FARMERS' REGISTER— MARLING AND MANAGEMENT OF HORSES. 197 



is proof of its equal fertility and productiveness. 

 To reduce the proposition to a form more simple, 

 let it be stated as follows : If two tracts of land 

 each containino; 100 acres, support each of them 

 10 persons, and yield eacli of them 20 dollars to 

 the state treasury, — it follows as a necessary con- 

 sequence, according to your correspondent, that both 

 are of equal fertility and productiveness J — Now, to 

 a plain and unsophisticated mind, no conclusion 

 can be more illogical than this. Before it can re- 

 ceive our assent, it must be shown in the first 

 !)lace, that there is a fixed and necessary relation 

 between the amount of taxes drawn from a given 

 district, and the value of its agricultural products ; 

 and in the second place tliat tiiere is the same ne- 

 cessary relation between the quantum of taxation 

 and the number of inhabitants. In otlier words, 

 does not the following reductio ad absurdum, flow 

 from the proposition, that so long as the popula- 

 tion could be kept down by emigration or other 

 cause to its present point, or so long as the existing 

 rate of taxation should continue in the tide water 

 district, the highest efforts of industry could not 

 improve the soil ! — The truth is, that all such rea- 

 soning is founded upon false premises, and is there- 

 fore fallacious. The same rate of taxation may 

 draw from an impoverished and unproductive dis- 

 trict of countr)-, an amount equal to what is paid 

 by one of the same extent and population but of 

 much superior fertility. No .system of taxation, 

 not founded upon actual income, can constitute a 

 just criterion of productiveness. The slave whose 

 labor barely defrays the cost of clothing and sub- 

 sistence, yields an equal tax to the treasury witli 

 one who rewards his owner by a handsome profit 

 beyond his expenses. 



If the proposition of " Mockjack" be true, that 

 " no country in the world contains a larger pro- 

 portion of land that will repay the expense of cul- 

 tivation than Eastern Virginia," — why is it that 

 the stream of emigration has flowed so unceasing- 

 ly from that quarter to other regions.' — that the 

 march of its population is in a declining ratio 

 when compared with other districts of the state, 

 to say nothing of other portions of the United 

 States .' If the poor ridges and pine barrens of 

 the tide water district, repay so easily the cost of 

 cultivation, why is it that we hear such frequent 

 complaints even from the proprietors of the rich 

 river margins.' — And even if the liare cost of cul- 

 tivation be generally repaid, is that sufTicient to 

 reward the toils of the laborer .-^ — The fact is, that 

 that portion of our state would probably have been 

 Jong since nearly depopulated, if the profits of agri- 

 culture had been the sole dependence of its peo- 

 ple. Its unrivalled commercial facilities, — its 

 abundance of fish and fowl, and even of forest 

 game (restored to its primeval haunts) have mate- 

 rially compensated for the scanty returns of labor. 

 Even the pine fields, in latter years, by supplying 

 fuel to steam boats, have proved a source of no in- 

 considerable emolument. In this general view, 

 the rich low grounds of Gloucester and Matthews, 

 and the fertile borders of rivers and creeks, are of 

 course not comprehended ; but these ought no 

 more to determine the character of the whole dis- 

 trict, than that the fine Falls plantation which is in 

 full view from our capitol, ought to furnish a stan- 

 dard for estimating the county of Chesterfield. 



But your correspondent has quoted another pas- 

 sage in which he supposes that the " prejudices of 



the contributor to the Encyclopedia," are more 

 fully developed. In this passage the old and des- 

 tructive practice of clearing and cultivating land 

 by the tiiree shift system, "is briefly noticed and 

 represented as still prevailing in Eastern Virginia. 

 Does "iNIockjack" deny the fact.' — If he does, — 

 the attempt to convince him would be fruitless. 

 Of the destructive character of that system, even 

 on the rich James river lands, he need only be re- 

 ft; r red to the letter of Mr. Hill Carter in the 3d 

 number of the Farmers' Register (p. 132). That 

 accomplished fiirmer, found his fine estate dwindling 

 to insignificance under the pernicious operation of 

 that system ; and it was only by improved manage- 

 ment, thaf Its tisrtility and productiveness were re- 

 stored. Even theskill and perseverance of Mr. Car- 

 ter might have been baffled, if his patrimonial estate 

 had been placedin the forests of Charles City. 



In conclusion — the author of the " General De- 

 scription" has no prejudices which were likely to 

 mislead him in relation to Lower Virginia. On 

 the contrary, he cherishes towards it all that vene- 

 ration and respect inspired by the place of his na- 

 tivity ; and even the pine forests in which he ram- 

 bled in boyhood are still hallowed in his recollec- 

 tion. J. K. H. 



HIXTS ON BIAULING, AIVD MANAGE.IIEXT OP 

 HORSES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



INIany years past I read a piece written by you, 

 in the American Farmer, on the use of marl, 

 but its importance never presented itself to my 

 mind forcibly enough to induce me to use it, before 

 I heard you had published an " Essay on Calcareous 

 Manures." I then re-examined your piece and 

 the writings of otliers that had written on the use 

 of lime, and commenced marling a few days be- 

 fore I saw your essay. 



I had long known of three beds of marl upon'a 

 farm I own, and wishing to examine for more, an 

 inquiry was made of such of my acquaintances as 

 it was thought most likely could give some infor- 

 mation, how an auger should be made to bore for 

 marl ; but being unable to obtain the least informa- 

 tion, a trial was made to get one from Richmond, 

 which proved ineffectual. Finding I should have 

 to make one for myself, the idea suggested itself to 

 my mind that a common barrel inch auger would 

 do, by grinding off the end in the shape of a 

 gouge; but on trial it was found theearth slipped 

 out of the barrel as it was pulled up : the barrel 

 was then measured and found to be rather larger 

 at bottom than at top. An auger was tlien made 

 with the barrel rather smaller at bottom than at 

 top, so as to prevent the earth from slipping out, 

 and found to answer very well in most soils. The 

 three first augers made were inch augers, and 

 three, six and nine feet in length, so as to follow 

 each other, but on trial they were not found to 

 answer well. Being of the same size they w ere in- 

 convenient to get in and out. The length of the first 

 answered, as the earth was soft near the surface, 

 but three feet for the handle of either of the others 

 above ground was found laborious to begin with. 

 They were therefore altered : the size of the first 

 remained 1 inch, the second rather smaller, and the 

 third still smaller, the lengths 3, 5| and S feet, 

 w hich answered much better. The length of the 

 barrel should be from three to four inches, the 



