734 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 12 



view of purchasing a cotton plantation, provided 

 I could abide an investment necessary lor such a 

 ])nrchase. I had previously determined not to pur- 

 chase an unimproved plantation, and incur (he risk 

 of a fall in the price of cotlon, before I could get a 

 sutRcient quantity of arable land to make a crop. 

 By an improved plantation, is meant, one that has 

 on it a lew log liuts, and a small portion of land 

 ready for cultivation : such a one, within the reach 

 of civilization, coukl not be obtained lor less than 

 from twenty to thirty dollars per acre. Now, sir, 

 say l()r example, that I purchased a tract contain- 

 i nix .500 acres, at twenty-five dollars — this would 

 amount to twelve thousand, five huntlred dollars. 

 Then add the expense of removing — the necessa- 

 ry utensils, stock, &c. &c., exclusive of negroes, 

 and you would have an aggregate amount of from 

 fifteen thousand to twenty thousand dollars, as a 

 beginning. This I do not consider an extravagant 

 calculation; for upon it, was based my destination, 

 of either remaining in the siiuth, or returning to 

 Virginia. Taking into consideration, health, so- 

 ciety, the high price of land and ail other com- 

 modities, I was not long coming to a decision, 

 more especially when my predilection was so 

 much in favor of Virginia, my native state. I 

 then abandoned all idea of a cotton plantation, 

 and must acknowledge that I feel no regret for 

 tile loss of time, or expense of the trip; for I am 

 amply compensated by the inlbrmation derived, 

 and my increased attachment for the Old Domin- 

 ion. I do not deny, but that the cultivation of both 

 sugar and cotton is very profitable ; but the estab- 

 lishment of a plantation lor the culture of cither, 

 requires a considerable capital. Many men, of 

 moderate means, who would have the hardihood 

 to involve themselves, and hazard the indepen- 

 dence of their families, might establish one, and 

 the experiment might prove successful. But, on 

 the contrary, if there should be a failure in a crop 

 or two, exclusive of other casualties, ruin would be 

 the inevitable consequence. Then, I would say, 

 to the capitalist, and to the bankrupt, to the man 

 of iron nerve and adamantine constitution — ''Goto 

 the south; for such alone, as you are, it is eminent- 

 ly adapted." Far be it from me, sir, even if it were 

 in mv power, to discourage improvements, or a rea- 

 sonable emigration ; for my only object is, to point 

 out the difficulties and disadvantages attending 

 them, so that "he who runs may read." 



This subject was entirely foreign from my in- 

 tention, when I commenced writing, for I had oth- 

 er matter to communicate, but it has brought me to 

 the end of my sheet, and I must, therefore, con- 

 clude. 



INCOGNITO. 



P. S. — Tt is not the lear of being responsible for 

 any thing I have written, thai my real name is 

 withheld, but the fear of being considered pre- 

 sumptuous, b}^ some of those around me, so much 

 better qualified to write than myself. 



I. 



ON Tllf: SUITABLENESS OF WARM CLIMATES 

 FOR WINE MAKING. 



To the Editor of tliu Farmeis' Register. 



Columbia, S. C, February 15///., 1837. 

 Dear Sir: I have read with much fdeasure, in 

 your most valuable Farmers' Register, (No. 10,) 



the extracts from "an essay on the climate o{" the 

 United States," and feel disposed to make a few 

 observations on some parts of it. 



I shall not try my hand at explaining the causes 

 why the eastern portions oi" our continent are much 

 colder than the same parallels of latitude on the 

 western coast of Europe. These, I thought, were 

 matters pretty well settled, so tar as we can see 

 into them. The causes of the various winds are 

 more unknown, at least to me, and therefore I shall 

 say nothing about them. The author's views re- 

 lative to the culture of the vine in the United States, 

 come somewhat more within the narrow limits of 

 my studies and experience. It is but too true that 

 "the efforts made at dili'erent periods, and in va- 

 rious parts of the country, to attain this object, have 

 hitherto been so unsuccessful, as to induce a very 

 general belietj that there is something in our soil or 

 climate, so unti-iendly to the vine, that it can never 

 be cultivated with success." This unfriendliness, 

 it appears to me, is more in the climate than in the 

 soil ; and yet, although climate cannot be corrected 

 by us, the soil can be so in some degree, and we 

 might do pretty well, if it were not that much too 

 great quantities of rain fall in this country, during 

 the summer months, particularly in the southern 

 slates. In a dry sununer, we have good grapes 

 and a tolerable croj), which might be very good in 

 a soil sufRciently calcareous. It would be a most 

 strange anomaly, that the vine could not be culti- 

 vated in a country which has, perhaps, more than 

 any other on the lace of the earth, indigenous vines 

 growing almost every where, and in very great 

 variety. Although we may, among this variety, 

 find several that may be introduced into cultiva- 

 tion with great advantage to the cultivator, yet, I 

 would not that our efforts be limited to the native 

 kinds, alone — for the cultivated ones of Europe 

 and other parts of the earth, offer advantages 

 which never have been yet obtained from the na- 

 tive one. The exotic kinds, many of them grow 

 very well in our country, and even more luxuri- 

 antly than in most parts of Europe. It is so true, 

 that lor a long time, I attributed the rot in the 

 grapes, to that very luxuriance of the vines ; but, 

 the having planted some, with equal want of suc- 

 cess, in very poor sandy land, has much weaken- 

 ed that opinion. I still hope that the remedy, at 

 least a partial one, might be found in calcareous 

 earths. 



The author of the pamphlet, whose review I am 

 considering, seems like many other writers on the 

 subject, to think it an insurmountable objection to 

 the making of wine, that the grapes ripen in the 

 hot summer months, and thereby, the Itirraenta- 

 tion going on too violently, the wine becomes acid. 

 I have made wine when the thermometer was at 

 90° and upwards, and my wine has never turned 

 acid in consequence of it. I certainly never have 

 experienced any difficulty on this account. But if 

 a due and nioclerate degree of fermentation could 

 not be obtained in a temperature so high, still the 

 difficulty would be easily overcome. VVe surely 

 can obtain a lower tem|)erature by digging a deep 

 cellar lor it. This is, it is true, an expensive struc- 

 ture ; but it is insignificant when contrasted with 

 the profits of the successful culture of the vine. 



The author says: " wine, I believe, is never made 

 within the tropics." Very little is made within the 

 tropics, ])articularly on the eastern part of the globe, 

 relative to our continent; but, the cause of this, is 



