THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



nierly precariou? on such land, booomos, by drain- 

 ai|e, ample and pio.iuciive in qiianiiiy, and t!ie 

 quality ol' ilic iii'nin is improved al^o. Ifiand that 

 is in lillaire remains wet, every manure thai is ap- 

 plied to it loses its cHect to a certain extoni, and 

 iails to produce that abundant crop which a loss 

 quantity would yield, i( such land were laid dry. 



In wet land, seasons of tillage are lost, the labor 

 is greater and the return les-p. The produce is 

 always scanty and inferior in quality; but when 

 land is properly drained, every exertion of good 

 husbamiry IS attended with success, and the far- 

 mer thrives where his predecessor was ruined. 

 By drainage alone, it is wonderful to see the 

 verdure that soon takes place ; a bog of ilie worst 

 kind after being thorouirhiy laid dry (without any 

 other melioration whaiever) will spontaneously 

 produce so many new and fine grasse?, the seeds 

 and roots of wliich hitherto laid dormant, owing 

 to tlie superfluous moisture, but now spring forth 

 and afterwards continue to flourish and increase. 

 The rushes that formerly occupied tfie whole sur- 

 face, soon decline, and better grasses rise in abun- 

 dance. 



In addiiion to these many beneficial ed'ecfs, the 

 advantage of draining the swamp lands that lay 

 scattered over liie whole of the eastern portion of 

 the state, from the RoanoUe river to the Wack- 

 amavv, and from the liills of the rivers to the 

 seaboard, are of great importance in other re- 

 spects. 



No scheme has been or can be devised, tliat 

 will so effectually slay the tide of emigration 

 which flows hke a miizhty torrent from this portion 

 of the state. The poor man who gains a scanty 

 Bubsisience by the " roundshave and broadaxe," 

 who hovers around the home of his nativity, until 

 he exhausts the last pine tree, and is finally driven 

 off penniless to the tar west to seek a home 

 among strangers, will liere find an asylum ; all 

 his dreams otvvealih and plenty can be realized 

 in his own beloved state. A lijw acres of the 

 land which from his childhood he has looked upon 

 as a wilderness, a fit abode only lor fijrocious wild 

 beasts and disgusting reptiles, now invite his labor 

 and will reward his industry. 



The health and the morals of the people will 

 be improved, the coflers of the stale filled, the 

 community will be benefited by a greater supply 

 of useful comn)od;ties — in short, the benefits that 

 will result Irotn a general and complete system of 

 drainage, 10 the agricultural and general improve- 

 ment ol" the stale, are so many that the lew in- 

 stances (if any there be) in which they are neither 

 Been nor acknowledged, can only proceed from 

 prejudice. 



I herewith present a map of the state lands in 

 Carteret county, which exceed in quantity and 

 are equal in quality to the tract we are operating 

 upon, and can be drained at a less price than per- 

 haps any other lands of the same extent in the 

 slate. 



The tract lying between Core Sound and Neuse 

 River at their junction contains 65,000 acres ; its 

 elevation is 12 leet above Long and Nelson IJays, 

 and other small streams, into which it can be 

 readily drained. This tract is mostly an open 

 prairie ; the soil a deep vegetable mould. There 

 are two other tracts which were surveyed ; one 

 containing 12,000 acres, situated in the Newport 

 Pocoson, between Newport River and the Clubfoot 



and Harlow Canal. The other 16,000 acres in 

 extent, lays north of Lake Ellis, ai the head wa- 

 ters of Hunter's Creek and Newport iviver. Both 

 of these tracts are also of superior quality, and are 

 susceptible ol' being drained at an expense that 

 would am[jly repay the state. 



But the improvement that offers more imme- 

 diate lienefits and direct returns than any other 

 is the drainage of Lake Mailamuskeel ; and if 

 the stale's title to the flats can be established, it 

 should, in my opinion, afier the completion of the 

 work in which we are engaged, be the first to 

 command the attention of the Board. 



I am gentlemen, very respectfully, your obedi- 

 ent servant. 



Walter Gwynn, Civil Engineer. 



Raleigh, IGth Nov. 1840. 



AN IMPROVEIMKNT l.\ FATXEKISG H008. 



Fxom tlie Soutliern Cabinet. 



Maury County, (Tenn.,) lMarch23. 



3Ir. Clayton:— It is maniliest to every person 

 that there is a great lack of economy in the waste- 

 ful manner weconunordy leed our stock in Ten- 

 nessee, i am satisfied that no one is more guilty 

 in this respect than I am myself. I believe, wiih 

 a little trouttle and trifling expense, we might save 

 full one half the provisions we feed to our stock 

 every winter. In these hard times that would 

 help very much to get us out of our embarrass- 

 ments. 



So fully was I convinced of this that I deter- 

 mined the past winter to try to make an improve- 

 ment in feeding tny fattening hogs, JMy praclic« 

 heretofore was Hke my neighbois' generally, and I 

 believe almost every person in Tennessee iattena 

 his hogs in the same way. I usually put my 

 hogs up in a small lot with water in it, and throw 

 them as much raw corn in the ear as they will eat. 

 This with a little salt now and then, is all they 

 get, and in the course of six weeks or two months 

 ihey are regarded as in good pork order, and ready 

 for the kniie. The last fiill my hogs were put 

 up in the usual way in September. The number 

 I do not now recollect. Bui I observed particu- 

 larly the amount of corn they consurned each day. 

 They were led by throwing the corn to them raw- 

 in the ear. The corn was carried in a large cot- 

 ton basket, which 1 suppo-ed would hold about 

 two bushels. This nine times full was given them 

 every day. It was about as much as they would 

 eat. I had previously engaged Col. D. Looney 

 to have some large kettles cast at his furnace in 

 Wayne, of the size and dimensions that would 

 accomplish the objects I had in view. My design 

 was to boil all the corn I gave my hogs, and by 

 having the kettle of suitable dimensions, to use it 

 to scald them in when killed instead of a trough 

 or hogshead. The kellles were not ready until I 

 had fed my hogs some time. I at length got one, 

 set it in a very simple furnace, which did not take 

 thirty minutes to construe; and from that time until 

 my hogs were killed they were led ihree times a 

 day on corn well boiled. The corn was taken to the 

 kettle in the same basket and put in it uniil it was 

 full, the kettle then filled with water and a fire 

 kindled under it. This was sufficient. If at nighl, 

 it would be well cooked by morning ; and if in the 

 morning, it would be ready by the middle of tha 



