FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 1 



in its cultivation, an asjent Avho has no interest in 

 either, except tiiiU which arises from his cliaracter 

 and standinc? in his occupation. And a!thou<rh 

 this, in many instances, operates as a powerlu! sti- 

 mulus; and" when accompanied with sound iiioral^ 

 principle, is su!]i.'.ient for the accomplishment, of 

 our ohjccts, both as to immediate profit and itn- 

 provementofsoil, which is ultimate. Yet, in very 

 many cases, these are wahting; and great loss, 

 perhaps in the end ruin, is the inevitable conse- 

 quence. Why, then, cannot those, who have but 

 one liu-m,atid\v!io are youn<r, "lake hold,'''' and be 

 jarmers indeed ? A mong their laborers, they may 

 find here and there, some who are laithfa!, and 

 have sufficient imeilliience to follow the directions 

 of the master; and wlien they possess these quali- 

 fications, will do so with an eye singlv to the 

 wishes and interest of the master. Besides the 

 principal, he can have subordinate agents, parti- 

 cularly at the head of his ploughmen. Tiie mas- 

 ter can, by this mode, give more encouragement to 

 his slaves. He can undeistand their characters — 

 can reward and punish with more iiulgraent. In a 

 word, he can Iticl more responsibility, and suffer 

 less pain under that responsibility, than when he 

 must depend upon another. For if any thing dis- 

 agreeable occurs between the overseer and the 

 slave, he cannot positively know the merits of the 

 question ; and if he leans too much to the tale of 

 the slave, he overthrov.-s the authority of the over- 

 seer. On the contrary, if he turns a deaf ear to 

 the complaints ot the slave, he incurs the risk of 

 imnecessary severity. Let me not be understood 

 to convey the idea, th.at this class of men can be 

 dispensed with : they must always be in demand. 

 There are too many cases in which they cannot 

 be dispensed with ; and in a slave-holding coun- 

 try, there is no more uselul and necessary cliiss of 

 men. Yet, many salutary consequences will flow 

 I'rom the innncdinle a<rency of the owner of the 

 soil. He will set an example of more vigilance in 

 these intermediate aL'"en!s. He will put out of em- 

 ployment those who do not, like him, consult the 

 ultimate interest of the farm, as well as the im- 

 mediate profits thereof, in which he is more inti- 

 mately concerned. He will reason upon causes 

 and eilects, upon his ovv'n operations and experi- 

 ments, which is not to be looked for from those who 

 are tied down to the experience of those who have 

 gone before them. Consequently, more reliance is 

 to be placed u|!on the results of his own observa- 

 tion, accompanied by the reasoning of his own 

 mind, than iifion facts detailed by others, who may, 

 for want of this reasoning, lead him into erroneous 

 conclusions fi'om their liicts. He will ofen find 

 occasions during the, year, when he can devote 

 more attention to the interest of the iin-m, than can 

 be expected from one wiiose immedinte interest 

 does not promi)thiiu to watch these little intervals 

 of time, of vviiat might be called leisure; though 

 in Irnth, this leisin-e iniifht be employed inconsult- 

 iiii;' the benefit of the crop. In short, Mr. Editor, 

 tln're is notliinu', but the ownership of the soil, 

 vvbich can inspire that lively concern in its improve- 

 ment, wliirh will enable the mauuger of it to take 

 adviuilao-e of nil circumstances and occasions to 

 consult its future proihictiveness, wlien by doing 

 so there is some litile conflict with immedinte pro"^ 

 fit, thouurh not snfTirienl to induce the jndiciou'; far- 

 mer to neglect it. And this r(>asoning would ap- 

 ply as well to the present owner, as the man who 



is placed between the immediate and ultimate pro- 

 fit of the land and labor, if their situations were re- 

 versed. 



The communication above, was written more 

 than twelve months ago. I declined to send it, 

 because there is too much of egotism in it. Hav- 

 ing come across it to-day, in turninir over my pa- 

 pers, and shown it to a friend who is with me, he 

 has prevailed upon me to send it to you. If you 

 think it worlhy of a place in your valuable collec- 

 tion, publish it. I must be allowed, however, to 

 dejiart from that, which, in most cases, seems to 

 be adopted by your correspondents, of signing my 

 own proper name to it. W you decline to insert 

 it in your journal, be assured you will give no of- 

 fence to one who is less of a farmer than 



A PLANTER. 



ON PREPARING ANT> MANAGING TOBACCO 

 PLANT BEDS — AND SOIME REMARKS ON THE 

 TOBACCO CROP. 



To the Editor of the Farnicis' Kogister. 



It is not my purpose to inquire into the conse- 

 quences which will flow from the extensive culti- 

 vation of tobacco in the state of Virginia. I pre- 

 sinne, however,itmust be manifest to all reflecting 

 men, that it will necessarily have a very injurious 

 effect upon the system of firming, which a iow 

 years ago was carried on witli so much spirit, and 

 gave such ilxir indications of resuscitation to our 

 exhausted country. The quantity of forest la.'Kl, 

 so much reduced already as to drive many to tlie 

 west, will be still farther diminished, by tlie efforts 

 to produce the kind of tobacco for vvhicli the man- 

 ufiicturers give such encouraging prices, as well 

 as by the amount of wood used in burning jilaiit 

 land, and curing tobacco made on the old ground. 

 My present oliject will be to point out the means 

 of saving fuel in burnino- plant land; and as ex- 

 perience is tlie best guide, I may jjerbaps succeed 

 better in elucidating the subject, b}' giving a histo- 

 ry of my practice. In the spring of 1820, before 

 the grass went to seed, I cut down a piece of sap- 

 ling land at the head of a bottom, raked ofl' the 

 leaves, made a fence around it with the poles that 

 were cut fiom it, and penned my cattle on it tilf 

 it was very rich. (It was high up the bottom, 

 and very indillerent plant land before I cow-pen- 

 ned it.) The next winter, when I designed to 

 burn it, it continued so wet that I was compelled 

 to give it up, notwithstanding I had cut a ditch 

 around it. I covered h;df of it (thirty-five yards 

 by seventeen) with brush (aficr laying skids 

 about lour feet apart) about two or three feet deep, 

 and lai<l the poles of which the fence was made, 

 all over it, intending to burn it the next winter. 

 But it did not occur to me, that after the winter set 

 in. it would never dry any more until the summer. 

 So I missed the chance again. I added a little 

 brush and wood in those sj;ots where it appeared 

 to lie wanting. The next fall, about the latter end 

 of October or first of November, I put fire into it, 

 when, by the dampness of every tiling around, it 

 was sale to do so. Tlie heat operating at once all 

 over the patch, was intense — so as to drive every 

 body away to the distance of at least fifty yards. 

 I sup.pose it would be safe to say, that not more 

 than a third of the fiiel was used, which is em- 

 ployed in the customary way of making a log fire, 



