288 



Peninsula of Delaioare. 



Vol. V. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Peninsula of Delaware. 



Mr. Editor, — The communication signed 

 ' Ernest' in the last number of the Cabinet, 

 calling attention to the lands of the Penin- 

 sula of Delaware and Maryland, as offering 

 inducements to such as are desirous of ob- 

 taining land for themselves at a cheap rate, 

 requires some notice from the farmers of this 

 peninsula. For one, I am firmly of the opi- 

 nion that such investments would be found to 

 be far more profitable and pleasant than four 

 fifths of the investments made in western 

 lands — where the cost in health and money, 

 in clearing and rendering fit for tillage the 

 wild lands of the west, will be found to ex- 

 ceed the cost of improving the worn-out 

 lands of this peninsula, while the profits of 

 the latter would be more immediate and 

 equally as great. I shall confine myself 

 more particularly to the lands lying within 

 the limits of the State of Delaware. Your 

 correspondent ' Ernest,' in viewing our lands, 

 has taken a flying trip, and, as regards Dela- 

 ware, has confined himself to the shores of 

 Christiana Creek and the vicinity of Wil- 

 mington ; but I hope those intending to fol- 

 low his advice and see for themselves, will 

 not be contented until they look farther into 

 the merits of the soil of Delaware. Let him, 

 at least, see the whole of New Castle Coun- 

 ty, and inform himself of the price of lands, 

 of the facilities for market, of the cheapness 

 of lime, of the kindness of the soil, and of 

 the liberal and speedy and certain profits 

 that attend a judicious culture, and, my word 

 for it, he will be willing to purchase imme- 

 diately, provided he can induce any one to 

 sell, which, indeed, cannot always be done, 

 as it is becoming more difficult every year 

 for strangers to gain a foothold in New Cas- 

 tle County : the farmers here are convinced 

 of their advantages, and time will show that 

 our soil will bear comparison, acre for acre, 

 with any of the celebrated Chester County 

 land. That this is not mere brag, we might 

 instance many farms which, but a few years 

 back, sold for 10 and 15 dollars per acre — 

 that now produce 50, GO, and, in some in- 

 stances, 100 bushels of corn per acre, and 

 25 and 30 bushels of wheat, and are every 

 year becoming more valuable. Who can 

 ride through this County and view the fertile 

 fields in every portion of it, from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Newark, Christiana, the Buck, 

 St. Georges, Delaware City, and on to the 

 emiling and thriving villages of Cantwell's 

 Bridge and Middletown, without being con- 

 vinced that it is destined, at no very distant 

 period, to become the El Dorado of the Mid- 

 dle States, for farmers 1 We venture nothing 

 in the assertion, that in point of health it 



will compare with the most favoured sections 

 of country ; the bilious fever is no more fre- 

 quent and not so malignant as in the purlieua 

 of the city of Philadelphia, however true it 

 might have been in times that are past. A 

 healthier people are nowhere now to be 

 found, and they bear the evidence of it in 

 their ruddy countenances and robust consti- 

 tutions. 



Lands termed " worn out" are becoming 

 scarcer every year, and of course more diffi- 

 cult to obtain. Many enterprising farmers 

 from Pennsylvania and New Jersey have 

 purchased lands and settled among us, and 

 are fast gathering golden returns from a 

 grateful and hitherto impoverished soil. 



Stone-lime can be obtained in any part of 

 New Castle County, at a cost not exceeding 

 18 cents per bushel, and but few farms can 

 be found that would have more than 6 or 7 

 miles to haul it or their produce: plaster 

 costs from 28 to 35 cents per bushel; the 

 hire of labour is cheaper than in Pennsyl- 

 vania, and any part of the County is within 

 a few hours' ride, by steamboat or railroad, to 

 Philadelphia. The inconvenience of mills, 

 that your correspondent mentions, is more in 

 fancy than otherwise, I apprehend. A steam 

 mill is already erected at St. Georges, upon 

 the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, 3 or 4 

 miles from Delaware City by the canal. 

 Within 3 or 4 miles of my dwelling there 

 are six mills in as many different directions 

 — grist mills, saw mills, fulling mills, &c. 

 We have good millers, good preachers, good 

 doctors, and good lawyers, though not many 

 of the latter profession, and no use for more 

 than one half of them. 



What we have said of New Castle County 

 will, in a great measure, apply to Kent also: 

 their good lands are not yet, perhaps, in so 

 high a state of cultivation, and their worn 

 out lands are more abundant and cheaper; 

 but the greater part of the soil is as good, 

 naturally, and as susceptible of improve- 

 ment. In conclusion, I would say to those 

 who are looking for lands for a permanent 

 settlement, do not regard this as mere pane- 

 gyric, but " come and see," and test the truth, 

 of the above for yourselves. We can give 

 you as good beef and vegetables, fat mutton, 

 and fine fruit, as you can find anywhere. 

 Your's, &.C. J. S. N. 



" I am fully convinced that shallow plough- 

 ing, and putting a small quantity of manure 

 into the hole, will not do. To insure large 

 crops, we must let down the plough, and 

 fetch up the subsoil to be exposed to the sun 

 and air, fill the land with good manure, and 

 give the crops thorough tending at the proper 

 season." 



