THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



129 



butter, her savory meats and pies, well fatted 

 poultry, her cheese, milk and cream, rich, fresh 

 and cool from the just admired dairy, all afford 

 practical themes at the dinner for discussion of 

 their merits, and of woman's worth ; as far as 

 practicable, the products of the farm are required 

 to be used for this part of the entertainment. Po- 

 litics and political matters are at no time alluded 

 to or admitted. After dinner, agricultural sub- 

 jects are discussed and experiments reported ; 

 agricultural works and journals exchanged, nox- 

 ious weeds noticed, and all the agricultural im- 

 provements and publications since the last meet- 

 ing are passed upon and reviewed — seeds, plants, 

 new grains, &c, distributed — the entertaining 

 member for the next month is agreed upon, and 

 the club adjourns, always early, to attend to the 

 feeding and foddering at home, before dark. The 

 gentlemen who compose this club, consist of 

 Messrs. Bryan Jackson, C. P. Holcombe, John 

 W. Andrews, Jesse Gregg, Sam'l Canby, Henry 

 Dupont, J. Boies, J. W. Thomson, Francis Saw- 

 den, William Boulden, George Lodge and Major 

 Joseph Carr." — Cultivator. 



This is exactly the plan of the " Hole and 

 Corner" clubs in Virginia, from which no doubt 

 it has been taken. We most sincerely wish we 

 could see them extended into every hole and 

 corner of the Union. 



For the Southern Planter. 



Bhestone, May 4, 1843. 



Messrs. Editors, — The enclosed was written 

 at the request of the Upper Corner Club of 

 Mecklenburg, and read at its last meeting, when 

 the following resolution was adopted : 



"Resolved, That the paper just read by the 

 President, Mr. A. C. Morton, be placed upon 

 the records of the Club, and forwarded to the 

 Editors of the 'Southern Planter,' with a re- 

 quest that they publish it in that journal." 



ON THE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF 

 HERDSGRASS AND CLOVER, AS GENER- 

 AL IMPROVERS OF THE SOIL. 



Gentlemen, — I should not have ventured to 

 deviate from the rules of the Club, in submitting 

 my views in writing on the subject of the com- 

 parative merits of Herdsgrass and Clover, as 

 general improvers of the soil, but for the invita- 

 tion to do so, which was given to' me at the last 

 meeting. With this apology, 1 shall proceed at 

 once to the subject in hand. 



That no extended system of improvement can 

 be rapidly and successfully carried on, without 

 the aid of the artificial grasses, as a general 

 rule, will, I presume, be conceded by all present. 



Manure, which is essential to the improve- 

 Vol. III.— 17 



ment of all soils, should be abundant on every 

 farm, and every agent, which aids in increasing 

 the quantity or quality, without detracting from 

 the fertility of the soil, whence it is taken, is de- 

 sirable, in proportion as it effects this object. — 

 No agents of this kind, so susceptible of ex- 

 tended application, have yet been employed, as 

 the artificial grasses. As food for stock, they 

 constitute the cheapest, as well as the most nu- 

 tritious; as covering for the soil, to shield it 

 from the impoverishing effects of the frost and 

 winds of winter, and the parching sun of sum- 

 mer, they constitute the most complete ; as litter 

 or soiling for stock, they are the cheapest, rich- 

 est, and most abundant ; and as agents to pre- 

 vent the gradual washing away of the soil by 

 heavy rains, none have been found so effectual. 

 So, that, whether we use them as food for stock, 

 top-dressing for lands laid out to rest, or litter for 

 our stables, farm-pens, &c. their value must be 

 admitted. That they, or some of them, are in 

 general, essential to extensive improvement, will 

 also, be readily admitted ; but the question of 

 the comparative advantages of herdsgrass and 

 clover, is one that admits of more doubt. When 

 land, and especially tobacco land, is to be culti- 

 vated on the three shift system, clover is cer- 

 tainly preferable to herdsgrass, for the reason, 

 that it forms a more speedy, and a more com- 

 plete covering for the land, when laid to rest ; 

 the clover requiring one year only to arrive at 

 maturity, while the herdsgrass requires several, 

 to produce such a turf as is adequate to any 

 great improvement. But when the four or five 

 shift system is pursued, I have no hesitation in 

 giving the herdsgrass the preference ; and so far 

 as the tobacco crop is concerned I have never 

 known it to fail on herdsgrass turf, well culti- 

 vated, while clover lots frequently fail entirely, 

 from want of its necessary concomitant, plaster, 

 or from the ravages of vermin, or some other 

 unknown cause. As a fallow for wheat, I con- 

 sider the herdsgrass totally unsuitable, on ac- 

 count of the difficulty of eradicating it, particu- 

 larly on moist land — while the clover is easily 

 destroyed by summer fallow. As a forerunner 

 of corn, I consider the herdsgrass objectionable, 

 on account of the difficulty of preventing its 

 growth among the young corn, and the addi- 

 tional labor which it requires to reduce the strong 

 turf which it forms ; all which may be partially 

 overcome by early working. But it is chiefly as 

 a hay crop, and as a grazing grass, that I give 

 this the preference to all other meliorating crops 

 relied on in this country. Among the many 

 errors maintained and exploded in the agricul- 

 tural community, there is not a greater, than 

 that a small stock in proportion to the size of 

 the farm, or in other words, that the " non-graz- 

 ing system" is essential to improvement. Under 

 the mode pursued by many in this country, of 

 keeping a large stock, without the aid of the 



