S38 



FARMERS' REGISTER— ON FENCING, &c. 



and where manure of any kind geenis to sink, and 

 its eticcts to disappear in a few months, and which 

 it seems cannot he much enriched. But these spots 

 are few, so far as my knowledge of the county ex- 

 tends, and are com|)aratively very small. And tlie 

 great mass of the Bedford lands are comparatively 

 good, and susceptible, by the proper and prudent 

 cultivation of clover, peas, and other shading, 

 succulent, and nutritious vines and grasses, and by 

 the use of plaster and other manures, of the very 

 highest improvement. Our soils are various in 

 many respects ; and among the best in the county, 

 is what is commonly called a mulatto soil, of a dark 

 brown complexion, al ounding in black oak and 

 hickory, black gum, locust, dog wood, poplar, &c. 

 on which is made much of our fine tobacco, and af- 

 ter two, and even three cropsof that plant, is won- 

 derful tor wheat, corn, rye, oats, potatoes, flax, 

 buckwheat, peas, and sometimes hemp (which lat- 

 ter is not often raised here.) This kmd of land is 

 sure to have the foundation I have above describ- 

 ed, which is as close and tough as you can well 

 imagine, and holds manure or water almost like a 

 bladder : and on such, although old, much worn and 

 exhausted, where a load or two of stable manure 

 has been spread and ploughed in before the scorch- 

 ing sun and exhalations have in a great measure 

 destroyed it, its effects and Isenefits are most obvi- 

 ous and visible on the crops for five, ten, or even 

 fifteen vAaro_ 



In much the larger part of our county, the rota- 

 tion of crops, (if such it deserves to be called,) is 

 to cultivate the same soil in tobacco two, and not 

 unfrequently three years ; then wheat, rye, or 

 oats; and regularly thereafter, corn or small grain 

 of some sort, in constant succession as long as it is 

 worth cultivation; and if it hai)pens ever to get 

 one year's respite, it is during that year so wof^ul- 

 ly pastured and grazed by stock, that one year's 

 rest in that v/ay, leaving it more than ever bare 

 and exposed to the scorching sun, and so trampled 

 by the hoof, that 'tis the hardest year it has ever 

 had. There are, 'tis true, exceptions to this ruin- 

 ous course of cultivation, and I must say tliey are 

 increasing : and there are some who have recently 

 commenced a much more prudent and improving 

 system — and at present there are more clover seed 

 and other grass seeds sown, and more plaster and 

 other valuable manure made, and more horizontal 

 and deep ploughing, than heretofore. Indeed, we 

 have some as fine looking clover fields, and which 

 where well manured or plastered, affords as fine 

 crous of clover as I ever saw beyond the Blue 

 JRidge in the limestone country : and I have heard 

 some Botetourt farmers express their suprrise at 

 seeing (this side of the mountains,) such line clo- 

 ver fields, and tliat they were equal to, and often 

 better (in wet seasons) than any they had seen in 

 their county ; and at the same time declare they 

 had no doubt this county was as well adapted for 

 improvement of its soil as any county in Virginia. 

 But generally, our ploughing is wretched, and done 

 in any other way than horizontal, and so shallow, 

 as only to loosen enough at one ploughing of a 

 corn crop for the first hard rain to carry all oil' that 

 is loosened, or for the sun effectually to kill and 

 parch up the little thus turned over or broken up. 

 There is yet in the minds of many men of ordina- 

 ry intelligence, a strong prejudice against deep 

 ploughing, and a belief that it will soon entirely 

 destrov the soil. 



Bed(brd is one of the principal tobacco making 

 counties in Virginia, and yet there is a good deal 

 of wheat raised in tlie county, but 'tis mostly on 

 corn land, and such as will not produce tobacco 

 well. And yet there are happily some who fallow 

 pretty extensively for wheat, and 'tis much to be 

 hoped the prices for the two last crops may in- 

 crease its culture. It is with deep regret I must 

 add, I have not known one bushel of good clover 

 seed raised and sold in market in this large, popu- 

 lous, fertile and wealthy county. 



An agricultural society was probably formed at 

 New London, mainly by citizens of Bedford, on 

 Saturday last, as a meeting was to be held there 

 for the purpose. To all such, properly conducted, 

 I say God speed them and their efforts : and I hope, 

 ere long, we may have one here, and at other 

 places in the county, to which end I hope your Vir- 

 ginia Farmer may largely contribute. 



w — c — . 



ON FENCING AND OTHER ENCLOSURES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Reri-ter. 



Columbia, S. C. Oct. 5th, 1833. 



In order to add my mite to the great exertions 

 now making by your correspondents, and particu- 

 larly by yourseu, for the promotion of agricultu- 

 ral interests in cur country, I thought the great 

 need to our country of permanent or at least du- 

 rable enclosures would cause such hints as I might 

 give, to be tolerated in your most valuable perio- 

 dical, " The Farmers' Register." If you think 

 so, I beg you Avill insert the following desultory 

 observations. 



It will not be disputed, I hope, that for the success- 

 ful ])rosecutionofany business whatever, due prepa- 

 rations in buildings, implements, &c. of the most 

 durable and commodious kinds should be provided, 

 and that the first expense ought to be incurrecl 

 with judgment, but without stint, or fear of spend- 

 ing a few dollars more or less. VVe should always 

 keep in mind that it is much more economical to 

 lay out one hundred dollars for a useful thing than 

 fifty dollars for one that is useless, or nearly so. — 

 Make shifts have always, I believe, been found 

 the dearest way of proceeding to business, and 

 should never be resorted to except in cases of the 

 most absolute necessity. One of the things in 

 which we fail most generally in our country es- 

 tablishments, is in the due enclosing of our fields. 

 The common v^orm-fence is certainly soon made 

 in a new country where there is an abundance of 

 choice timber for the purpose ; but we all know, 

 that except in very few favored situations, where 

 the timber is of superior dural»ility, such a fence 

 answers but very imperfectly the object it is in- 

 tended for ; and that after a few years of continual 

 trouble in driving pigs and cattle out of the field 

 and repairing the fence, it must be made anew. 

 The post and rail fence is better, particularly where 

 duralle timber is easily obtamed for the posts; 

 but still, wood decays so rapidly, that I am certain it 

 is much more economical to make at first a dura- 

 ble fence at double the cost, and that in a few 

 years it will have proved the cheapest. The next 

 best thing is live fences, and here also there is a 

 considerable difficulty in the selection of the most 

 suitable plant capable of answering the purpose 

 most fully. There is scarcely any one plant that 

 is not liable to some objection ; we must, there- 



