FARMERS' REGISTER— BEDFORD SOILS, &c. 



337 



labors required by the soil, and to tlie products ex- 

 pected from it. These are the proofs of my third 

 principle. 



The fourth position is only a corollary from the 

 preceding; for it would be a mere sacrifice of ma- 

 nure to bestow it upon land ill prepared for pro- 

 ducing. 



If the foregoing principles be admitted, and if 

 the whole of my deductions from them cannot be 

 controverted, it "is then important to seek to correct 

 as much as possible, the closeness and lightness of 

 a soil, to a sutTicient depth. I say to a sufficient 

 depth, because the inferior strata have a great in- 

 fluence on vegetation, the phenomena of which, 

 we observe only at the surface. This being as- 

 sumed, soils of too much porosity should be sel- 

 dom ploughed, and almost solely to clear them oi 

 noxious herbs. They will suffer little from wet 

 ploughing, which bakes the land and is generally 

 so pernicious ; — I sliould even expect some advan- 

 tage from it on sandy soils. The most compact 

 manures will be best for such lands; mud from 

 ponds, strong, rich dung, and clay ; the drains for 

 carrying off rain-water may also be less carefully 

 opened. 



Lands too close, like most of mine, should re- 

 ceive dressings of sand and mixtures of long, coarse, 

 unrotted litter. Paring and burning should be 

 resorted to; but as these modes of improvement 

 are frequently ruinous, or at least beyond the 

 means of the proprietor, it is by frequent and deep 

 ploughings that we should attempt to pulverize 

 such soils. This is the point to which I would di- 

 rect the whole attention. We know all the exist- 

 ing ploughs, with their improvements : but not 

 one has been constructed with the single object of 

 sinking and keeping its share at the greatest re- 

 quired depth, for all are designed to turn the land 

 more or less. So, in practice, I know no instru- 

 ment of tillage for opening soils during a drought. 

 I should require then such a tool that all the 

 drawing force might be employed in depth. It 

 should make in the earth only a split or cleft vertical 

 to the surface, leaving a given space to separate tliis 

 split from that which is to be made on the return of 

 the instrument; the horses going, as in ploughing, 

 from one end of the field to the other. After passing 

 over the field in one way, the work should be re- 

 peated at right angles to the first, so as to divide 

 the land, like a chess board, into spaces of about a 

 foot square. The original cohesive force of the 

 soil being thus once lessened, good turning ploughs 

 should be worked to a great depth. What was 

 impossible, will be only more or less difficult. 

 Then an energetic proprietor will succeed in im- 

 portant improvements which manual labor is in- 

 sufficient to effect on a large scale in lands like 

 mine. 



BEDFORD SOILS, .AXD CULTURE. 



We are indebted for the following communica- 

 tion to the late editor of the Virginia Farmer, to 

 whom it was addressed, and who, on declining tlie 

 publication of his agricultural journal, has sent 

 this answer to some of his previous inquiries, to be 



published in the Farmers' Register. 

 Vol. 1—43 



Liberty, J]edford, Fa. 1th Sept. 1833. 



To Theoilerick McRobert, Esq. 



Editor of l/ic I'irginia Farmer. 



Dear Sir, — The post master at this place has 

 placed in my hands a printed circular received by 

 him some months ago from you, requesting infor- 

 mation respecting " the present state of agricul- 

 ture," &c. and respecting " the soil — the kind of 

 soils — its capacities for improvement — the kind of 

 crops cultivated — the progress of improvement in 

 agriculture generally," &c. &c. And the post 

 master has requested me to write you, giving the 

 desired information, &c. It would afford me much 

 pleasure if I pos.sessed the reqiiisite information, 

 and had leisure and capacity to answer your inter- 

 rogatories fully and satisfactorily ; although a true 

 account of the state of agriculture, &c. in this 

 county generally, would present a gloomy picture. 

 It would also be mortifying, even to my county- 

 men, who are from hal)it so familiarized to the 

 wretched, slovenly and injurious manner of culti- 

 vating tlie soil in many parts of Bedford, that, al- 

 though they would notice and condemn them if 

 seen abroad, yet they at home attract no particular 

 attention. Nor are truths always the most pala- 

 table when they relate to our own indolence or neg- 

 ligences. 



The present stale of agriculture generally In this 

 county, is a very bad one ; and in some particular 

 parts of the county, the worst I ever saw. There 

 have been some particular periods, when from par- 

 ticular causes, such as the extreme low prices of 

 tobacco, (our staple commodity,) and a rise in the 

 price of wheat, corn, &c. the country would for a 

 short time present the appearance of an obvious 

 change for the better. Then there seemed to be 

 less tobacco reared, and more grain of every kind 

 in the fields, and more clover and grass of different 

 kinds sown, and more plaster and manure general- 

 ly saved and used, and more attention to the build- 

 ings, enclosures, fixtures, &c. generally on our 

 plantations, and more attention paid to judicious 

 ploughing, (the very life and soul of good farm- 

 ing,) and to raising more stock, particularly horses 

 and hogs. But soon, too soon, a little depression 

 in the price of wheat^ and a little spur or rise in 

 tlie price of the tobacco crop, and the scene by the 

 next year is greatly changed : and in traversing the 

 county, you see all the best land on almost every 

 plantation cultivated in tobacco, and every thing 

 like making and carefully saving manure, and ap- 

 plying the same to the grain or grass crops, neg- 

 lected. The enclosures seem to be utterly neg- 

 lected, and go to wreck ; and a total neglect of 

 every thing like improvement in soil, or in the 

 mode or manner of ploughing, and in the prudent 

 application and distribution of manure, except on 

 the tobacco lots, are neglected; and the whole en- 

 ergy and industry of the plantation seem to be 

 employed in bettering the quality, and increasing 

 the quantity of tobacco. 



This is tlie more lamentable as I do conscien- 

 tiously believe the JJedlbrd lands generally are, 

 from the nature and quality of the soil, and from 

 its lying generally on a fine, firm, compact and 

 close substratum of clay, are susceptible of as 

 high a state of improvement (by prudent and ju- 

 dicious management) as any county in this re- 

 nowned commonwealth. 



'Tis true, there are some few local situations, 

 where there seems to be no good clay foundation, 



