No. 5. Report on Crops of A^'ew Castle Co. Ag. Society, Del. 



157 



The result is that our lands have increased 

 in productiveness and intrinsic vahio, at a 

 rate unprecedented in the improvement of 

 lands in this or any other country. Actual 

 sales go to confirm this ; and notwitlistand- 

 ing the low price of grain, several farms in 

 Red Lion and St. George's hundreds, within 

 the last year or two, have brought 60 or 70 

 dollars per acre, where the same lands, 20 

 years ago, would not have brought more than 

 15 or 20 dollars at most. 



We must not only give to lime the credit 

 of renovating our exhausted lands wlierever 

 it has been used, but to it may be attributed 

 the impulse given to our farmers to seek 

 other aids in the great work. Seeing the 

 good effects of lime, they were led to give 

 a trial to marl, which so abimdantly exists 

 in the St. George's and Appoquinimink 

 creeks and ravines merging from them — 

 and which although known to exist there 

 20 years ago, was never considered worthy 

 of use until within the last eight or ten 

 years. The marl on the St. George's creek 

 and inlets, consist entirely of the shell va- 

 riety, and is now extensively used in the 

 vicinity of the beds — in some cases they are 

 hauling it three miles, and the farms around 

 St. George's are now equal, and perhaps su- 

 perior to any other body of land of the same 

 extent in the State. On the Appoquinimink 

 and its tributaries the green sand marl exists, 

 and is extensively used by many of the farm- 

 ers there. George W. Karsner, the pioneer, 

 in the use of this variety of mar], has raised 

 this year, 30 bushels of red chaff bearded 

 wheat to the acre; he has improved his land 

 entirely by the use of it. The marl is gene- 

 rally of easy access, and is in many places 

 found within a foot or two of the surface. 

 With these inexhaustible beds of viarl — the 

 facilities by water of procuring lime on the 

 various landings, at the low price of 12^ 

 cents per bushel for quick lime ; and the 

 same facilities for conveying his produce to 

 market — ^a market, thanks to the eastern 

 manufacturers, within a iew miles, to the 

 most remote farmers — for their corn and 

 oats, at about Philadelphia prices, are some 

 of the many advantages possessed by Dela- 

 ware farmers. 



It is a mystery to us that the citizens of 

 Delaware, not of New Castle county alone, 

 but of Kent and Sussex, should have so long 

 remained blind to their own interest ; but 

 we trust that the film is now removed from 

 the eyes of the landholders of New Castle 

 county ; and we have no doubt that Kent 

 and Sussex will follow the good example. 

 Already do the people of Kent sliow a de- 

 termination to arouse from their lethargy. 

 The introduction of lime, by kilns erected 



near Smyrna, by George W. Cummins, and 

 by kilns erected at Forest Landing, on Jones' 

 creek, has been instrumental in bringing 

 about a new state of things there. 



Much, however, is yet to be done there. 

 The large landholders of Kent, have not yet 

 taken the matter fairly in hand. A continued 

 disposition upon the part of their tenantry 

 and others to migrate to the West, is an evi- 

 dence that the right spirit does not prevail 

 with the landholders. Inducements must be 

 held out by them to this class of their popu- 

 lation to remain — and no stronger induce- 

 ments can be offered than by improving 

 their lands and offering worthy tenants bet- 

 ter chances than they have heretofore had ; 

 and convince them by various means that it 

 is their interest to remain in their native 

 State, and by a new system of proceeding 

 reclaim the lands left to them by their im- 

 prudent ancestors. 



The soil of Delaware has proved itself, 

 originally, equal to any other, or it would 

 not have stood the use and abuse of ages — 

 and to its susceptibility to improvement there 

 is now evidence enough, not only in New 

 Castle county, but in Kent and Sussex, that 

 it can be reclaimed and made as productive 

 as any other lands. Why then the necessity 

 for seeking land in the West, when it can 

 be purchased in many parts of Delaware, 

 for six, eight, and ten dollars per acre, in 

 locations where the best lime can be pur- 

 chased for 12^ to 16 cents per bushel — and 

 a maiket for produce of all kinds can be had 

 at a trifle less than the Philadelphia price. 



There are other advantages in Delaware 

 over most other sections. Our convenience 

 to the seaboard gives us an advantage of the 

 Eastern markets; those great manufacturing 

 depots of the U. S., our natural and only sure 

 market now, and perhaps will so remain, 

 probably, for all time to come, the year round, 

 and foreign markets, where there is any de- 

 mand; and especially is this advantage real- 

 ized in the winter season, over Philadelphia, 

 and other places up the Delaware river, or 

 from N. .Jersey. Vessels can load at and 

 depart from New Castle, Delaware City, and 

 Port Penn, and our Southern ports, during 

 the winter season, when it is hazardous, r.nd 

 even impossible to get to Philadelphia. And 

 as an evidence, there was shipped last win- 

 ter, from the three little ]X)rts of New Cas- 

 tle, Delaware City, and Port Penn, from the 

 20th of December to the 10th of February, 

 in the dead of winter, 150,000 bushels of 

 grain, principally corn of the new crop. 



There are advantages also of our location, 

 in the time required to get our produce into 

 the Eastern market, as well as getting it 

 there at a season when there is no ccmpeti- 



