No. 151.] 471 



STATE OF AGRICULTURE IN GEORGIA AND SOUTH 

 CAROLINA. 



The following condensed view of the state of agriculture in Geor- 

 gia and part of South Carolina, has been communicated by Dr. Whit- 

 ten, Hancock county. 



On our upper table lands, w^e obtain an average of from fifteen 

 to twenty bushels of corn an acre. Along our creeks and water 

 courses we get thirty or forty. Our lands are generally poorly cul- 

 tivated, by a people who do not aim at a permanent settlement, but 

 are looking to removal to new lands. We have very little sod 

 among us. Corn, has heretofore been with us but a secondary crop; 

 cotton, tobacco and rice, have occupied our farmers. Ten years ago 

 I selected for a farm, a worn out, exhausted, red, washed place. By 

 cultivation I now get 25 bushels an acre off it. We are improving 

 our agriculture; we use much cotton seed for manure, about seven 

 bushels per acre, put in the drills or in hills. We have established 

 Farmer's Clubs in every county of Georgia. I have known ninety- 

 seven bushels of shelled corn raised on an acre, in my county, Han- 

 cock. 



We are bringing much of our good forest lands into cultivation; 

 some of them give 35 bushels of corn per acre, others 25. We 

 place much reliance on green crops, oats particularly. Our native 

 crab grass, when in seed, we plow under, and find it to be very fer- 

 tilizing. Our corn is the gourd seed, and the gourd seed flint kinds; 

 we cultivate your early varieties of corn for the table. The pea, 

 called the cow pea, we plant in our corn fields. We plant the corn 

 in February or March, and in May, when the corn is well grown, 

 we plant this pea, and it climbs the corn stalk without injury to the 

 corn. Experiments have been made in subsoiling our land, and great 

 benefits experienced from the operation; one signal advantage is, 

 that it protects our crop from the damage of severe drought; we have 

 not tried plaster to any extent; we have green sand marls produced 

 from decomposed rocks; the green sand of Jersey is a secondary for- 

 mation. Attention is being drawn to our marls for manure; much 

 reliance is placed on ashes for corn and wheat. Clover grows excel- 

 lently with us, but is very liable to be destroyed by our heat or drought, 

 our crab grass will get ahead of it in our fields. 



