NORTH-CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 131 



the ash secured under cover before it has lost a part of its 

 potash by rains. In this latitude it is doubly necessary that 

 all fertilizers which abound in volatile substances should be 

 secured from the direct heat or rays of the sun, for observa- 

 tion very clearly proves that a great loss is sustained in all 

 animal fertilizers, where they lie unprotected upon the ground, 

 and especially if exposed to its direct rays. To increase the 

 quantity of fertilizing matter upon a plantation, should be 

 regarded as a business, and that business should be systema- 

 tized. It should be followed up with the same regularity and 

 attention as that which is bestowed upon th raising of cotton 

 or corn. A rich plantation is "agreeable to the eye ; it will 

 not wash nor become chanelled into unseemly gullies, unless 

 the owner ploughs his grounds carelessly, or neglects to sup- 

 ply the immediate wants of the crop under cultivation. Ex- 

 posed soils gully. Hence the importance of providing for the 

 growth of the crop to save the soil from washing by furnish- 

 ing it a sufficient protection in the crop under cultivation. 

 There are, therefore, t\vo considerations, either of which is 

 sufficient to induce the planter to provide fertilizers, viz: a 

 remunerating crop and a tillable surface, or one free from 

 gullies. A soil as soon as it is approaching to an exhausted 

 state, will begin to be marred and cut by streams which cross 

 it, and those which are formed by rain. The better part is 

 thereby carried away and lost. The tendency is to reduce 

 the value of the plantation and render its cultivation more 

 difficult and expensive. 



The cure for all these incidental as well as direct evils, is 

 to provide an ample supply of fertilizers. 



