(.135) 



J¥|pot an, exhauster of landj per 8e)j have brought ruin to 

 fthe Ijest acres of the nSoutb;. Whilst small: grain and the 

 grasses ha,vehu!sbanded and liicceis^dithe natural fertility 

 ^^ithe lands of, ou:r Northern neighbors. Lands in which 

 these too great staples are grown should be level lands, and 

 4b the case of tobacco should re(3eive, (outlside ithe/aid of 

 rotation), a generous manuring. \i But if. I have given thf 

 ^|Lie rffison for the rapid decline of the! productive capacity 

 ^ the soil of the South las^contrasted with that of the North*- 

 ern States, let me take you one step further and show you 

 ^hat in the rich region ofjcountry lying northwest of the 

 Ohio river, we find a v6ry great difference in. the material 

 -prosperity of , the farmers there. A portion of them are 

 prosperous, while others are fsxperiencing all the evils re- 

 Suiting from the comprehensive term hard times^ It is not 

 difficult to. learn the cause. The grain-maker, whose whole 

 inprgies have be&n.devoted to extracting the fertility of his 

 ^joii, for maav- consecutive years, in magnificent harvests^ 

 ^nds his crops growing less and less each year, while the 

 ^ijock- raiser is prosperous, having grown rich while making 

 his land rich. ^w.m^T itm jii'riii i ni hin .'TxI'i^niiiJB 



..,i,Tirae has here demonstrated a great truth which agricul- 

 .turists sjiould not ignore. Let our southern farmers profit 

 by its inevitable teaching. Let' us determihe to improve 

 pur destructive farming ; give tour lands p, chance to grow 

 better instead of depreciating yearly ; build up the waste 

 places; infuse , new, life into our southern land, beautiful 

 ^ill inher decline, and endeared the more as We see her 

 flpwly sinking under the drain mercilessly kept open by heir 

 OjWn children, in the; veins through which her priceless life' 

 1j)Jood flows. -![,<( (Ti9-iy'l} 1ii/;I)iiikIi; i». (Ijiiindt 'tfli filii-i't 



Since writing the above, I, have accidentally found an old 

 'jd,9cument upon 'fSoutliern AgriCiuJtural Exhaustion laMd'its 

 Kemedy," from the able; pen of the late Judge 'E,uffin,iof 

 yirgiiiia. t|A)thQughiithis; article was not I MJrit ten. specially 

 x)pon the; merits qf the jfieJd pea as a rfenov^tor of worli 



