120 



Cherokee Agriculture. 



Vol. X. 



the injury done to tlie pasture, and the dan- 

 ger of slinking in the cows, and young heif- 

 ers with calf, from the offensive effluvia of 

 the droppings of hogs. 



I must come to a conclusion ; time will 

 not permit me to go more into detail ; the 

 reports referred to in the "Farmers' Cabi- 

 net," will make up for many of the defici- 

 encies in this paper; and above all, I rely 

 on your own good sense in adopting and car- 

 rying out the best practice under existing 

 circumstances. 



I rejoice to find that you, and many other 

 intelligent men, are putting your hands to 

 the plough — then by every proud and patri- 

 otic consideration, do not look back. Think 

 of what Virginia was, and what she now is, 

 and what should be her purpose. Is there a 

 son of the old Dominion who can be so re- 

 creant as to abandon her soil — the land of 

 his spirited and hospitable ancestors'? No! — 

 perish the thought ! Roll up your sleeves, 

 then — devote yourselves to the noble and 

 ennobling pursuit of agriculture — resusci- 

 tate your lands ! Be not ashamed to dig, 

 and you will never have to beg or borrow. 

 Let your lands no longer reproach you for 

 neglecting them. Then will health, plenty 

 and prosperity shine upon you, and old Vir 

 ginia be again, as she ever was, the boast of 

 hospitality and the flower of chivalry. 



James Gowen. 



Gen. Wm. H. Richardson. 



Cherokee Agriculture. 



We have occasionally adverted to the agricultural 

 improvements of the Indians, particularly those of the 

 Cherokees. In a late number of the Cherokee Advocate 

 we find the following interesting statement.— Ed. 



Saturday last a highly respectable num- 

 ber of citizens met together at this place, in 

 compliance with the invitation extended 

 through the columns of this paper, for the 

 purpose of taking into consideration the pro- 

 priety of forming a Society for the promo- 

 tion of the agricultural interests of the Chero- 

 kees. The meeting convened in the Court 

 House, and was organized by appointing — 



W. S, Coodey, President; Rev. S. Fore- 

 man, W. S. Adair, John G. Ross, Vice-pre- 

 sidents, and Wm. P. Ross, Secretary. 



After a few remarks from the President, 

 suitable to the occasion, on motion of Mr. 

 Thomas F. Taylor, the officers of the meet- 

 ing appointed Mrs. Rachel Orr, Mrs. Eliza 

 Ross, and Mrs. Sarah Foreman, the commit- 

 tee to award the premiums offered by our 

 agent. Governor Butler. 



The meeting was then briefly addressed 

 by the Rev. S. Foreman, who drew a con- 



trast between the state of agriculture as it 

 is now found among the Cherokees, and 

 what it was comparatively, a few years ago, 

 when they planted their little crops of corn, 

 beans, &c., by using the shoulder-blade of 

 the deer, instead of the plough and hoe; and 

 enumerated some of the advantages that 

 would accrue to the people from the form- 

 ation of an Agricultural Society, in the cul- 

 tivation of the soil, in the management of 

 their household affairs, in the rearing of 

 stock and in the dissemination of useful in- 

 formation on a variety of subjects intimately 

 associated with their present condition. 



The committee on the premiums then re- 

 ported that they had unanimously awarded 

 to Mrs. Nancy Adair, of Flint District, the 

 silver cup, worth ten dollars, for the best 

 specimen of home-made cloth, the piece 

 containing not less than ten yards. 



To Mrs. Jane Dougherty, of Flint Dis- 

 trict, a silver cup, worth five dollars, for the 

 best coverlet. 



To Mrs. Jinny Wolf, of Tahlequah Dis- 

 trict, a silver cup, worth five dollars, for a 

 beaded belt. 



To Miss Catharine Gunter, of Tahlequah 

 District, a cup worth two dollars, for the 

 best cradle coverlet. 



And to Mrs. Martha Daniel, a cup worth 

 three dollars, for a pair of socks. 



On this committee Messrs. W. S. Adair, 

 Stephen Foreman, Wm. P. Ross, Thomas 

 F. Taylor, Wm. S. Coodey, and Moses 

 Daniel, were appointed ; when the meeting 

 adjourned to meet at this place on Saturday, 

 the 11th day of October, next. 



The meeting, as before stated, was alike 

 respectable in number and character, and 

 manifested a disposition on the part of at 

 least a portion of our citizens, which under 

 proper directions, must exercise a beneficial 

 influence upon their social and industrial in- 

 terests. VVe need scarcely say, that we 

 sincerely hope that this disposition will be 

 encourag'ed, and that it may have a tend- 

 ency to harmonize our people, to unite them 

 more closely as members of one family, and 

 to improve their general condition. 



A committee was appointed for a more 

 complete organization of the National So- 

 ciety. 



Tobacco in Massachusetts. — The Spring- 

 field Republican says, the cultivation of the 

 tobacco plant has been very largely entered 

 into in that town and vicinity, within a year 

 or two. One gentleman has twenty-six acres 

 of it this season. When successfully cured 

 it proves a very profitable crop, but its culti- 

 vation requires much care, and it exhausts 

 the soil in a large degree. 



