183G.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



427 



remaininfr class is remarkably fertile. None of 

 the main body ofs\vun)[) land on the canal is 

 fit for grain crops. On tiie outskirts and hi^'her 

 parts not exposed to inundalion, corn is culiivated 

 to much advantage. Mr. G. showed me a body 

 of about 70 acres of a remarkably black rich 

 though silicioussoil, full of vegetable matter, which 

 dilfered in appearance, and greatly surpassed in 

 value, all the adjoining swamp land. This rich 

 tract lies at the outlet oi' two streams, v\hich must 

 formerly have overflowed it: and into these two 

 streams run all the smaller streams and ravines in 

 which marl has been found. 



Mr. G. has found gypsum to have beneficial 

 effects on clover on his highland surpassing any 

 I have experienced or heard of on soils of similar 

 appearance: and indeed he has succeeded in rais- 

 ing clover without gypsum on land, that from its 

 appearance I should not think capable of keeping- 

 it alive. The time of year, and the previous gra- 

 zing forbade much sJinw being made by the clover: 

 but its being alive, and well set, proved to me that 

 the soil of this neighborhood must have been ori- 

 ginally much better than it now appears. The soil 

 is a gravelly gray loam, on a red clay subsoil. Its 

 product Mr. G. has found to be always increased 

 by very deep ploughing, which he gradually ar- 

 rives at, by deepening the furrow an inch at each 

 cultivation. He has been but a tew years in pos- 

 session. 



The land of this neighborhood is high, and much 

 of it hill}^ Mr. G. uses to much advantage, a 

 ver)' simple hillside plough, made of cast iron in 

 part. It is easily and quickly changed, at the end 

 of each furrow, so as to throw the slice first to the 

 right and then to the left, and always down hill. 

 I have seen plates and descriptions of such plouijhs 

 10 years ago — but it required the sight of the 

 plough itself to prove to me the property of buy- 

 ing and using it — which I shall now certainly 

 doT 



My friend J- 



VV 



- of Goochland, 

 whom I met with in Richmond, told me of the 

 following experiment made by him on summer 

 covvpens. Through the summer, the moveable 

 pens for his cattle were made of equal size, and 

 stood equal times, but varied as follows: 



Pen, No. 1. Not ploughed before or afler being 

 used lor the cattle. 



Do. No. 2. Ploughed before using. 



Do. No. 3. Ploughed after removing the cat- 

 tle, and not before. 



The next pens, the 4th Sth and 6th, were (rented 

 in the same manner and order, and rdso the suc- 

 ceeding pens, until all were together ploug'ied for 

 wheat the same autumn. The comparative ef- 

 fects on the \^ heat were as follows: The tallest 

 andbest wheat was on No. 2, and the pens similarly 

 treated — next on No. 1 — and the worst considera- 

 bly, on No. 3. 



Another comparison was afterwards made be- 

 tween the plans pursued on No. 2, and No. 3, and 

 it was seen that a pen standings days on the for- 

 mer, produced as good wheat apparently, as ten 

 days on the latter. 



W informs me that a new practice of ap- 

 plying manure is extending in his neiixhborhood, 

 and is sanctioned by the approbation and expe- 

 rience of R S , one of the best prac- 

 tical farmers in Virginia. It is to apply all their 



farmyard and stable manure (in a more or less 

 rotted stale) as a thin top dressing to wheat, du- 

 ring the winter. More benefit is supposed to be 

 obtained for grain: and another certain benefit ia 

 found in the remarkable improvement to the clo- 

 ver sown about the same time. Tiiis practice re- 

 quires farther inquiry, as it is a very important 

 improvement, if these opinions are well founded. 

 Mr. S Col. W and others on James Ri- 

 ver in Goochland make no corn on their highland, 

 which is kept altogether for small grain and clover 

 (as stated in my former memoranda of a visit to 

 those gentlemen) and cultivate in corn only their 

 rich river lowgrounds. This peculiar husbandry 

 may in some degree require their top dressing on 

 wheat. 



April ISth 1834. At B- 



-, Prince George. 

 One of the peculiarities of this extensive and val- 

 uable body of land is presented by the numerous 

 basin-shaped depressions, which were ponds be- 

 fore being drained. As they were supplied only 

 by rain water from the adjacent higher lands, and 

 have no springs, their draining was a very simple 

 and easy job. A central ditch leading to some 

 lower land is all that was needed: and such a ditch 

 may be ploughed to the edges, and by turning the 

 furrows outward, leave but little cleaning is to be 

 done by spades and shovels. 



Mr. ri stated that all these former ponds 



were very rich except their outer part: and this 

 always was a belt of poor soil, from the first drain- 

 inir, greatly inferior to the black loam which form- 

 ed the central part of the pond, and as much so to 

 the fine brown loam, which forms the general 

 body of the higher grounds. These poor belts 

 must have been continually changing between wet 

 and dry, or naked in dry seasons, and overfiowed 

 in wet, when in a state of nature — and the sterili- 

 t}' must have been caused by the rapid decomposi- 

 tion of the vegetable matters so exposed. 



Mr. H. has a cast iron corn-crusher, v;hich, is 

 fixed in a very simple manner. The lever to 

 which the horses are fixed, (as in a thrashing ma- 

 chine) proceeds directly hum the upright shaft or 

 spindle of the crusher — no cog wheel or any other 

 contrivance to give increased velocity. Of course, 

 the crusher can only turn once while the horses 

 walk once around their circle. It crushes, fine 

 enough for food, 40 bushels of ears of corn a day 

 (cob and grain together,) and will grind as much 

 gypsutn, aller it has been broken to lumps not 

 larger than a man's fist. Examined the ground 

 gypsum. It had been sifted, and the greater part 

 was as fine as meal. The coarser part, did not 

 exceed grains of cockle in size. The machine cost 

 .^60, exclusive of the shed and simple horse pow- 

 er, and was worked by two horses. 



19th, Charles City county. Mr. M 's first 



vessel load of marl, from Coggin's Point, in heaps 

 on his land, presentinir a novel spectacle in this 

 part of the country. In riding by, fell in with two 

 of his neighbors to whom I was unknown, and in- 

 quired of them concerning Mr. M 's scheme 



of obtaining marl by water carriage — and contra- 

 ry to my expectation, found that he was not con- 

 sidered a fool for his pains. His work was highly 

 applauded, and the manure was spoken of as even 

 more valuable than it is in truth. The CeAV loads 

 of" marl that have been before carried by water 

 were obtained under all the disadvantages of a 



