No. 1. 



Sandy Point. 



19 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 " Sandy Point." 



I have been a good deal interested in look- 

 ing over several letters in the Farmers' Re- 

 gister, in which the writer, A. Nicoi, gives 

 a " few memoranda," connected with the 

 management of a considerable estate in 

 Virginia. His first letter dates from "Sandy 

 Point, March 17th, 1841." He is the gene- 

 ral superintendent of an estate belonging to 

 Robert B. Boiling, Esq., lying in the lower 

 end of Charles' City county, Virginia; 

 stretching along the James' river, for more 

 than six miles, and containing about 8U00 

 acres, nearly 2400 of which, are under cul- 

 tivation. This letter states that " the whole 

 of the soil is susceptible of the highest im- 

 provement," and wherever lime has been 

 applied, the benefits resulting from it, have 

 been very decided. The average crops for 

 the last ten years, have been 5000 bushels 

 of wheat, and 10,000 bushels of corn. About 

 ninety slaves, nearly equally divided, as re- 

 gards the sexes, are employed in agricultural 

 labour. Seven carpenters, two blacksmiths, 

 two sawyers, one weaver, one sick nurse, 

 and nine old and infirm men and women, 

 employed chiefly in spinning, winding, knit- 

 ting, making baskets, horse collars, &c, 

 may be added to the effective, labouring 

 force of the farm. They are said to be 

 comfortably lodged and clothed, and well 

 fed ; an ample allowance of meal, and half a 

 pound of bacon, or its equivalent in beef, or 

 fish, being daily cooked for each hand, toge- 

 ther with a plentiful supply of seasonable 

 vegetables. A hospital is kept for the ac- 

 commodation of the sick, where there is a 

 careful nurse to attend them. Thirty-eight 

 horses and mules, and thirty-eight yoke of 

 oxen are kept for farming purposes. Thirty 

 cows, thirty-seven young cattle, something 

 more than one hundred sheep and two hun- 

 dred hogs, help to make up the stock of the 

 farm. The general character of the cattle 

 and sheep is inferior. 



The land under cultivation, 2372 acres, is 

 in four divisions : 1st. The Neck, or lower 

 farm, of 000 acres. 2nd. Teddington farm, 

 of 700 acres. 3d. Upper quarter farm, of 

 536 acres. And 4th. The Rowe farm also, 

 of 536 acres. These divisions, till the early 

 part of 1840, were under the management 

 of separate overseers : since that time they 

 have been united, under the care of A. 

 Nicol, who says in the June number, 1841, 

 " The estate will in future be cultivated as 

 follows : the Rowe farm, of 536 acres ; the 

 Neck farm, of 600 acres ; and 600 of Ted- 

 dington, will each form one field, cultivated 

 on the three shift system, of corn, wheat, 



clover : 100 acres of the Teddington farm, 

 divided into five fields, will continue to be 

 cultivated on the five shift system of wheat, 

 clover, corn, wheat, clover ; or one 20 acre 

 lot in corn each year. The Upper quarter 

 farm, of 536 acres, will be divided into four 

 fields of nearly equal area, (134 acres,) to 

 be cultivated in, 1st. wheat ; 2nd. corn ; 3d. 

 wheat; 4th. clover — or one half in wheat, 

 one fourth in corn, and one fourth in clover 

 each year. Under this system, in 1842, all 

 of the Rowe farm, of 536 acres, will be in 

 corn, together with 134 acres, or one fourth 

 of Upper quarter, and one 20 acre lot on 

 Teddington. To this, will also be added, 

 30 acres of adjoining, and more recently re- 

 claimed land, on Teddington, in all 720 

 acres. In 1843, the corn crop will comprise 

 all of the Neck farm, of 600 acres; 134 

 acres of Upper quarter, and one 20 acre lot 

 on Teddington, in all 754 acres. In 1844, 

 the corn crop will comprise 600 acres of 

 Teddington, together with one 20 acre lot, 

 and 134 acres on Upper quarter, also equal 

 to 754 acres. In each of these years, all 

 the corn land will be sown in wheat, or oats, 

 together with 134 acres, or one fourth of 

 Upper quarter, after clover fallow, and one 

 20 acre lot on Teddington, also after clover 

 fallow. In order to prepare the Upper quar- 

 ter farm for the intended four shift system, 

 one fourth of it, now in wheat, is sown in 

 clover, for fallow in 1842, and the fourth of 

 it, w T hich comes into fallow this season, 1841, 

 has a portion of it sown in oats ; the remain- 

 der to be sown in peas, both intended to be 

 ploughed under, as preparatory manuring. 

 There will constantly be three different ro- 

 tations on the estate — a three shift of corn, 

 wheat, clover, — a four shift of wheat, corn, 

 wheat, clover; and a five shift of corn, 

 wheat, clover, wheat, clover. These vari- 

 ous shifts are not adopted in consequence of 

 any particular difference of soil, but more 

 especially for ascertaining from actual re- 

 sults, on soils as nearly alike as possible, 

 which of the rotations will eventually be the 

 most profitable." On so extensive an estate, 

 the profits resulting from different rotations, 

 are subjects of very important inquiry. And 

 indeed, not only where the operations are on 

 so large a scale, is the rotation of crops im- 

 portant, but also on our small farms, of one, 

 two, or three hundred acres. The five field 

 system, of corn, oats, wheat, or rye, and then 

 grass for two years, has been for some time 

 in general favour among our farmers in 

 Pennsylvania and Jersey. But the crops of 

 wheat and rye have latterly been so preca- 

 rious, that I think we shall watcli with very 

 considerable interest, the experiments at 

 "Sandy Point." They will, at any rate, 



