686 



FARMERS' REGISTER— LANDS IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA. 



of us, in Ihis matter, that we should be inexcusa- 

 ble were we to make no attempt to restore our 

 country to its original fertility. It was said by 

 our great Henry, on some occasion, soon after the 

 revolutionary war, " since the achievement of our 

 independence, he is the greatest patriot, who stops 

 the most gullies." The powerful mind of this won- 

 derful man, with almost the spirit of prophecy, 

 could forebode the present impoverished condition 

 of our soil, from the tlien existing modes of culti- 

 vation ; and probably adopted this striking form of 

 expression, as best calculated to awaken the atten- 

 tion of others. The inventive spirit of the age has 

 provided a plan for the arrest of gullies, which 

 have, in some sections, made such ruinous inroads 

 on our lands. Horizontal ploughing and hillside 

 ditching will, if skilfully executed, effectually put 

 a stop to their increase. And time, which destroys 

 all things, will destroy the gullies, when their 

 causes are removed. But when the effects of 

 washing rains are obviated, the means of filling 

 gullies, either by throwing in rubbish, forming- 

 barriers across them, or causing grass or trees to 

 grow in them, are not of difficult application. 



The same kind of ploughing and ditching which 

 so admirably provides against the formation and 

 increase of gullies, constitutes one of the best 

 means of resuscitating the exhausted soil. Evapo- 

 ration has been pronounced " the great thief of 

 manure." However readily we admit the insidu- 

 ous purloinings of this culprit, we are inclined to 

 think, they bear but a small comparison with the 

 ravages committed by heavy falls of water, which 

 like a tyrannic destroyer, frequently sweep near- 

 ly all the soil at once. Even when from tenacity 

 of the soil, or some other cause, it is not swept 

 away, its fertility is greatly diminished, by the 

 running off of a great portion of those soluble mat- 

 ters, which constitute, perhaps, the best manures. 

 Skilful ploughing and ditching, by giving the wa- 

 ter a moi'e gradual discharge, allow time and op- 

 portunity for the disposition of much of these so- 

 luble matters, and their retention by the land. 

 Whoever has much observed land horizontally 

 ploughed, must have remarked the quantity of 

 trash and colored foam which settles in the water 

 furrows. All this, and even much of the solid soil 

 itself, if the lands are not skilfully ploughed and 

 ditched, must be washed away by great rains, 

 which we consider the greatest spoilers of the soil, 

 not even excepting the ravages committed by the 

 teetii and hoofs of grazing animals. 



When the evils of washing rains are well guard- 

 ed against, the lands rigidly kept enclosed, (i e. 

 secured from being grazed,) and a judicious course 

 ol crops observed, we hold that the foundation is 

 laid for the renovation of the soil. Time, the 

 great destroyer, is also the great restorer ; and 

 will inevitably — if man diligently puts matters in 

 a proper train — bring back the land to its prime- 

 val strength. The term required for the accom- 

 plishment of this desirable end, must depend on 

 the original constitution of the soil, the degree 

 to which it may have been exhausted, and the 

 rotation of crops observed. Under even the 

 most auspicious circumstances, it might not ac- 

 cord with the interest or the inclination of the 

 good farmer, to await the tedious operation of na- 

 tural causes, in the restoration of fertility to his 

 land. He will, of course, inquire for some means 

 whereby he may hurry the operation. 



We complain much of the scarcity of the means 

 of improving our lands. It may well be doubted 

 whether such complaints are reasonable, while we 

 so constantly fail to avail ourselves of such means 

 as do exist. It is often said hereabout, " the peo- 

 ple in Eastern Virginia may well talk of improv- 

 ing land, when they have such rich beds of marl^ 

 with which they can easily quadruple the value of 

 their lands ; if we had such an advantage, we 

 would directly go to improving too." When be:- 

 holding the blessings enjoyed by others, we are 

 prone to overlook those beneficently lavished on 

 ourselves. Though we may be denied the use of 

 marl, yet we have a soil better calculated to retain 

 putrescent manures, than most of that in Eastern 

 Virginia. Who among us has yet exhausted the 

 means supplied by nature for the improvement of 

 our lands.'' It is true, some of us — rather carelessly 

 though — use the offal of our corn and wheat crops 

 to that end. We all know that oak leaves, and 

 we are told in the " Register," that pine leaves, 

 make good manure j^,w hen fermented in the farm 

 pen or stable yard. Yet few of us gather manj^ 

 of them for such purpose, and many of us call it 

 " robbing Peter to pay Paul :" yet Peter loses 

 but little by it, more than the winds and the rain 

 would carry away from him ; and after all, it is 

 but forcing him through Paul to pay his own 

 taxes. All of us call ashes one of the best ma- 

 nures. Yet who has an ash house.' The writer 

 knows but one in the county in which he resides. 

 Who does not know that the excrement of sheep 

 and hogs makes excellent manure? Yet how many 

 pen these animals with a view of obtaining it .'' 

 How many among us have made a fair experiment 

 of the adaptation of gypsum, as a manure, to their 

 lands? We have long known, that clover, as a 

 meliorating crop, possessed great fertilizing pow- 

 ers. How few of us have been benefitted by this 

 knowledge on an adequate scale? How many sow 

 oats, buckwheat, or any other article, with a view 

 of turning them in, for the benefit of the land? 

 A single example of this was afforded in the se- 

 venth number of your Register. Who has haul- 

 ed clay upon sandy land, or sand upon clay, with 

 a view to improvement? In short, sir, I have just 

 discovered that I have given the wrong heading to 

 this branch of my subject. Instead of complain- 

 ing of the scarcity of the means of improving 

 land, I should have set down as the chief obstacle 

 in effecting a matter so desirable, the ignorance, 

 apathy, and procrastination of our people on this 

 subject. Yes, sir, and prejudice too — for there is 

 prejudice, and that sometimes among men of no 

 inconsiderable standing. But the great mass of 

 people in my vicinity are thoroughly convinced, 

 that whether it be practicable or not to improve 

 our lands, the old system of cultivation must end 

 in ruin to our farms. And that end, with many of 

 us, is already in sight. To " give up the ship" is 

 what we cannot bear to think of; and we look, 

 sir, to the Register, in a great measure, to guide 

 and to stimulate us to a more correct course of ma- 

 nagement. It is pleasing to observe that not tliose 

 alone specially engaged in agriculture, but that pro- 

 fessional men, merchants, and mechanics, are ta- 

 king a strong and patriotic interest in this matter. 



2. The little belt of country, mentioned by a 

 writer in your first number, containing some beds 

 of weak argillaceous marl, forms but a speck, in 

 comparison with the extent of country denied the 



