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FARMERS' REGISTER— SYSTEM OF FARMING. 



the first to make known tlic process in America, 

 in 1823 in Kentucky, and in 1827 in Philadel- 

 phia. Yet the most useful knowledge is so slow 

 to spread, that the fact is hardly known yet, or 

 doubted by those who know of it. 



We are ha})py to lie able to publish two direct 

 experiments in support of the fact and discovery. 



1st. We bored and plu<.^g"ed with sulphur in the 

 usual way, a plumb tree which commonly drop- 

 ped every year all the plumbs before becoming 

 ripe, the curculios lodging eggs in their germs. — 

 This A\'asdone when the tree was in blossom. On 

 that year hardly any fruit fell, and the tree pro- 

 duced quite well. 



2d. We find in the Genesee Farmer, of Janu- 

 ary 28, 1832, that a young willow nearly killed by 

 aphis or lice, and pismires feeding on their honej', 

 was quite revived in three days, and all the lice 

 and ants driven off, by boring the tree with an au- 

 ger five feet from the ground and three-fourths 

 through the diameter, filling w ith brimstone and 

 plugging tight. The tree has thrived ever since. 



The modus operandi of this singular process is 

 very easy to explain. The vital energy of the 

 tree and sap, dissolves the sulphur, carries it 

 into circulation, and involves it in sulphuric gas 

 evaporating through all the pores of branches, 

 leaves and fruits. This gas is a deadly poison to in- 

 sects and all animals, it suffocates them or drives 

 them away as soon as they beoin to smell it ; but 

 no injury whatever results to the tree. 



We have never heard yet of any direct experi- 

 ment on peach trees ; but we are sure it Vvill an- 

 swer quite as well. If the sulphuric emanation 

 could not reach cjuick enough the roots of the trees 

 which are commonly attacked, the plugging must 

 be done near the root or at the time of the descend- 

 ing sap, when it will sooner reach the roots. Let 

 }t be tried and the results made known. c. s. r. 



System of Fariiiing'. 



From the American Farmer. 



Penpark, Va. June 12, 1833. 

 Mr. Smith, — Agreeably to my promise, I have 

 sat down to give you the result of my experience 

 jn farming for forty years. I removed irom the 

 county of Loudoun, to Albemarle, in the fall of 

 1799, with but little experience in farming gener- 

 ally, and much less in improving worn out land. 

 At that time the whole face of the country present- 

 ed a scene of desolation that baflles description — 

 farm after farm had been worn out, and washed 

 and gullied, so that scarcely an acre could be found 

 in a place fit for cultivation. It will he well to 

 observe here, that there is a ridge of red land pas- 

 sing through the counties of Albemarle and Orange, 

 whose soil v/as of the very best quality, and sus- 

 ceptible of the highest degree of improvement, but 

 which had at thesame time been butchered by that 

 most horrible mode of culture adopted by the first 

 settlers of this country. The practice then was 

 to clear the land, to put it in tobacco for three or 

 four years in succession, according to the strength 

 of the soil, afterwards in corn and wheat alternate- 

 ly, or corn and oats so long as it was capable of 

 producing any thing. They never ploughed in 

 those days, but simply scratched the ground, and 

 this too, right up and down the steepest hills, in- 

 stead of horizontally, with those little one horse 

 half share or shovel ploughs, until the whole of the 

 virgin soil was washed and carried off from the 



ridges into the valleys. This is a very imperfect 

 description of the lace of the country at the time of 

 my settlement here; I believe it would not be say- 

 ing too much, if I Avere to affirm, that there had 

 not lieen before that period, one good plough in the 

 county. Col. Thomas Mann Randolph, had com- 

 menced the horizontal ploughing on his (lirm; but, 

 for the want of good ploughs, it was a long time be- 

 Ibre he could succeed sufficiently well to induce 

 others to adopt the same plan. Indeed, there were 

 many w ho, though considered at that time good 

 practical farmers, were disposed to ridicule it for 

 years after Col. Randolph had adopted it. And 

 here, since there has been some little discussion of 

 late in regard to the question, who first introduced 

 this mode of ploughing, I will take the liberty of 

 saying, that there is no person in Albemarle who 

 ever doubted, nor do I myself doubt, that although 

 some considerable improvement may have been 

 made by others since that gentleman adopted it, 

 yet he is entitled to the whole credit of its original 

 introduction, and for which he deserves a monu- 

 ment to his memory. 



Suffice it to say, in regard to the condition of the 

 country at the time I speak of, that it wore the 

 most haggard, frightful, poverty-stricken appear- 

 ance imaginable, never having had upon it either 

 plaster or clover, or, as one might naturally judge 

 from its looks, vegetation of any kind. We had 

 but one alternative in this state of things, either to 

 improve and restore the soil, or to remove to some 

 new and better country ; which latter course w-as 

 the most common — the majority of farmers, after 

 they had impoverished their lands, preferring to 

 leave the improvement of them to others, rather 

 than undertake it themselves. There is here, as 

 in all other places, a great variety of opinions in 

 regard to the best mode of improvement — the ma- 

 ner of ploughing, whether deep or shallow — the 

 time of ploughing — the time and manner of apply- 

 ing manure — questions which must be decided ac- 

 cording to circumstances, and not by a single in- 

 variable rule. There are some things, however, 

 which may be considered as all important — such 

 as a rotation of crops, a rigid and scrupulous at- 

 tention to the collection and preservation of all the 

 manure that can be obtained, and great care in 

 ploughing; for good ploughing, in my estimation, 

 is the first step towards the improvement of an ex- 

 hausted farm. 



I will now proceed to give you a more particu- 

 lar account, both of my practice and success in the 

 business of reclaiming exhausted land. The farm, 

 which it is my lot to possess, lies near the town of 

 Charlottesville, has been obtained by small pur- 

 chases at different times, and now contains from two 

 to three thousand acres. This tract of land is ac- 

 knowledged l)y all to have been more completely 

 galled and butchered than any other of the same 

 size in this neighborhood. ]My practice has al- 

 ways been to plough as deep as possible, and ac- 

 cordingly, my constant direction to my ploughmen 

 (^nien, not boys, for I do not suffer boys to plough) 

 is not to be afraid of ploughing too deep, provided, 

 the horses can pull the plough. For some years 

 past I have made use of four horses in flushing the 

 land, but from the great disadvantage they have 

 labored under, in consequence of the very undu- 

 lating surface of my farm, sometimes ploughing 

 too deep, and at others too shallow — as for instance, 

 in asceixding a hill, the lead horses would draw the 



