THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



215 



lime has been applied, the benefite reeuliing from 

 its application Iiave been very decided. Tlie ap- 

 plication ol calcareous manures has hitherto been 

 very limited. The exertions now making lo supply 

 this deficiency, will be noticed in a subsequent 

 communicaiion. , The average crops lor the last 

 10 years have been 5000 bushels of wheat, and 

 10,000 bushels ol'corn. Six acres are also culiival- 

 ed in cotton, not as a saleable article of produce, 

 but 10 supply the necessary material lor ilie cloth- 

 ing of the negroes, and to lurnish employment 

 to a number ol old infirm women who are unable 

 Jbr field labor. In addition to the present arable 

 portion of the estate, there are upwards o( 300 

 acres cleared, and wliicii has lormerly also been 

 under cultivation, and is now enclosed and used 

 as a park, or summer range lor caille and sheep, 

 a portion of it is also included in the hog pasture. 

 The general texture and character of tliis soil is 

 totally different from that of the now arable land. 

 Neutral soil is herfe a scanty exception, the acid 

 being the prevailing soil. A considerable portion 

 of the woodlands bordering on the river have 

 lormerly been under culture, and are now chiefly 

 filled with a heavy growth of pines, or where free 

 from Ibrest growth, broom straw is abundant; 

 ihat large portion of the estate yet under its na- 

 tural ibrest, is heavily covered with much and 

 valuable timber, the surface is generally level, 

 though broken into occasionally deeper ravines 

 than on the cleared lands. On the borders of the 

 Tomahund creek, which Ibrms one of the bound- 

 aries of the estate, and yet in its primitive Ibrest 

 growth, the occasional growth of locust would 

 indicate the presence of neutral soil. The larger 

 proportion of the woodland soil I believe to be ol 

 an acid character. There is very little swamp or 

 tide marsh on the estate. On the river boundary 

 there are probably not more than 30 acres in all, 

 and that divided into several and small portions, 

 and might probably be easily reclaimed into per- 

 manent meadows. The chief body of marsh is on 

 the Tomahund creek; and the whole there pro- 

 bably does not exceed 100 or 150 acres. 



The number of slaves employed in agricultural 

 labor may be stated in round numbers as 90, 

 nearly equally divided as regards the sexes. To 

 this number is to be added 7 carpenters, 2 black- 

 smiths 2 sawyers, 1 weaver, 1 sick nurse, and 9 

 old and infirm men and women employed chiefly 

 in spinning, winding, knitting, making baskets 

 horse collars, &c. The gardeners, fishers and house 

 servants are not here included. The laboring 

 force may justly be considered effective, quiet and 

 well conducted. The police regulations amoncst 

 them are strict,yet salutary and encouraging. They 

 probably exhibit, altogether, more ha[)piness and 

 contentment than is olien to be met with amongst 

 so many slaves. In addition to existing regula- 

 tions prohibiting their intercourse with other* ne- 

 groes, the isolated situation of the estate is highly 

 fav'orable to maintaining this necessary restriction, 

 and greatly promstes the orderly and circumspect 

 conduct so gratifying amongst them ; their ge- 

 neral hours of labor are from sunrise to sunset, 

 with nccessajy intervals for meals. They are 

 comfortably lodged and clothed, and are well fed. 

 An ample allowance of meal, and one half pound 

 of bacon (or its equivalent in beef or fish occasion- 

 ally) is daily cooked for each hand together with 

 a plentiful supply of seasonable vegetables ; a 



hospital is kept for the accommodation ol the eick, 

 where there is a careful nur^e lo attend to them 

 and every necessary attention paid lo iheir comlbri. 



The number ol horses and mules employed in 

 farnnng purposes are 38. These are good and 

 ellicieni animals. To these are to be add«d 6 youn"- 

 animals ol this description — 76 oxen are a so kept 

 Ibr farm purposes, many of these are aged, and 

 with a few exceptions their general description 

 is inferior. The other stock on the larm consists of 

 30 cows, 1 bull, 37 young cattle, and 109 sheep, 

 exclusive of lambs of this year. The latter stock 

 aie only kept lor the purposes of supplying wool 

 for negro tlotlMiig and mutton lor family use. A 

 lew lambs are however annually sold. The 

 general character of both cattle and sheep is 

 decidedly inlerior. Until recently little attention 

 has been paid to the proper ages when they were 

 permitted to breed, or to guard agaiiisi their 

 breeding ifi and in, the inevitable consequences ol' 

 which have been the deierioration of stock origi- 

 nally perhaps not remarkable Ibr good qualities. 

 JMr. Boiling is now judiciously adopting measures 

 lor the speedy impiovemeni ol every species of 

 stock, which it is hoped will shortly raise them ' 

 lo greater perfection and value. 



On an estate so extensive, the raising of an. 

 adequate ■ supply of pork for the heavy do- 

 mestic consumption is an important item, and. 

 probably in no other department of the farm 

 manaorement have the results been less satisfiacio- 

 ry. The breed is the common Virginia hog, and. 

 the present stock may be stated at 200 hogs.. 

 Their description is inlerior, the same causes ope- 

 rating to diminish the value of cattle and sheep, 

 as stated above, have been operating on the stock 

 of hogs to an extent even more injurious. Add to 

 this the heavy losses yearly incurred by hogs 

 getting esiray and becoming wild. Not less 

 Uian 50 hogs have been thus lost last season. 

 And what greaily aggravates the nature of such 

 losses, is the fact, that they are often turned loose 

 from their enclosed range, into an extensive body 

 of unenclosed woodlands, by the wanton negli- 

 gence ol individuals hunting within the enclosures 

 pulling and leaving the fences down. Measures 

 are also being adopted to improve 'he character 

 ofthis valuable stock, and which will subsequently 

 be more particularly advened to. 



On each of the divisions of 'he estate, the 

 buildings for farm purposes are ample, ihouirh 

 neither arranged nor located so well as they 

 might have been. The buildings, with the excep- 

 tion of those on the Teddingion division, are old. 

 An entire remodeling, adapted to the intended 

 improvements on the estate, is now being com- 

 menced, and in another communication will be 

 .Tiore particularly described. The family mansion 

 house is beautilully located on a gentle eminence 

 about seventy-five yards from the river, having a 

 eloping lawn down to high-water mark, now in 

 process of being enlarged. The garden and 

 grounds around The house are tastefully laid out, 

 and filled with many ornamental shrubs, and is 

 now being further beautified by the planting out of 

 numbers of the most ornamental of native forest 

 trees, which is, in my opinion, in decidedfy better 

 taste than by crowding together numbers of ex- 

 pensive and unacclimated exotics. An extensive 

 and thrifty young apple orchard is also well locat- 

 ed in the near vicinity of the house, 



