56 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



of cotton be there produced successfiilly. But the 

 accounts we have in tlie fbreiToin<f and other arti- 

 cles of the peculiar value of salt raud and salt 

 grass, as manure lor cotton, indicate plainly that 

 6alt itself is necessary lor ilic perfection of cotton, 

 and that it is owing to the salt already in the soil 

 of the sea-islands, and the adjacent low coast, 

 that to such narrow limits the production of that 

 valuable variety of cotton has hereloloie been 

 confined." 



In what manner spec//ic majiMres act upon the 

 plants for which they are either very important or 

 essential, has not been satisfactorily explained in 

 any case. The facts, however, are not the less 

 certain, in the assertained cases ; and there may 

 be many other as important cases, which have 

 not yet been observed. Thus carbanate of lime, 

 or some equally serviceable form of combination ol 

 lime, and in considerable quantity in the soil, .is 

 essential to the growth of clover. Gypsum (suL 

 phate of lime) is another m/7or<a?i< specific manure 

 (or clover, but not as indispensable to its existence 

 as other forms of lime. T!ie acid of earth, which 

 is a poison to valuable crops, is indispensable food, 

 or a specific manure, for sorrel, poverty grass, and 

 some kinds of pine trees — none of which can live 

 after this acid has been effectually neutralized by 

 manuring with lime. If then, though in a less 

 essential degree, salt is a specific manure for cot- 

 Ion, it may well be that a very small quantity may 

 produce important improvements to that growth, 

 though no other cultivated crop might receive any 

 perceptible benefit from a like application. 



Ed. F. H. 



THE FARMS AND FARMING OF THE RICH 

 LEXINGTON DISTRICT IN KENTUCKY. 



The following sketch, by a New Englander, 

 hasty and imperfect as it must necessarily be, 

 presents a picture of this celebrated body of land, 

 more interesting, and perhaps more truly reporting 

 the general appearance, than we have seen be- 

 fore. The cause is, simply, that it was drawn 

 by a stranger to the region, and who of course de- 

 scribed what was to a stranger most striking and 

 novel. An old resident of this same district, per- 

 fectly well informed in regard to it, and withal a 

 very capable reporter, would probably have made 

 a less interesting and vivid description, because 

 he would have passed over very slightly, and per- 

 haps without proper description, if not without 

 notice, matters which he would suppose too well 

 known to need mentioning, simply because they 

 were BO well known to the reporter, and, as he 

 v.'ould infer, to every body else. 'J'hus it is, that 

 if the tendency to this laull is not kept continually 



in view by an agricultural reporter, and carefully 

 guarded against, the very circumstance of inti- 

 mate knowledge of the subject will cause his des- 

 cription to be meager, uninteresting, and therefore 

 of liitle worth. On the other hand, a stranger 

 would be liable to the more serious errors growing 

 out of ignorance and misinformation. 



We have never seen this highly favored re- 

 gion, but know that none belter deserves a full 

 descriptive and agricultural report. If our valued 

 correspondent, Th. B. Stevenson esq. of Frank- 

 fort, would undertake to furnish such a report for 

 publication in the Farmers' Register, he would 

 add much to the obligations which this work and 

 its readers alread3^ are under to his pen. And 

 whether he might make the report as full as de- 

 sirable, or merely a general and superficial sketch, 

 still, if he will write it as to readers totally unin- 

 formed on the subject, he will be sure to make an 

 excellent and valuable article. No agricultural 

 reading is more generally interesting or improv- 

 ing, than reports of particular liirms, or farming 

 districts. Very many of our readers, by their ac- 

 quaintance with some such subjects, could easily 

 prepare such reports, and thereby render most 

 acceptable service to the Farmers' Register, and 

 through it, to the agricultural public. Have we not 

 some readers, and friends and supporters of our 

 work, who will render this desirable and important 

 service? — Ed. F. R. 



From the Boston Cultivator. 



If geography and history had not placed the 

 Eden of the primitive world in eastern climes, 

 you would have sworn this must have been its 

 site. Nature has been lavish here of her bounties 

 in soil, vegetation and climate. For 50 miles 

 around, the land is of the richest alluvial earth, 

 from 5 to 10 feet in depth, resting upon a stratum 

 of limestone. Its surface, at a distance, appears 

 like a vast plain; but entering it, the ground is 

 found rolling like the long swelling undulations of 

 the ocean. The country, every acre of which ia 

 as rich as your garden epot, — is divided into ex- 

 tensive plantations of 500 to 2000 acres, each 

 with its larm-house, and its negro cabins cluster- 

 ing around it, placed in the centre, remote from 

 the highway, surrounded by a grove, broad ave- 

 nues lined with trees leading to it. 



Col. Clay, of Fayette county, has an estate 

 containing upwards of 6000 acres, most of which 

 is devoted to pasturage, and he sold in 1S39, 1 was 

 informed, upwards of ^30,000 worth of cattle 

 upon the hoof, a part of which were driven to the 

 New York and Brighton markets. 



Many districts in this rich grazing country pre- 

 sent the anomalous condition of a country increas- 

 ing rapidly in wealth, and advancing in improve- 

 ments, while decreasing in population. The rea- 

 son of this singular state of affairs is, that the 

 small farmers are selling their circumscribed farms 

 to the wealthy graziers, who are monopolizing 

 the. lands in theif vicinity. This was peculiarly 

 the course of events in 1836 to 1838, while beef 



