174 FARMERS' REGISTER— PORTSMOUTH AND ROANOKE RAIL ROAD. 



When the corn is past what is called mutton 

 corn, or when I have saved the blades up to the 

 ear of corn, I proceed to cut the stalks. Two 

 hands with their hoes, cut first two rows, in the 

 middle of a half task (which are the fifth and sixth 

 of it, if there ai'e twenty rows in a task) these 

 hands continue to cut it down the whole length of 

 the field, be it more or less. Then they return in 

 the same way in the other half of the task, until 

 all the field is gone through — four or more hands 

 follow these two ; picking up the stalks of corn and 

 carrying them to a place where (our stacks of corn 

 have been tied together to make a heap. In the 

 length of one task, there are tvvO stacks for ten 

 rows, and four heaps are made in each task. It is 

 not necessary to bind the whole stack round. It 

 will stand well if made right. After a week or 

 ten days, I move the heaps ; and of two I make one, 

 so that the inside becomes the outside, and the 

 whole dries well and very few ears are spoiled. 

 When I think that the corn is dry enough, I shuck 

 it on the ground and put up the heaps again, mak- 

 ing one out of two, so that a single heap of fodder 

 remains in each task ; such fodder will keep well 

 the whole winter and will serve for the working 

 oxen till May. 



Cattle. — Keeping the cattle the whole year in 

 pens, has been my aim since I have known the ne- 

 cessity of making manure. I have succeeded in 

 that plan, in this manner: from May to August, 

 my cattle are turned out to live on the green grass 

 of the woods, and penned at night; and from Sep- 

 tember to April are kept in a close pen, or in my 

 field, and always penned at night. My pen is 

 square with one side of it covered ; all the grown 

 cattle are fastened by their neck at three or four 

 feet distance from each other, by two upright poles, 

 one of which moves on a pin, and when the oxen 

 or cows have put their heads between the two 

 poles, the moveable one is fixed by a pin. Every 

 night fresh litter is put under them, ant! they are 

 fed from September to October with my corn tops 

 and shucks, cured as I have said above, and be- 

 sides with potatoes, vines or peas pulled up root 

 and all; in November and December with sugar- 

 cane tops, and then, when the cotton is done pick- 

 ing, they are turned into the field and fed at night 

 with cotton seed, at the rate of two quarts each. I 

 have found tbat eight acres of corn will support 

 thirty head of cattle for sixteen days, and one acre 

 of cane tops will go as far as these eight acres of 

 corn. In my pen there is a well and a large trough 

 to water the cattle. The young calves are kept 

 in a separate pen, 



PUBLIC WORKS FOR FACILITATING 

 TRANSPORTATION. 



ADVANTAGES AND ESTIMATED COST OF THE 

 PORTSSIOUTH AND ROANOKE RAIL ROAD. 



Extracted from the Report of C. Crozet, Engineer. 



RiciiJioND, Oct. 8th, 1832. 

 To the President and Directors of the Portsmouth 

 and Roanoke Rail Road Company. 

 Gentlemen : — In compliance with your wish- 

 es and instructions, such surveys were made be- 

 tween Portsmouth and Suffolk as enabled me to 

 establish the outlines of the location and graduation 

 of the rail road between these two places. This 

 forms the first section of the entire line from Ports- 

 jTlouth to the Roanoke ; it is also that on which, 



owing to the proximity of the Dismal Swamp, the 

 greatest difficulties of execution were apprehended. 

 Indeed, I had heard opinions expressed calculated 

 to discourage the scheme ; that a rail road would 

 be found next to impracticable, on account of the 

 intervening swamps ; but I am happy to have it in 

 my power to state that, on the contrary, so slight 

 are the difficulties, that the expectations of the 

 most sanguine will even be exceeded by the result. 

 — Although the surveys were carried at this time 

 but a short distance beyond Suffolk, I am firmly 

 convinced, from my previous knowledge of the 

 country, that the few natural impediments encoun- 

 tered will appear much less than are commonly 

 met with on the track of other rail roads. 



In the first place, as regards graduation, a for- 

 mer survey has informed me that the dividing 

 ridge, between the waters of Nansemond and 

 Black- Water rivers, is only 82 feet above tide; 

 and as our operations have already attained an ele- 

 vation of nearly 60 feet, and the distance is yet se- 

 veral miles to the top, tliis ridge may be considered 

 as surmounted. 



The crossing of the three tributaries of the 

 Chowan, (which perhaps may be reduced to tv/o,) 

 constitutes the next and principal obstacle; but 

 here again the small elevation of the country, and 

 the distance for graduating, sufficiently warrant 

 that the descent to the streams and their crossings 

 will be effected with even less than ordinary diffi- 

 culty. 



From the Chowan to the Roanoke, the country is 

 likewise low and even, and the expense of gradua- 

 tion upon a judiciously located line, will be small. 



In the next place, the character of the soil which 

 formed the subject of reasonable apprehensions, 

 proves rather lavorable; it i)ossesses a great degree 

 of firmness, being a mixture of sand and clay, 

 which, in most places, will harden in wet weather 

 and form at all times, as good a foundation as can 

 be expected from earth alone. There can be no 

 hesitation, therefore, in adopting the conclusion, 

 that the rail road can be very advantageously lo- 

 cated for the favorable application of the swift lo- 

 comotive power, to Avhich, since its late improve- 

 ments, rail roads owe their undeniable superiority 

 wherever gravity has but a small share in the re- 

 sistance, as will be the case here. 



After having asserted the striking practicability 

 of the undertaking, it is almost idle to say any 

 thing further in regard to its expediency, since it 

 turned, as I conceive, solely upon the condition of 

 its feasibility. For it will readily appear that, 

 along so remarkably level a rail road, whether 

 Weidon or any other point be selected for its ter- 

 mination, a few hours will bring to Portsmouth, 

 in sight of the ocean, what now requires frequent- 

 ly more than as many days. Activity is the life 

 of trade, and the easy intercourse thus established 

 between one of the best seaports in the Union and 

 a vast extent of country, cannot fliil to impart to 

 both a new existence. The valley of the Roanoke 

 and the country bordermg on the Chowan and 

 branches, depend, by their geographical situation, 

 on Norfolk lor a market, and will readily avail 

 themselves of the eminently superior advantages 

 which will be offered to them in this direction. 

 And as regards travelling, all that which descends 

 the Chesapeake will certainly take this course to- 

 wards the southern States and vice versa. A 

 glance at the map will suffice to establish the coi - 



