614 



FARMERS' REGISTER— CALCAREOUS DEPOSITES. 



and profitless contentions about political abstrac- 

 tions, with which no duty whatever calls upon 

 them to intermeddle, and to apjily themselves ex- 

 clusively to the all-important — the vital object of 

 restoring Virs^inia, — so far as depends upon them, 

 to that position in our union, to which she is most 

 justly entitled, and which she never would have 

 lost, so far as she certainly has, but by the fatui- 

 tous ignorance, or criminal disloyalty, of those 

 whose highest public duty it was to sustain it by 

 statesman-like policy, and disinterested patriotism. 

 That Virginia influence in our public councils, (I 

 mean, of course, legitimate influence,^ has been 

 lost, none are now so blind as not to see ; yet, most 

 strange to say, — most hard to believe, — although 

 the public vision is perfectly cleared up as to the 

 fact, it seems still as muddy as ever, in relation 

 both to the cause, and to all the most obvious means 

 of recovery, l^egislative aids to agriculture, or 

 rather to husbandry, form the first ; — legislative 

 aids to general education and to internal improve- 

 ments, of which education is immeasurably the 

 most important of all, constitute the second of these 

 means : and unless they are speedily adopted and 

 judiciously applied, — our representatives may talk 

 and talk of state-rights, nullification, presidential 

 misrule, banks and federal relations, until the)' 

 burst their lungs, without doing the smallest ima- 

 ginable good to the people, whom they represent. 

 Nay, they will do incalculable mischief by the lat- 

 ter course ; for they will be aggravating the party 

 madness, which is now raging through the coun- 

 try, like a canine rabies, — instead of rousing their 

 fellow-citizens to every intellectual and moral 

 exertion of which they are capable. The times, 

 and the present, as well as jjrospective condition 

 of our dear old state, most imperatively call for 

 such exertion ; and deep, and deadly, will be the 

 guilt of those who neglect to make it. That it 

 should take the direction indicated, seems to my 

 humble judgment, as clear as the light of a cloud- 

 less meridian sun ; for it is agriculture that furnish- 

 es the milk, which nurtures the children of the 

 state ; — it is agriculture that supplies the staff of 

 life to her adult sons ; and it is education, education 

 alone, not abstract discussion and party politics, 

 (the very name of which shows their partial, and 

 consequently, unjust character,) which will enable 

 these sons to understand — lo value as they ought — 

 and to defend their rights, from whatever quarter 

 they may be assailed. 



But my feelings, Mr. Editor, carry me away 

 on this subject, — a subject brought most painfully 

 to my mind, (although it is seldom out of it,) by 

 every newspaper that I take up; and especially by 

 the communication of your correspondent T. B. 

 McR. Agreeing as we do, on so many points, 1 

 regret very much to differ from him on any. But 

 there aie two, in regard to which, I must, with 

 due deference, express my dissent. The first, is a 

 question of fact, about which I should sincerely re- 

 joice to find him right ; but my own experience is 

 directly opposed to his. He says, — '• there is in 

 many places, increased attention to agricultural 

 societies. New societies have been formed, and 

 old ones which were long neglected, have been 

 revived." Now I say, that I have not been so 

 fortunate as to witness anything like it, although 

 I have been closely connected with such societies, 

 ever since they were first established in Virginia. 

 All the old ones — to the number of some fifteen or 



eighteen^are utterly defunct, if I am not greatly 

 mistaken — one only excepted, and that is in a 

 very languishing condition ; w hile the new ones, as 

 far as 1 have heard, amount to — one, somewhere 

 lieyond the Blue Ridge. That your correspon- 

 dent fully believes what he has uttered, I have not 

 the smallest doubt ; but it would have cheered the 

 drooping spirits of a brother agriculturist, more 

 than can easily be expressed, if he had specified 

 the cases upon which he rests his opinion. Again, 

 he says ; — " wlien Virginia awakes, it will be with 

 the strength of a giant." Would to God he could 

 prove a true prophet. But even giants themselves, 

 if they remain drunk or asleep, for a quarter of a 

 century or more, as Virginia has done, will be very 

 little, — if at all stronger than ordinary men ; al- 

 though their guilt will be enormously aggravated 

 by their neglect to exert, for the general good, the 

 great superiority of power with which nature has 

 endowed them. 



Your correspondent, Mr. Editor, will pardon, 

 1 hope, these only instances of dissent from his 

 oj)inions, in consideration of the entire approbation, 

 nhich I avail myself of this opportunity to ex- 

 press, in regard to every thing else that he has said 

 on a subject, which, in my humble judgment, is of 

 infinitely more importance than any other, (the 

 general education of the people always excepted,) 

 that can possibly engage the attention of the Vir- 

 ginia Legislature. 



As one of your subscribers and constant readers, 

 permit me to express the earnest hope, that your 

 correspondent T. B. McR., may frequently favor 

 us with more of his agricultural politics; for 

 should they suit the taste of your other readers, as 

 well as they do mine, something from his pen in 

 every number, would meet a most cordial welcome 

 from us all ; but from no one more than from 



Your old friend, j. m. g. 



CALCAREOUS DEPOSITJES IN NORTH CARO- 

 LINA. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Mantua, Lenoir County, (JV. C.J 

 Feb. I2th, 1834. 



Dear Sir, — I avail myself of this opporturiity, 

 to thank you for the pleasure and instruction de- 

 rived from a perusal of the " Essay on Calcareous 

 Manures," with which you so kindly presented 

 me, when we met at Raleigh. In my humble 

 opinion, no single treatise which has yet been pub- 

 lished, promises so much good to southern agricul- 

 ture. It opens a new and extensive mine' of fer- 

 tility, for the lasting improvement of our impover- 

 ished soils ; and may be the means of adding 

 millions to the wealth and prosperity of the south. 

 Happily illustrating an important theory by judi- 

 cious and satisfactory experiments, this work 

 comes directly home to the comprehension and in- 

 terest of its readers. 



My location is on the Neuse river, about mid- 

 way between tide water, and the granite termina- 

 nation. Very little has yet been done towards the 

 improvement of our plantations. Manure is pre- 

 served in but small quantities, and few aim at any 

 thing higher than the two-shift system. Under 

 this management, our lands would rapidly deterio- 

 rate, were it not for their warm and quick quali- 

 ties, which enable them soon to recover from 

 exhaustion. As it is, however, they are far from 

 progressive improvement. 



