FARMERS' REGISTER— TOBACCO, &c. 



441 



quently groping; in the dark. It enables him, with 

 but little labor and expense, frequently to accom- 

 plish what might otherwise present insurmounta- 

 ble difficulties. It was before observed, we must, 

 like the industrious bee, pick and cull from every 

 source, and bring to the general store. What 

 would be impossible for any of us to effectj will be 

 easy, by associating together and exchanging 

 views and comparing the experience of each. But 

 the utility of agricultural societies is too obvious 

 to require further elucidation. Physicians, more 

 jealous of each other than any other class, associate 

 together for mutual improvement, and to advance 

 the interest of all. So of lawyers, the clergy, me- 

 chanics and all. And is it not more incumbent on 

 us in whose prosperity all are so deej)ly interested .' 

 The farmer is certainly the most important link 

 in the chain which binds society together. When 

 his interest droops, all must sympathise, and all 

 must be depressed; and when he is prosperous, life 

 and animation is imparted to the whole community. 

 The statesman, the warrior, and the professional 

 man, all long for the happiness and innocent plea- 

 sures of rural life. In ancient times, Cincinnatus 

 exchanged his sword for the ploughshare and 

 pruning hook ; and our beloved Washington, great, 

 both in the cabinet and in the fieSd, most glfdly 

 retired to the peaceful and quiet pursuits of nis 

 farm. 



But after all, what avails it, that we have a fine 

 climate and fertile soil, intersected with two noble 

 streams, and abounding as it does with much mine- 

 ral wealth, if half our produce is consumed, to get 

 the other half to market.^ While we turn our at- 

 tention to a more judicious system of crops, we 

 must keep an eye steadily fixed on the improve- 

 ment of the great thoroughfare nature has given 

 us to market. Who would hesitate to give a por- 

 tion of his profits to its improvement, when both 

 patriotism and individual interest so loudly call for 

 it.' Such an improvement as is contemplated by 

 the charter of the James River and Kanawha 

 Company, most liberally granted by our legisla- 

 ture, would soon reduce the freight to less than 

 one-half it now costs us, and a new source of wealth 

 would soon be opened to us in the quarries of lime- 

 stone and niarble,* found so abundantly through 

 our county. At is a fact which, perhaps, you are 

 not all apprised of, that Richmond is almost entire- 

 ly supplied with lime from New England, and 

 often at a cost of fifty cents per bushel ; while the 

 cost of it here would not exceed three or four 

 cents. But besides, we abound in iron, and it is 

 not improbable, in copper and lead ;t ^nd judging 

 from the formation of our country, I would expect 

 to find stone coal, and, perhaps, salt and gypsum. 

 The last is indispensable to the raising of clover, 

 and if not found amongst us, must still be brought 

 from Richmond at an expense of about -920 per 

 ton, until our rivers are improved. 



* Large quantities of pink, blue and gray marble, are 

 found in the neighborhood of Mr. Doniho's Forge, and 

 on several farms in the southern part of the county. 



f Both are found in several situations on the Blue 

 Ridge, more particularly in the neighborhood of Thorn- 

 ton's Gap. 



Vol. I.— 56 



THE CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO NOT OPPOSED 

 TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF LAND. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Amelia, Nov. 7th, 1833. 



I shall offer no apology for affording some small 

 aid to your labors, in the shape of a few observa- 

 tions on the culture of tobacco, &c. 



The part of Virginia in which I live and where 

 all my interest lies, has been, and for a long time 

 to come, must be a tobacco growing country. 

 This we well know, and must lament, (if, as has 

 been so often of late asserted) the culture of tobacco 

 be incompatible with the proper care of the soil. 

 But i.s this the fact.' I will attempt to show, (not 

 from any theoretical reasoning, but from some plain 

 matters of fact,) " that it is very practicable to grow 

 large and^ne crops of tobacco without the aid of 

 a load of manure, or the cultivation of a foot of 

 new land ; and I think it will follow as a matter 

 of course that the farm may be improved almost 

 as much with the tobacco as without it. 



Mr. William Old, of Powhatan, has, for the 

 last ten or twelve years, made as large crops of 

 tobacco, (I mean for the quantity cultivated,) as 

 any man in the state,^never or very rarely less 

 than 1000 lbs. to the acre — sometimes a great deal 

 more ; and this too always commanding a high 

 (relative) price. He has two lots for tobacco, one 

 of which is planted every year, followed the next 

 spring with oats, which, when ripe, are rolled 

 down, or turned under with the plough, as he thinks 

 best. This crop of oats not only supplies as much 

 fertility as the tobacco may have exhausted, but the 

 lots are becoming richer every year. On these lots 

 he uses no manure ; that is reserved for his corn 

 and wheat. The cost of the seed oats is about fifty 

 cents the acre. The labor of sowing and after- 

 wards rolling down is very trifling — not equal to 

 the expense of carting the manure on the lot if it 

 was given to him. What I would principally call 

 your attention to, is the fact : — That the general 

 character of his farm has been more improved in 

 the last ten years (whether you regard its appear- 

 ance or its product,) than any other farm, save my 

 friend Wm. Finney's, within my knowledge — 

 during the whole of which time he has cultivated 

 tobacco successfull}'. Nor are there any peculiar 

 circumstances of a favorable character vrhich ap- 

 ply to his farm and situation, more than to others. 

 On the contrary, his predecessors were literally 

 unable to support their families on the farm which 

 he has thus improved. These are the facts on which 

 I rely to prove the position, viz. That the culture 

 of tobacco is not incompatible with the improve- 

 ment of the land ; and I think they will be allow- 

 ed fully to sustain it by all who will take ihe trou- 

 ble to inspect Mr. Old's estate. 



I do not know whether the above is to subserve 

 any other useful purpose than to fill a column in 

 the Register, — for the spirit of radicalism is so 

 ))redominant in these days, that amelioration is 

 deemed worthless. Revolution is the remetly for 

 every evil. Thus if you would succeed in agricul- 

 ture, get rid of slave labor and tobacco. If a law 

 oppresses you, (really or in mnagination,) nullify 

 it. If your legislature vexes you with its long 

 and useless sessions, call a convention. This is the 

 order of the day ; and under these impressions, 

 thousands are yearly abandoning their native state, 

 who, did they but view the matter correctly, would 



