74 SHEEP HUSBANDRY I\ THE SOUTH. 



hard, and frequently stiffen loose surfaces.* The grass seed han-owetl iuUj 

 a properly pre])ared soil, at the suitable season of the year, might so root 

 itself as to withstand the subsequent heats, while those dropped on a hard 

 or a loose surface by birds, or borne there by winds, would be exposed 

 directly t() the rays of the sun, which, if it did not entirely prevent germ- 

 ination, would dry up and kill the tender roots before they could strike 

 deep enough to resist its influence. Much will depend, in this exjjeri- 

 ment, upon a projier selection of the variety of grass sown. That variety 

 should be sown which is found to flourish best on similar soils, in the same 

 climate, even though relatively it may be an inferior grass.t 



By means as cheap and attainable as these, I have not a doubt that do 

 inconsiderable portions of the nearly naked soils of the tide-wLter zone 

 might i)e brought into ])asture sufficiently good to make their ultimate con- 

 version into prime pastures, by means of sheep husnandry, certain. 



On the worn-out granite soils of the middle region, the once fertile red 

 clay lands — now occupied only by dwarf pines, worthless broom-grass, etc. 

 — deep plowing and thorough sowing (with the aid of steeps and the cheap 

 top-dressing, before adverted to) would gmcralhi, I believe, bring these 

 lands into pretty good pasture. These soils, having been subjected only 

 to the one-horse plow, and hand tillage, arc worn out onlij on the stirface. 

 This is proved, in innumerable instances, in Fairfax, and other northern 

 counties of Virginia. Lands considered entirely worn out, and sold for a 

 mere trifle, are subjected to the northern two-horse plow, and from one to 

 three inches of earth, never before disturbed, is brought to the surface, 

 which readily supports grass, and even grain crops — the latter tempora- 

 rily. Thus, most fortunately, the means are still left, with the aid jf pas- 

 turage, to make many of these lands profitably productive, and to restoio 

 ihem to much of their former fertility. 



Wc come now to another class of lands which may, in many cases, be 

 worth reclaiming, but which will not, by merely being plowed and sown 

 produce sufficient grass to make their fertilization by sheep husbandry at- 

 tainable — or attainable within a moderate period of time. These are the 

 inferior (but not the worst) sands of the tide-water zone. Here gieen 

 manuring must be resorted to, by means of plants which will better with- 

 stand the climatic and other difficulties in the way of their getting well- 

 rooted, and which will flourish in poorer soils than the grasses. Both of 

 these conditions are answered by various plants. Spurry ( Spergula arren- 

 sis) and white Lupins (Lupinus a/bus J will flourish on dry, barren, and 

 even shifting sands, and are extensively used as green manuring crops on 

 such soils, on the Continent of Europe. From their rapid growth and ex- 

 traordinary productiveness, they are admirably adapted to this end. The 

 inti-oduction of these plants would probably sui)})ly an important desidera- 

 tum in Southern Agriculture, unless, as I have already expressed the opin- 

 ion,! the pea leaves little to wish for, as a green m.anuring crop on eveiy 

 class of southern soils. Soaked in a solution of nitre — rolled in lime — top. 

 dressed, after sprouting, with a slight sprinkling of ashes and gypsumJI — 



* The samls of the tide-water zone are evervwheir. at gieatrr or less depths, underlaid hy clay. J'heee 

 a.'.izhl in ecme cases be reached by ihe plow, and portions of them iuc rpornled wiih the superincunib^nt 

 eoil 



t Sec I-etter III. J In Letter III. ■ :, ^ -^ ^ , , „ 



I! Spen"cl's analysis, in Letter III., fhows the laiL'e amount of potash required for the seed, and of Uiuo 

 for the straw of the pea. The favorable el!ect of plaster on this, as on most other Iciiuminosie, is well 

 known. A-'hes. pla»lpr and lime can be purchased heie at an averace of less than ten cents a bushel. A 

 bushel of 2\p^um, mixed with sav two bushels of ashes, makes a top-dressins which will pay for itseU ■ 

 B-iimber ol' lim.'S over, on anv land to which I have ever seen it applied. In addition to rollini; tiie seed 1b 

 dine n few bu-liels of it. or of marl, would mnki- a !.'Oo;l. and, where accessible and cheap, an ec<>i.omic«l 

 topiiressiim'. When I ?peak nf the price of lime hcie. I do not relir to marl. The latter, in Us natural 

 tme, cou'd be purchased at the beds for probably a .~bi' iiig a load. 



