540 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 9 



For one piece of matlincr, ^-2, to Mrs. Aaron. 

 C. White, of Caroliiv.'. 



Two enibroiJered shawls, ^f2, to Miss Skinker 

 of Fauquier. 



One piece of jeans, $2, (o Mrs. Cole Dickin- 

 son, of Caroline. 



One bed c)Milt, octagon figure, %l, to Miss Ber- 

 rynian, of Kins; George. 



One cap ot" down, ^1, to JMiss Richards of Cul- 

 peper. 



A piece of carpeting, S3, to IMrs. Vass, for the 

 Female Orphan Asylum of Fredericksburg. 



JOIIX SCRKW, C. C. 



The Committee on Premiums report. That they 

 have made the following changes in the scheme of 

 premiums of the last year, viz: 



For the best " thorough or full bred'"' stallion, 

 ^20. 



For the best stallion without regard to blood, 

 810. 



For the best colt or filly without regard to 

 blood, not exceeding 3 years old the past sprmg 

 $5. 



For the best colt or filly " thorough or full 

 bred," not exceeding 3 years old last spring, ^10. 



For the best contiguous 10 acres of wheat, to be 

 measured (as heretolbre) in the presence of one 

 person, not less then 15 bushels to the acre, .$!lO. 



For the best ten contiguous acres of Indian 

 Corn, to measnre not less than 50 bushels to the 

 acre, and to be measured as heretofore save in the 

 presence of one disinterested person, ^10. 



For the best 2 or 3 year old niule, iSS. 



On motion, it was Resolved, That the proceed- 

 ings of this meeting, and the Annual Address of 

 the President, be published in the Arena, Herald, 

 and Farmers' Register. The Society then ad- 

 journed. 



J ABIES M. GARJVETT, 



President. 



ROBERT B, SEMPLE, 



Secretary and Treasurer. 



ADDRESS TO THE SIETHBERS OF THE AGRI- 

 CULTURAL SOCIETY OF FREDERICIi-SBURG. 



Communicated for publication in the Farmers' Register. 



By Janus M. Garnett, President. 



We meet, my friends, to commemorate this, 

 our 19th anniversary, under circumstances pecu- 

 liarly discouraging to our profession. Almost in- 

 numerable enemies, some of which have never 

 assailed us before, have contributed nearly to un- 

 seed us, (if I may coin a word) as to wheat and 

 rye, whilst our chief staple, Indian Corn, has been 

 BO extensively injured to reduce (he present crop 

 below the average, in many par*,^ of this and 

 Other corn-growing states. The cotton crop too, 

 has been so late in ripening, that much will be in- 

 jured by frost. I mention not, however, these 

 thing, by way of uttering Jeremiads, for which 

 I never had any fiuicy, but to urge upon you, 

 moivt anxiously, the necessii\- for greatly increased 

 exertion on the part of all who have patriotically 

 resolved never to give up our good old ship, Vir- 

 ginia— s/te, who has weathered v.q many stornis — 

 she, who has carried us and our forefiithers through 

 so many perils; and who has yet soundness and 

 Btrcngth of timber enough to bear all her faithful 



and gallant sons, gloriousi}' through every present 

 and impending danger — provided only, that they 

 will be true toihe last. 



To doubt this, would be to inflict a deeper pang 

 on my iicart than it has ever li^lt on public ac- 

 count ; and, therefore, I will hasten to more cheer- 

 ing views of the prospect before us; a prospect 

 which nothing, I think, can prevent the present 

 generation, especially the younger portion of them, 

 liom realizing, but their abuse or misuse of the 

 blessings so amply bestowed on us by an all boun- 

 teous Providence. 



But before I present these views, permit me, in 

 conformity to a practice commenced last year, to 

 detail briefiy the few experiments which I liave 

 made since our last meeting. Three were made 

 with corn. The first was to ascertain the differ- 

 ence (if any) in its produce, wlien planted in land 

 ploughed uj) late in the fall, or in that prepared 

 jusi; before planting. Six or eight beds only were 

 thus prepared — the others, on each side, for a con- 

 siderable distance, having been ploughed in No- 

 vember last. The soil was dry and of a medium 

 texture, between light and stiff, with a slight cover 

 of weeds, crab-grass, and some scattering spots 

 of white clover, " few and far between." The 

 culture was the same, in every respect ; but no 

 difference whatever has ever been perceptible in 

 the growth or condition of the corn. 



The second experiment in the same field and 

 soil, with the same working, as to time, was 

 to ascertain the difference, if any, between corn 

 worked entirely, after coming up, with the culti- 

 vator for which you honored me last year with a 

 premium, and that which was cultivated with the 

 plough, the hand- hoeing of each being the same. 

 jMy eye cannot discover the least difference, al- 

 though some liave said they thought the corn 

 made with the cultivator was best. In regard, 

 however, to the saving of labor by the cultivator, 

 there can be no variation of opinion — for it is cer- 

 tainly in the proportion of two to five and a half, 

 or six. The third experiment was to determine, 

 whether corn planted in high land, as late as the 

 30th of June, would ripen thoroughly. It was 

 made with a few grains of yellow flint corn, 

 brought by our old friend and secretaiy. Col. Grra}', 

 from Galveston Bay, in Texas, tliere called Span- 

 ish Corn. It Vv-as planted among some pumpkins, 

 in land of very inferior quality, but manured in 

 the hill with drawn ashes and plaster of Paris, in 

 the proportion of three pecks of ashes to one of 

 plaster; the quantity in each hill a small spadeful. 

 Most of the silks on this corn were dry on the S6lh 

 day from the day of planting ; but the hard, and 

 unusually early frosts, prevented its ripening per- 

 fi?ctly. From this single trial, made under such 

 circumstances, I could form no conclusive opin- 

 ion of its productiveness, in comparison with other 

 varieties of corn ; but its early maturity might 

 render it valuable in difficult and backward 

 springs. Perhaps, however, some of the varie- 

 ties already iti use among us might ripen quite as 

 early, if planted as late as this was. But my pre- 

 sent years trial, which is the third with the Ma- 

 ryland twin-corn, (improperly so called, unless 

 ti'om 3 to S and 9 at a liirth, can be called twins,") 

 has so thoronghlv satisfied me of its superiority, 

 ill all the most desirable (pialitics, to all the kinds 

 heretolbre tried in this part ol the country, that I 

 do not, at present, expect ever to plant any other; 



