THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



83 



probably quite as good a son as Vindicator him- 

 self; that the old gentleman did not enjoin me 

 to secrecy ; and, therefore, that I thought my- 

 self at liberty to repeat it, particularly as there 

 could be no stronger proof of the condition of 

 our husbandry in lower Virginia. Whether it 

 was in, or out of place for me to say any thing of 

 such a remote period, I shall leave it to others to 

 decide. 



I remain, gentlemen, 



Yours, with regard, 



James M. Garnett. 



There is nothing we have so earnestly endea- 

 vored to avoid as the admission of personal 

 controversies into the columns of the Planter, 

 and yet, notwithstanding our utmost vigilance, 

 they have on one or two occasions insidiously 

 crept in. When we received the article of " Vin- 

 dicator," which was delivered in person, we 

 scanned it with a careful eye, and seeing nothing 

 in it but a critique upon a. public document, mixed 

 with a little raillery to be sure, we gave it ad- 

 mission that the public might judge between 

 the author and Mr. Garnett. We are extremely 

 sorry to find that Mr. Garnett takes an entirely 

 different view of the article, and exhibits an irri- 

 tation that we conceive it by no means calcu- 

 lated to excite. If a gentleman writes a public 

 letter, he has no right to object to its being cri- 

 ticised, provided the criticism is free from insult- 

 ing personalities. To find fault w T ith the pro- 

 duction, without attaching some blame to the 

 author, is impossible, and for us to declare that 

 we would admit no piece that inculpated an in- 

 dividual, would be to say, that we would admit 

 no comment upon any article that was published. 

 The facts adduced by one individual may be de- 

 nied and controverted by another, the arguments 

 of the one may be replied to and refuted by the 

 * other, but no personal abuse, ungentlemanly 

 language, or charge of dishonorable motives, 

 shall be indulged in the Planter, whilst we have 

 charge of its conduct. Our general course, and 

 particular and often expressed respect for Mr. 

 Garnett, will, we hope, satisfy that gentleman 

 that we conceived the article of " Vindicator" 

 free from those objections. Thinking so still, 

 hard as it is to resist an appeal such as Mr. 

 Garnett makes, and coming from such a source, 

 we would have refused to publish his communi- 

 cation, had we not received a request from " Vin- 

 dicator," to whom we sent it, that we would do 

 so, with an assurance that Mr. Garnett had 

 wholly misunderstood the spirit of the article, 



which was written in a pleasant mood by one 

 of his warmest personal friends and admirers, 

 and, we will add, by a gentleman who never 

 entertained an unkind feeling towards him in 

 his life. 



From the New York Central Farmer. 

 ON DITCHING. 



As I agreed to give you a description of my 

 mode of ditching, 1 will now redeem my pledge. 

 About twenty years ago, 1 purchased my farm 

 in Whitesboro', and on this farm was about 130 

 acres on the Mohawk flats, and about 60 acres 

 of that was covered with black ash timber, al- 

 ders and bogs, and the water stood on it nearly 

 the whole year ; the 60 acres were not worth 

 as much for any use then as 5 acres are now. 

 Not being acquainted wiih farming much, I did 

 not know how to commence right, but my first 

 object was to improve my low grounds. 1 com- 

 menced by making small ditches which would 

 soon fill up. i then made a bank or dike with 

 a small ditch on each side, but that did not alto- 

 gether answer the purpose intended for a ditch 

 and fence. About three years ago I commenced 

 in a different way, which seemed to answer 

 all the purposes intended, that is, to drain the 

 land effectually, and at the same time make a 

 good fence. I make my ditches six feet wide 

 at the surface of the ground, and three and a 

 half or four feet deep, as the land may require, 

 with a slope so as to bring it about one foot on 

 the bottom, and take the turf from the top of 

 the ditch and lay it up on each side with the 

 same slope as the ditch, about one and a half 

 feet high, leaving a lip of about four or five 

 inches on each side of the ditch ; on placing the 

 rows of turf that distance back from the ditch, 

 to prevent its caving in by the frost till the bank 

 becomes solid. I make small sluices in the 

 lowest places, through these side banks, for the 

 water to draw off from the top of the ground. 

 The raising of the banks on each side makes 

 the ditch about eight feet on the top, with slope 

 bank, so that horses or neat cattle cannot easily 

 get over it ; sheep will run over it. I lay out 

 my lots from twenty to twenty-four rods wide; 

 three ditches drain the land effectually. 1 have 

 raised a very good crop of corn on some of the 

 lowest of this land this year, and it has been a 

 very wet season. 



I will now say a few words about my mode 

 of cultivating these low grounds; they are most 

 profitable for meadow — I therefore seed them 

 down as soon as they are subdued by ploughing, 

 or the ground is smooth, they may be brought 

 into a good quality of grass by sowing on seed 

 and harrowing. I find it very profitable to give 

 these lands a thin dressing with manure; it im- 

 proves very much the quality and quantity. 



