58 



^l)t inirmev's iHcnthh) lUsitov. 



"I see aioiiiu! me liert! luaily all of tliose now 

 liviiiL', who were liolh my neigljhors luul IrieiMls 

 iVom tWL'iuy to Iwi'.mv-live years airo, anil uljo, 

 iiliorwarils, willi ililfereiit (lei;ree«oi' iirerMn'tnary 

 ilistriist anil <li;lay, followed iiiy example ami iii- 

 striiolioiis ill llie a|i|)liratii>ii of oalcarcoiis ma- 

 nures. Tlie far greater iiiiiiiber, however, of my 

 former coinnaiiions anil peiiior!?, and among li.eiii 

 all llie most distinjrni^lied anil siiceef:<fiil of jny 

 earliest di.-ii-i|ileK, have heeii removed by death. 

 But every one, of liotli the livinj;- and the dead, 

 lias sons or snree.ssors, who have j^ince prosecii- 

 led am! e:itendeil ilm ^'ood work of ferfilization, 

 and all of whom, will) many others who are less 

 interested, I now t^ee assomlilril here toweleome 

 and to honor inc, and to unite in testiljimj; their 

 lii!,di niipreeiiuion of the benefits they have de- 

 rived froiij a sii);;le sonrce, and whieh benefits 

 lliey aseril"^ |o my agency. 



I will not, my friends, afl'jis lo de|)rectate be- 

 low your own liiiih estimate — high, at least, as 

 gome miirht suppose. — the measure of peenniary 

 profit which yon have derived iVom marling oi- 

 liming yonr lands. Perliaps my eonsideration of 

 the value of all permanent impiovements of 

 capital, might even raise the estimate nmrh hii;h- 

 er than yon have done. And, on this head, lam 

 the more liee to inter my opinions, because ihe 

 rt'sulls are mostly yotn' own work ; and the cred- 

 it is due to your own good jiidgemeiil, your 

 leailiness to throw aside old jnejiiilices, and lo 

 receive new truths, and to your industry and 

 |>ei'severaiice in piittini your new lijlils into ex- 

 ecution. Tliere i.s ahv.iys in the world eiionnh 

 i>f good advice onci valuable instruction, to be 

 had tor every man's use — and the offerini such 

 isa merit nnich less rare Ihau that of lidlowing 

 and profiting by il. And the latter, in regard to 

 agriculture, is no small merit. For in all the 

 hia'lory of agiienhure, there is no liiet more gen- 

 eral and more obvious, than the cstreme siosv- 

 iiess anil ditljcnliy with which all frreat improve- 

 iiieuts have been introduced. Very ihfierenl 

 have been the results in your case. Within ten 

 years after the first succe.-*sliil experiment made 

 in this county, or the first nnnuncialioii of cor- 

 rect views of the action of calcareous nianuri's, 

 there was scarcely n landholder, having marl 

 mill knowing it, who had not coimrienceil its use, 

 to greater or less extent. There were no excep- 

 tions, as might have been ex|iected — becaiiso of 

 the poverty of some, or the old age or infirmiiies 

 of others. Four of onr eounly men, known to 

 nil who hear me, who were among the most 

 zealous and enersielic mailers i'or their circuui- 

 stances, nouunenced their operalions when sev- 

 erally at au:es frorn 56 to 7.5 years. 



At this time, i |)resiinie there arc few" if any 

 persons who commenced marling as far back as 

 ten _\ ears aso, and prosecuted the work steadily af- 

 terwards, whose fiirms are not now ilouhled, il' not 

 tripled, in praduclive value, lloui this one source 

 of increase iilone, Xor is this early and luiusu- 

 nlly rapid progress which you have made in this 

 iiiude of iiiiprovemei'.t, owing merely, as some 

 might infer, to the superior profit which it prom- 

 ises in advance of its actual trial. For though 

 truly i! presents tliat claim I'or l>r('fereuce, and 

 though that claim has been made known hv pub- 

 lications, til, a! lea.>t, all tlie reailini; and most in- 

 lelligeul agriciiritirists of the I'nited Slates, .siill, 

 tin where else have the practical operiuiinis com- 

 pared with yours, and those of lower Virginia 

 generally, lu weitern N'ew York, where a;;ri- 

 cullnre in genera), is lielter conducted ihati with 

 \i'', the many valuable beds of marl remain tin- 

 touched. Rich shell-marl, of fresh-water, is 

 tbnnd in New Jersey, Vermont, and prolmhly in 

 most or all other of tlie Northern St.ites, and not 



one trial has been 



them, or if m.adc, h is 



yet linen published. Not the least interest on 

 the subject seems to h.ivs Iteen excited there. 

 Indeed, not loiij; ago, the editor of an A:;rienl- 

 tural paper — the Massachusetts I'loiiL'liuiaii — and 

 be a [iractii.'al firmer, proclaimed his doubts of 

 the utility or profit of li'iie as ii uiauure ; and 

 Dr. Dana, a disliiigili.shed and popuLir writer on 

 agricultural elieiiiislry, in his "Muck Manii.il." 

 treats with denial and contempt the doclrine of 

 the general defu-tency of lime in soils, and the 

 necessity for u greisier sujiplv. Inileed, he main- 

 tains that every soil, even the poorest and most 

 <iestitnte in iVlas.sachnsi.tls, has already an 

 abimdaiil natural supply of huie. Thus, even at 

 thi- hue day. your practice 'is far from having the 



general su()port either of the practical farmers, 

 or the scientific writers and agriculturists of the 

 North. Then as to practice, and in reirions more 

 like your own, and nearer home; in North Car- 

 olina, where the marl beds are rich and exten- 

 sive, but little use has been made of them; and 

 none at all in Georgia, where ihey have been 

 much more bounteously besIov^ed. In South 

 Carolina also, very little of thought and less la- 

 bor had heeu given to this source of wealth be- 

 fore the firesent year. But, it is just and proper 

 to add, that however late in heginniiii;, most of 

 the intelligent planters of South Carolina tire 

 now well awakened to the value of this iiu- 

 proveniPiii, and many have already commenced 

 m.irling-, and some of iheui are making uiiex- 

 am|)led progress. The planters of that State 

 will not long be behind any in Virginia in the 

 extent, at least, of their marling and liming 

 operations. 



The few among this company who are as old 

 residents of Prince George county as myself, 

 can as well remember onr agricultural and social 

 condition, before there existed either practice, 

 knowledge, or even hope of profitable or aliiding 

 inijirovemcut of onr hind, or otir a>:ricultural 

 condition, whether from marling or iimiug, or 

 I'lom any other source. .And the former condi- 

 tion of things, and the strong contrast to the 

 preseiit, can hardly be realized by those who 

 were then children, or unborn. Twenty-five 

 years ;uio, there was scarridy a proprietor in my 

 neif;hborhood, and deriving his income from his 

 cnhivation, who did not desire to sell his land ; 

 and who was not prevented only by the impos- 

 sibility of finding a purchaser, iinle.sjs at half of 

 the then very low estimated values and prices of 

 lands. All wished lo sell — none to buy. If a 

 stranger had been inclined to settle among u.^ he 

 might have chosen almost any I'lrui in Ihe coun- 

 ty, and would scarcely have failed to find the 

 owner glad to sell, and at a low (irice. And if so 

 strange .a fiiiicy luul possessi^l one or more per- 

 sons, as to wish to buy twenty contiguous farms, 

 and the wish and intenlion had been advertised, 

 so far from ihe market price being raised by so 

 sudden and large ii demand, llie previous prices 

 asked, would p'robably have been even reduced, 

 by the eager couipetitiou of iho-e desiring to be 

 among the lucky sellers and fearing to miss so 

 rare ti chance ; and all of w houi, so soon as thus 

 released from their previous tie and eticiim- 

 brance, would have gone their way, rejoii-ing, to 

 aid in filling up the great Western wilderness. 



Now mark the contrast since presented. lu 

 all of this my old neiyldiorhooil, juid, so liir as 

 I know, throughonl Ihe wliide coniiiy, not one 

 iiiilividnal, al\er beginning lo marl, h;is euiigra- 

 led, or desired to emigrate. Yet w ill. in the same 

 space of time, the ra^'e for eiiii-ralion has j.ass- 

 ed over other parts of Virginia like a pestilence, 

 leaving marks of desolalioii which will scarcely 

 be effaced by twenty years of subsequent indus- 

 try and piosjierity. The prices of lauds here 

 h.ivc lireally increased, ilioi!;;li less than their 

 true value. But I know not how lo estimate the 

 rate of increase, bec.ause sales are now even 

 more rare than formerly, thuu!.'!) for the opiio- 

 site reason. Then it w:is that nobody would buy. 

 Now nobody will sell. This 1 have cause to 

 know lo my .sorrow, so fiir as persomd feeling 

 and interest are concerned. For I have been 

 anxious frir some years to buy some farui in my 

 old neighborhood, anil near to the homes of my 

 older and settled children, and to pass the re- 

 m.-iinder uf my declining yi ars near where 1 

 was born, tuid have lived and labored lonsest. 

 And my anxious efTort lo buy li.is been in vain; 

 no proprietor being willing lo sell tiny farm 

 worth the buying as a residence. And iu con- 

 seipience of this disappointment, and despair of 

 doing better, 1 have receniiy bongiit a (iiriu so 

 remote, thai, willi all its great advantages, I shall 

 go to il Willi the reluctant fei lings of an exile. 



lint estimates of increased piodiii'tion, and ill- 

 creased values and prices of your marled laud, 

 even though the one or the ether may be tripled 

 or quadrupled, do not indicate all, or the most 

 impornuit lieneiits you have derived from niarl- 

 iiiif. There has been produced a still more val- 

 uable improvement in the people tlieinselves — 

 iu indiislry, general habits, demand for and ac- 

 quirenieiit of education, and iu all the results 

 which are sure to proceed from these causes. 

 I'p to llie lime so f>fteii referred to, twenty-five 



1 years ago, and still laier, the former large estal''*' 

 of this county, iu every soccessive seuei-alio"i 

 had been more and more reduced in size, as well 

 as all lands iu their rale of production. Almo.st 

 every man was growing poorer, or Ihe prospects 

 of his fimily becoming worse. The grade of 

 .society had been, and still coniiiiiied to be, de- 

 cidedly on the decline. And the proprietors 

 having no hope of the improvement of their 

 lands, or of being remunerated for ever so great 

 industry and devotion to their business, thought 

 it as well to bestow very liltlo. Accordingly, 

 like Ihe inhabilaiits of a cily ravaiied by the 

 plague, and from the like iiinlives, they ihoughl 

 more of |ire.sent enjoymenl, than of providing 

 for future wants ; and there [nevailed generally, 

 habits of idleness and iiinirovideuce, of pleasure- 

 seeking, and of neglect of business, with all 

 their necessary cousequeuces- Now all has been 

 changed." 



By THE KDITOR OF TltE TISITOR, 



The foregoing remark.s bear their own best 

 comment. Couuected with them the fiict is pre- 

 sensed that the labors of an agricultural editor to 

 the citizens of Virginia have been invaluable. 

 Iu llie middle slates of New Jersey, Peuilsylva- 

 iiia, iMtirjIand and lower Virgini.i ihe useofshell 

 marl and lime is working wonders by jnitting a 

 new face upon Ihe whole country. In every di- 

 reciion we see lime heaps laid out for manure; 

 and the article is cheapened by its more frei|ueiit 

 use. In quantities it is now delivered in many 

 places from *ix to eij;ht cents iu ihe bushel. 

 I'arlak'uig of the (]ualilies of lime are numerous 

 beds of shell marl found near and u|i<iu tlio 

 shores of creeks ami river.s. In some cases the 

 oyster beds collected by the aborigines in the 

 lapse of viiue have formed in banks many feet in 

 depth; and i'U whole regions the country is iiii 

 derlaid will) rich calcareous marl. This last 

 differs from the green sand marl which also un- 

 derlays much of ihe land nearer to the level of 

 the sen. Both kinds of marl, as well as the lime 

 iiiannfaclured from the stone, are found to be of 

 the highest value iu renovating worn out laiuls. 

 J'he eflecis of marl and lime, not always iir.iue- 

 iliate, in the sequel are alway.'* sure to be felt. 



iMr. RurtJii has discoiiiiiuted hh valuable 

 Farmei''s Resrislcr, w liicli I'or several years was 

 published moiuhly at the price of five dollars a 

 year — a price loo high to maintain a eoiiipelition 

 with the cheaper publicaiions of ihe present 

 day. The value of his talents and expevieneo 

 was so well un<lcrslond ihat the Legislature of 

 South Carolina at the expense of the Stale, ap- 

 pointed him to make ail Agricultural Survey of 

 the State wiih a handsome salary. His return to 

 his old neighborhood has afforded the o]qiorlii- 

 iiity of again bringing him before the public j 

 and we are glad to preseui him in the columns 

 of the Moiilhly Visitor as a benefaclor to his 

 Stale more valuable and deserving greater credit 

 than many hundreds of jioliticiaiis who have 

 neglected the imprnveinent of the soil in the 

 eager grasp for the honors and emoluments of 

 office. 



The use of shell marl and lime upon the 

 wheat and grain fields ensures the crop on the 

 richest manmed lands. Thus Mr. James Gowen 

 of IMoiint .Airy, near Philadelphia, raised iu 1843, 

 at the rate of 54 bushels of winter whe.it to the 

 acre on land which iu the previous season of 

 1843 was manured so high as lo yield 440 

 bushels of potalm s lo the aeie. 



Indian Corn. 



1. The soil intended for corn mast be dry ; all 

 experience jn-oves ihat moist soils are unfit for 

 the culture of this grain. 



2. It should be made rich and deep. Corn 

 will bear heavier manuring than any oiher culli- 

 vated plant; and the soil should be deep, to per- 

 mit Ihe roots to detcem! licyond all danger of 

 drought. 



3. Preparation of the seed is useful; but no 

 seed over-soaked or swelled for planting or sow- 

 ing should be allowed to become dry, as that in- 

 jures its vitality. 



4. The use of top dressing, such as iiiixlures 

 of ashe.s, lime, jdaster, i.tc.,is established beyond 

 a doubt. Perhaps there are few ways in which 

 labor is belter expended, than in placing such 

 composts about corn. 



5. The .iselessncss of lulling corn is deinoii- 



