1839] 



F A R M K II S ' K K G I S T E K 



746 



may through vptyetable medinm ihus far furnished 

 lime for uirricuiiurni use. The ijrass of those 

 mountains is singularly filteriinjr lo slock, and at 

 pome future day they will be devoted to sioc-k 

 alone. 



Assuminir that lime is not wanting to mountain 

 land, it follows that the price ol' liming will he 

 paved, and their stock can come to market very 

 cheap : but from my observations upon tlieir clo- 

 ver and corn, 1 cannot but believe that lime will 

 jU'reatly benefit their grain and grass. It is lo he 

 hoped that some one will make repeated and va- 

 rious trials of lime, that every possibility of mis- 

 take may be avoided. Much is said about a rail- 

 road from Washington to Falmouth, and one firom 

 this to VVarrenton. Should those roads be made, 

 I have no doubt that the use of lime will re-im- 

 burse the expense lour times told. All the coun- 

 try from the Ridge to tide water in its present con- 

 dition (save that which is alluvial) is little more 

 than a pest and curse to the owner. But give it 

 a good dressing of lime, and I predict that it will 

 be noted lor its production and beauty. The ex- 

 tensive bottoms upon Bull Run. Cedar Run, Town 

 Run, and some half dozen other streams, will, by 

 the use of lime, become noted lor their production 

 of grass and grain. Had I the spirit and constitu- 

 tion of Peter the Hermit, I would go among the 

 people of that country and hold the vengeance of 

 heaven over them ii" they did not come out in 

 every possible shape to make this rail-road. What 

 sir! live and die in a hen-grass field, when green 

 fields and plenty beckon them to an easy service'? 

 No, it is impossible. Let the people hand together 

 and vow that the\- will never give over the pursuit 

 until the work is accomplished ; let them remem- 

 ber that Baron Trenk made his way through a 

 five-loot stone wall with a nail, and that every 

 man among them is his equal. Lime. 



Fairfax county. 



ADDRESS TO THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 

 OF FREDERICKSBURG, BY JaMES M. GaR- 

 NETT, PRESIDENT. 



Another anniversary, my good friends, has 

 once more brought us together, and I confidently 

 trust, with a degree of zeal in our cause, rather 

 invigorated, than depressed, by the utter failure 

 of another etTort, last winter, on the part of some 

 of our worthy brethren in the General Assembly, 

 to obtain legislative aid lor Virginia agriculture. 

 Could my wishes prevail, it should bethe last, the 

 very last attempt ofthe kind, while the law-makers 

 of our good old state coniinue to be chosen by no 

 otherstandard than ihatof|)arty-politics,and almost 

 to the entire exclusion of moral and statesman-like 

 qualifications ; the chiel'thing sought in our repre- 

 sentatives bcingsuch India-rubber consciences, as 

 will stretch or contract according to order from the 

 higher powers. Legislative aid to agriculture ! 

 it is the height of lolly to expect it from legislators 

 whoahho' chieHy planters and farmers themselves, 

 appear as entirely regardless of all the great ajf- 

 ricultural interests of ourstate, as if they were its 

 most deadly enemies. Seemingly, both deaf and 

 blind to ever}' thinii but party-|)o!ilicp, tiir many 

 years past, session has generally been alter session 

 spent, either in wearisome and profitless diecuesione 

 Vol. Vll-94 



of mere political abstractions, or in bitter and dis- 

 tri'accrul quarrels; alike injurious to the peace, the 

 harmony, and the welfare of Virginia. For all this, 

 we ourselves, are as much to blame as they are ; 

 for instead of" rewarding their total neglect of up, 

 by relieving all who are guilty of this nei^lect, for- 

 ever hereafter, from legislative duties of every kind 

 whatever, we actually encourages it by re-electing 

 Ihem. That it is in our power to rid our General 

 Assemblies ofall such worse than neeless members, 

 none, I think, can doubt, who know our numerical 

 strength as voters; and that we have not exerted 

 it long ago, for this purpose, has always been to 

 me a matter not otily of much surprise, but of the 

 deepest humilation ; — especially, when 1 reflect, 

 that nearly every other state in the union has been 

 so thoroughly roused to a sense of its own best 

 interests, as to be making strenuous and well di- 

 rected efforts for the advancement of husbandry in 

 all its branches. They have been taught by the 

 truly glorious exam|)les of most of the govern- 

 ments of Europe, but particularly by the conduct 

 of Scotland and England, how incalculably nation- 

 al comforts, wealth and general prosperity, may 

 be increased by legislative aid to agriculture ; 

 and ;hey-^our wiser sister states — have profited 

 accordingly ; whilst we, — (alas ! how fallen \y 

 have been manifestly sinking in the scale of com- 

 parative power and influence, — solely, too, as I 

 verily believe, fi-om the causes which I have stated. 

 These painful truths would certainly have been 

 kept to myself, if I deemed our case a hopeless one. 

 But having entire confidence in the power of our 

 brethren to correct, in a great measure, the evils 

 of which I complain, simply by the proper exer- 

 cise of their elective franchise, death only shall 

 end my efforts to rouse them from their most an- 

 accountable and self-destructive torpor. 



But enough of this for the present, and I will 

 now proceed with my usual detail of experiments 

 since we met last, begging you always to bear in 

 mind, that I do it more from a sense of duty, than 

 any grea': confidence in their value. But it is the 

 best way I can think of to manilt;el my grateful 

 sense of your invariable and long continued con- 

 fidence — at least in the earnest sincerity of my 

 endeavors to promote our cause — endeavors which 

 shall never cease whilst life and health enable me 

 to make them. 



As I consider Indian corn by far tlie most useful 

 ofall the grains at present known to us, 1 will first 

 state my several comparative trials with ten dif- 

 ferent varieties, which I procured for the purpose 

 of ascertaining which was i)est ; and I will begin 

 with the Baden and Dutton — this being the second 

 trial between them. In the latter case they were 

 planted in contiguous rows, the Dutton 3 and the 

 Baden 4 feet apart, each way, 2, 3 and 4 stalks to 

 the hill, in well manured garden-ground, rich 

 enoogh to produce 65 or 70 bushels to the acre of 

 our common varieties ))lanted at our usual distan- 

 ces, lor such land. The result of this second trial 

 diders so entirely tiom the former, as compels me 

 to conclude, either that some mistake was made, 

 or deception practised about the seed; although 

 in both cases, they were distributed gratituously, 

 and by members of Congress. If this conjecture 

 is unfounded, the result proves that several more 

 experiments than one or two are necessary, at 

 least in regard to corn, if not with all other kinda 

 of agricultural products, to decide conclusively go 



