102 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



No.2 



man, what labor saving machines are to the me- 

 chanic; they are in fact engines by which the 

 greatest possible return may be obtained by the 

 least expenditure of labor. No part of the sea- 

 board of the United States, with the exception of 

 small and isolated districts, present soils of this 

 character. It is only after passing the first range 

 of mountains that a limestone formation is met 

 with. This, is or was, proverbial for its fertility, 

 of which the Fishkiil, Swelara, and Shenandoah 

 valleys,are well known instances. The same for- 

 mation can be traced to the valley of the Scho- 

 harie, in New York, and it is recorded by tradi- 

 tion to have had even a higher character than any 

 of the others; its glory has however, departed, 

 and the Genesee, Which is a similar formation, 

 now holds the rank in public estimation, the Scho- 

 harie once possessed. Both the valley of the 

 Schoharie, and the vicinity of Lancaster, Pa., 

 were occupied by German settlers; the former 

 Palatines, the latter of more northern birth. The 

 former were ignorant of the use of lime, the latter 

 brought it whh them, and being fortunately no 

 chenTists, saw no impropriety in applying it in 

 email quantities, and at intervals, to a soil origi- 

 nally calcareous. The difference of the results, 

 is an interesting illustration of the value of this 

 manure. In the valley of the Schoharie, land 

 tilled with equal industry and economy, will not 

 command a fourth of the price of that of the vi- 

 cinity of Lancaster. 



The experiments of Mr. RufFin, were made, as 

 we have stated, upon the soils of lower Virginia. 

 He introduces his description of them in the fol- 

 lowing striking manner. 



' "During several days of our journey, no spot was 

 seen that was not covered with luxuriant growtli of 

 large and beautiful forest trees, except where they had 

 been destroyed by the natives for the purpose of culti- 

 vation. The least fertile of their pasture lands, without 

 seeding, are soon covered with grass, several feet in 

 height; and unless prevented by cultivation, a second 

 growth of trees rapidly spring up, which, without care 

 or attention, attain their giant size in half the time 

 that would be expected in the best soils in England." ' 

 "If the foregoingdescription was met within a"Jour- 

 noy through Hindostan," or some equally unknown 

 region, no European reader would doubt that such 

 soils were fertile in the highest degree — and even 

 many of ourselves would receive the same impression. 

 Yet it is no exaggerated account of the poorest natural 

 soils in our own poor country, which are as remarkable 

 for producing luxuriant growths ot pines and broom- 

 grass, as for their unproductiveness in every cultivated 

 or valuable crop. We are so accustomed to these 

 facts that we scarcely tiiink of their singularity; nor of 

 the impropriety of calling any lands barren, which will 

 produce a rapid growth of any one plant. Indeed, by 

 the rapidity of that growth, (or the litness of the soil 

 for its production,) we have in sosne measure formed a 

 standard of the poverty of the soil. 



"With some exceptions to every general character, 

 the tide-water district of Virginia, may he described 

 as generally level, sandy, poor, and free from any fixed 

 rock, or any other than stones rounded apparently by 

 the attrition of water. On much the greater pirt of 

 the lands, no stone of any kind is to be found of any 

 larger size than gravel. Pines of different kinds, form 

 the greater part ol a heavy cover to the siliceous soils 

 in their virgin state, and mix considerably with oaks 

 and other growth of clay land. Both these kinds of soils 

 after being exhausted of their little ferliiily, by culti- 

 vation, and "turned out" to recruit, are soon covered 

 by young pines, which grow with vigor and luxuriance. 



This general description, applies more particularly to 

 the ridges, which separate the slopes on ditferent 

 streams. The ridge lands are always level, and very 

 poor; sometimes claye}' — more generally sandy, but 

 stiller than would be inferred from the proportion of 

 silicious earth they contain, which is caused by the 

 fineness of its particles. Vv'hortleberry bushes as well 

 as pines, are abundant on ridge lands, and numerous 

 shallow basins are found, which are ponds of rain wa- 

 ter in winter, and dry in summer. None of this large 

 proportion of our lands, has paid the expense of clear- 

 ing and cultivation, and much the greater part still re- 

 mains under its native growth. Enough however has 

 been cleared and cultivated in every neighborhood to 

 prove its utter worthlessness, under common manage- 

 ment. The soils of ridge lands vary between sandy 

 loam and clayey loam. It is difficult to estimate their 

 general product, under cultivation; but judging from 

 my own experience of such soils, the product may be 

 from five bushels of corn, or as much wheat, to the 

 acre, on the most claj'ey soils, to twelve bushels of 

 corn and three of wheat on the most sandy — if wheat 

 were there attempted to be made. 



"The slopes extend from the ridges to the streams, or 

 to the alluvial bottoms, and include the whole interval 

 between neighboring branches of the same stream. 

 This class ot soils, torms another great body of lands 

 of a higher grade of fertility, although still far from 

 valuable. It is generally, more sandy than the poorer 

 ridge land, and when long cultivated, is more or less 

 deprived of its soil, by the washing of rains on every 

 slight declivity. The washing away of three or four 

 inches in depth, exposes a steril subsoil (or forms a 

 "gall,") which continues thenceforth bare of all vege- 

 tation; a greater declivity of the surface serves to 

 form gulleys several feet in depth, the earth carried 

 from which, covers and injures the ad'acent lower 

 land. Most of this kind of land has been cleared and 

 greatly exhausted. Its virgin growth, is often more of 

 oak, hickory and dog wood, than pine; but when turned 

 out of cultivation, an unmixed growth of pine follows. 

 Land of this kind in general, has very little durabilitj'; 

 its usual best product of corn, may be lor a few crops, 

 eighteen or twenty bushels, and even as much as twen- 

 ty-five bushels, from the highest grade. Wheat is 

 seldom a productive or profitable crop on the slopes, 

 the soil being generally too sandy. When such soils 

 as these, are called ricii or valuable, (as most persons 

 would describe them,) those terms must be considered 

 as only comparative; and such an application of them 

 proves that truly fertile and valuable soils are very 

 scarce in Lower Virginia. 



"The only rich and durable soils, below the falls of 

 our river, are narrow strips of higb.lands along their 

 banks, and the lowlands formed by the alluvion of tiie 

 numerous smaller streams, which water our country. 

 These alluvial bottoms, although highly productive, 

 are lessened in value by being generally too sandy, 

 and by the damage they snder Irom being often inun- 

 dated by floods of rain. The best highland soils, sel- 

 dom extend more than half a mile from the river's 

 edge, sometimes not fifty yards. These irregular 

 margins are composed of loams of various cjualities, 

 but all highly valuable-, and the best soils are scarcely 

 to be surpassed, in their original fertilit}', and durabili- 

 ty under severe tillage." (pp. 11, 12.) 



"The simple,stateinent of the general course of til- 

 lage, to which our part of the country has been sub- 

 jected, is suilicient to prove that great impoverishment 

 of the soil, has been the inevi^able consequence. The 

 small portion of rich river margins, was soon all cleared, 

 and was tilled without cessation for many years. The 

 clearing of the slopes was next commenced, and is 

 not yet entirely completed. On these soils the succes- 

 sion of crops was less rapid, or liom necessity, tillage 

 was sooner suspended. If not rich enough for tobacco 

 when first cleared, (or as soon as it ceased to be so,) 

 land of this kind was planted in corn, two or three 



