128 lawson's history 



of the corn op carolina. 

 The wheat of this place is veiy good, seldom 

 yielding less than thirty fold, provided the land is 

 good where it is sown ; not but that there has 

 been sixty-six increase for one measure sown in 

 piny land, which we account the meanest sort. 

 And I have been informed by people of credit, 

 that wheat which was planted in a very rich piece 

 of land, brought a hundred and odd pecks for one. 

 If our planters, when they found such great in- 

 crease, would be so curious as to make nice ob- 

 servations of the soil and other remarkable acci- 

 dents, they would soon be acquainted with the na- 

 ture of the earth and climate and be better quali- 

 fied to manage their agriculture to more certainty 

 and greater advantage, whereby they might ar- 

 rive to the crops and harvests of Babylon, and 

 those other fruitful countries so much talked of. 

 For I must confess I never saw one acre of land 

 managed as it ought to be in Carolina since I 

 knew it ; and were they as negligent in their hus- 

 bandry in Europe as they are in Carolina, their 

 land would produce nothing but weeds and straw. 



They have tried rye, and it thrives very well ; 

 but having such plenty of maiz, they do not re- 

 gard it, because it makes black bread, unless very 

 curiously handled. 



Barley has been sowed in small quantities, and 

 does better than can be expected; because that 

 grain requires the ground to be very well worked 

 with repeated ploughings, which our general way 



