THE SOUTHERN PLANTER; 



lOeboteH to flflnculture, gjortfcultunr, anU the g?ouseftcil& mvW 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. 



Xeno'phon. 



Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the 

 State. — Sully. 



C. T. BOTTS, Editor. 



Vol. III. 



RICHMOND, OCTOBER, 1843. 



No. 10. 



For the Southern Planter. 



IMPROVING OLD LANDS. 



Mr. Editor, — At the request of a friend, I 

 wrote to Dr. R. D. Palmer desiring him to com- 

 municate any knowledge which he had derived 

 from experience as to the best mode of improv- 

 ing our old lands. 1 send you for publication 

 what he says on the subject, as he gave me 

 permission to do so if I thought any one might 

 be benefited by it. It is evident that we shall 

 have to resort to his or some other mode for re- 

 storing our worn-out lands. From my own ex- 

 perience and observation I feel no hesitation in 

 saying that I believe the Doctor's plan to be 

 the most practicable and economical I have seen 

 suggested. 



J. Morton. 

 Spring Grove, Campbell, Aug. 11, 1843. 



"In 1827, I settled on a farm of 560 acres, 

 in the lower end of Campbell county, in the 

 most exhausted condition of any, perhaps, in 

 the State of Virginia. It had been under the 

 very worst system of management from the 

 time of its settlement in 1755. The soil being 

 red, its aspect generally was more that of a 

 gully-side than any thing else. Hundreds of 

 gullies were everywhere to be seen, some from 

 forty to fifty feet wide, and as deep as a common 

 house-top. The previous occupant had annu- 

 ally expended from one to two hundred dollars 

 for corn. An intelligent lady remarked to me 

 that ( the land was so thin that we would have 

 to double it.' 



"From this appalling picture the question 

 will naturally arise, ' why did you purchase V 

 The answer is that 'I thought it a suitable 

 stand for the practice of medicine, and that from 

 some eighty or ninety acres of creek bottoms I 

 should be able to draw a support until the ex- 

 hausted land could be reclaimed.' 



"At first I divided the farm into four equal 

 shifts, and cultivated in corn, followed by wheat, 

 where the land was thought to be good enough 

 to produce it, and where not, in oats or rye. In 

 consequence of the great poverty of the soil, 

 rye was generally preferred, as oats would not 

 grow high enough to be cut. My aim, from 

 the first, was to clover and plaster all of the 

 land in small grain ; but, from the paucity of 

 Vol. III.— 28 



my means, much could not be clone in that way 

 for several years. Experience soon taught me 

 that one-fourth of my land would not produce 

 enough to support my family of ten or twelve in 

 number. And that the belter way would be to re- 

 sort to a ring-fence : and cultivate the flat land 

 and such places as required cleaning up, while 

 I was manuring the thinner parts of the farm. 

 My aim has ever been to raise as much manure 

 as I possibly could, without neglecting other 

 necessary things ; and always to haul out in 

 the spring. The principal resources have been 

 from corn-stalks, leaves, straw, &c. When put 

 in the stables and farm-pens they afford com- 

 fortable beds to the horses, cattle, &c, while, at 

 the same time, they absorb and retain the liquid 

 manure, which otherwise would be lost. 



"The present condition of my farm will tell 

 whether my efforts have been in vain. 



" I should not neglect to say, that as soon as 

 all of my galled land got in a condition to bring 

 grass, I again divided my farm inlo five, instead 

 of four shifts ; and that now we fallow one, so 

 as to have, annually, one in corn and two in 

 small grain. 



"I made no tobacco until my fields every 

 where, through the assistance of manure, clover, 

 plaster, &c, had taken on a rich mantle of 

 green. 



"The first object of the farmer, in reclaiming 

 worn-out lands, should be to extend his manures 

 so as to get as much stuck in grass as he can, 

 For this purpose I think top-dressing answers 

 the purpose best. A mixture of red clover, 

 herdsgrass, timothy, greensward seed, &c, with 

 plaster of Paris, sown late in February or early 

 in March, so as to put a bushel of plaster to the 

 acre, will generally stick well, especially if the 

 thinner places have a little top-dressing. But 

 little grazing should be done except on the field 

 intended for corn the ensuing year; and that, 

 principally, after the full blossoming of the clover. 



"As time and leisure may be afforded me, 

 from the pressure of my engagements, I may 

 address you on some of the individual branches 

 hinted at in the foregoing desultory epistle. 

 Very respectfully, R. D. Palmer." 



LIME, SALT AND ASHES. 



We lately saw an instance of the wonderful 

 effects of the above substance as a manure, on 



