 as a general rule, the greatest profit cannot be re- 

 alized with less than one-third of th^ arable land 

 in corn. 2nd. The tide water farms are so prone 

 to put up bushes of gum, locust, persinmion, &c. 

 that to cleanse them lor a crop, after they have 

 been two years out of cultivation, requires so 

 great an expenditure of labor, as to inierlere se- 

 riously with the essential operations of manuring 

 and draining, on which depend, almost exclusively 

 the profits of agriculture. 



I am now thoroughly satisfied, from m}' own 

 experience and extensive observation, that the 

 three-field system, of corn, wheat, or oats, and 

 clover, properly pursued, is by far the most profita- 

 ble course of farming in easiern Virginia. To 

 maUe the system efl^ective, there must be a stand- 

 ing pasture of marsh or wood-land, suflicieiit to 

 sustain the farm stock unid the month of June, 

 when the clover is in full bloom. At this time 

 the stock maybe turned in, with the full assu- 

 rance that you will have an abtmdant dairy, a full 

 meat house, and a fine crop of corn succeetimg the 

 clover. The fields should be well and separately 

 inclosed, and the hogs after harvest permi'.ted to 

 glean the wheat field, which should l)e studiously 

 guarded from the encroachment of all other stock. 

 By this means a full supfily of fine jiork for the 

 use of the family and laborers, may be seem ed ai 

 a very trifling expense. 



Manure is the basis of this, as of every other 

 system of successful husbandry. The field for 

 corn should be thoroughly manured. If this can- 

 not be entirely accomplir^hed, it may at least be 

 very nearly efiiscted on tide water, where mnruie 

 manures are inexhaustible. On farms farther re- 

 moved from the water, wliere these manures are not 

 to be procured, substitutes may be found in mail, 

 leaves from the woods, and a compost of lime, 

 leaves, earth, &c. which may be made in great 

 quantity by having a permanent cow-pen liberally 

 supplied with earth, lime and leaves, throughout 

 the summer. I have for several years made this 

 compost in considerable quantity, and used it with 

 great eflect, on the forest farm on which I reside. 

 Several of my neighbors also have pursued the 

 same course with very decided success. 



There is no portion ol" the stale, known to me, 

 in which agricultural improvemetit has advanced 

 so rapidly, as it has done in this immetliate neigh- 

 borhood, within the last ten years. In that pcnod 



tin; crops it is believed, have been at least doubled, 

 the value of lands greatly increased, and the 

 wealth and comforts of ihe people vastly aug- 

 mented. These ineslimiible t)enefiis may be just- 

 ly attributed to the enlighleneii zeal that now ani- 

 mates our ftu-mers, and to the liberal and judicious 

 application of manures common to the whole tide 

 water region, and wiihin the reach of all who have 

 th.e industry to apply them. But those improve- 

 ments, great as they are, I am well convinced are 

 yet in their infancy ; and the most sanguine can- 

 not nor/ foretell the glorious results that must en- 

 sue, from the continued and persevering applica- 

 tion of the various resources, with which a wise 

 and bountiful providence has so abundantly blessed 



us. WiLLOUGHBY NeWTON. 



fVesimoreland; Va., jJug. 29th, 1S39. 



PUACTICAL TIIEATMENT OF BEES. 



Frnin tlie Edinburgli Encycloiradia. 



We have thus traced the natural history of the 

 honey bee from ils origin until attaining perfection, 

 and shown how the various species form one great 

 colony, where labors are carried on lor the com- 

 mon good. We have explained also, that, at a 

 certain season, bees desert i heir habitation inquest 

 of another, which, in a domesticated slate, the 

 cultivator is careful to provide ; and we shall now 

 proceed to the practical treatment of bees, and 

 point out how their labors are to be converted to 

 utility, profit, and pleasure. 



All the circumstances above related havinn^ 

 taken place, the new swarm is lodged in a hive^ 

 there to comm.ence the collcciion of honey, the fia- 

 bricalion of wax, and the perpetuation of the spe- 

 cies. Much has been said of the fittest size and 

 figure of a hive, and of the substance of which 

 it should consist : wood, straw, and oziers, have 

 all been recommended : and round, square, ob- 

 long, and hexagonal hives have had their particu- 

 lar pariisans. Tliese things, we apprehend, do 

 not merit the impoitance bestowed upon them ; 

 and our reason for saying so is, li-om having seen 

 the most ample products of honey, under condi- 

 lions almost diameirically opposite. At one time 

 we have seen large straw hives, of the ordinary 

 ll3s:hion in this country, full to the brim of rich ho- 

 ney-comb; at other times we have seen them al- 

 most empty, without any sensible cause, and 

 where circumstances seemed lo favor the reverse. 

 We are thence induced to conclude, that less de- 

 pends on the shape and capacity of the hive, than 

 on the kind and quantity of the swarm introduced 

 into it, and on the season in which their collections 

 are made. Examples have come under our no- 

 tice, where a swarm, lodging in the roof of a 

 house, has produced a great quantity of honey in 

 combs only four or five inches brond: anoiher 

 swarm also in the roof of a house we have known 

 to fill combs above eighteen inches in breadth. Ex- 

 posure to the north or south has not aflieeted the 

 bees: their provision has been equally abundant. 

 And here we may remark, that in all instances 

 that have fallen wiihin the s[diere of our observa- 

 tion, the products of swarms, lodged in the roofs 

 of houses, have invariably been abundant. We 

 do not pretend to acconni liir this. Perhaps it 

 may partly result liom ihcir labors being perlbnned 



