90 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



these days of superficial guessing, dignified with 

 the name of philosophy, it is refreshing to meet 

 with a work teeming with profound and original 

 conclusions drawn from a series of most labo- 

 rious and skilful experiments. It is itself a sy- 

 nopsis, and we can hardly make a synopsis of 

 it ; but we have committed it to the hands of 

 one, from whom we hope to obtain a review of 

 the work commensurate with the merits of the 

 author. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 REPORT 



Of the Committee appointed to examine Mr. Richard 

 Russet's farm, read before the Hole and Corner Club 

 of Mecklenburg, January, 1844. 



The Committee appointed to examine Mr. 

 Russel's farm find their work somewhat abridged 

 by the report which was submitted by a com- 

 mittee of the Club in December last, in which 

 the general good management of Mr. R. was 

 set forth. The condition of the farm as exhi- 

 bited on the present occasion certainly betrays 

 no relaxation of diligence, attention, or progress 

 in improvement. We found every thing in com- 

 plete order. The hog-pen was the first thing 

 that attracted our attention. The large heap of 

 manure was truly farmer-like, and the hands 

 were engaged in throwing it together in one 

 corner for the double purpose of having it shel- 

 tered from the weather and preparing the spot 

 on which it had been accumulated, for a tobacco 

 plant bed. The snug shelter reared up to pro- 

 tect the hog-feeder and the kettle, shows that 

 the gentle admonition bestowed by the commit- 

 tee on that subject, last year, was not wholly 

 disregarded. 



The stable, stable-yard and its enclosure, in- 

 dicated that Mr. R. was paying great attention 

 to the subjects of raising and preserving ma- 

 nure. The enclosure was a post and rail fence 

 erected on a bank, which served to prevent in- 

 jury or loss in the manure, by the washing of 

 heavy rains, or by filtration. The fence was 

 something new in the mode of construction, 

 and admirably fitted for the purpose, uniting the 

 important requisites of strength, durability and 

 closeness (which latter quality secures the leaves, 

 with which he litters freely, from being blown 

 away by hard winds.) It was constructed with 

 grooved posts about five feet high, at the dis- 

 tance of eight or ten feet, with pine poles barked 

 and let into the grooves from the bottom to the 

 top, so as to rest one upon the other, and a sub- 

 stantial capping of a five or six inch plate mor- 

 tised on the top of the posts, and extending the 

 length of two or more panels. The sheds of 

 some of the tobacco barns were walled up in 

 the same manner. The Committee are not pre- 

 pared to recommend this mode of fencing gen- 



erally, either on the score of economy or conve- 

 nience, but for the purpose to which Mr. R. has 

 applied it, they think it valuable. 



Mr. R. is a large wheat grower and his wheat 

 fields presented a truly fine specimen of efficient 

 preparation, careful seeding and draining, and 

 if there could be any fault found, or improve- 

 ment made here, we are free to confess that we 

 could not detect the former, or know where to 

 apply the latter. 



In passing from the wheat field to that in 

 course of preparation for corn, we passed the 

 farm pen, where we saw more indications of at- 

 tention to the subject of raising manure. We 

 also saw the cattle and although they presented 

 evidence of good keep, they were certainly not 

 such as ought to be exhibited bj^ a man of Mr. 

 R.'s enterprise and wealth. On an estate like 

 Mr. R.'s we might expect to find the most im- 

 proved breeds of stock, exhibiting evidences of 

 careful attention to breeding and improvement. 

 The Committee are not disposed to countenance 

 an extravagant passion for blood stock, but they 

 think that a free cross of the most improved 

 breeds of cattle on Mr. R.'s purely scrub breed, 

 would not only not diminish their value, or in- 

 jure their appearance, but would be in better 

 keeping with his highly cultivated and improved 

 farm and general good management, and at- 

 tended with what to him would be a very trifling 

 expense. There is some apology for Mr. R. in 

 the fact, that his open land hitherto, has not 

 been more than sufficient for his labor, and that 

 he has been rather scant of pasture ground. — 

 He has, however, made some improvement in 

 this respect, by obtaining a bull of the Durham 

 and Devon crosses, and enclosing a portion of 

 land, including old field pine land, and forest, 

 and laying it down in herdsgrass, after thinning 

 out the pines and undergrowth of the forest and 

 trimming up the trees, giving to the whole what 

 your Committee imagine to be a striking resem- 

 blance to the park scenery of England. And 

 your Committee would suggest to Mr. R. that 

 the addition of a few full blood Durhams, De- 

 vons, or Herefords, would in no wise lessen the 

 beauty of the scene, or its value, in the estima- 

 tion of the Club. 



Our attention was arrested on the road by 

 the plough teams. They were chiefly mules of 

 fine size, in fine order, and working in pairs to 

 large ploughs, and however negligent Virginians 

 generally are of their teams, (and they are pro- 

 verbially so,) Mr. R.'s showed no signs of hard 

 usage or abuse. 



The fallow for corn on the upland was nearly 

 completed. It was well executed. A heavy 

 coat of vegetation was completely turned in and 

 the Committee could find no fault of the plough- 

 ing, whether in depth, uniformity, or neatness. 



Mr. R. is pursuing a system of improvement 

 that is gaining ground in this region of country, 



