182 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



scholars." In the brief stay which I made at the 

 Court House, much was said, I confess, in favor 

 of the strangers, yet there was a slight curling 

 of the lip and tossing of the head, with some- 

 thing approaching an arrogance of feeling, a 

 kind of "stand-aside" air, "I am holier than 

 thou," which I regretted to see. And when 

 they inquired (jocosely, of course,) the price of 

 wooden nutmegs and hams, 1, believing "that 

 a soft answer turneth away wrath, merely re- 

 plied that, my wife says, she has never heard of 

 any Yankees purchasing such articles them- 

 selves, how many soever they may have sold ! 

 However, all this is merely seed sown by the 

 way side, which will soon perish for lack of 

 depth of root. Well, let us jog along. 



Imagine me then, at the house of my old 

 friend, (and yours too, I believe,) Alfred Ball, 

 Esq., in Prince William, on this 1st day of June, 

 1843 — present, host and hostess, two charming 

 young ladies (bless their hearts) my compagnon 

 da voyage, J. T. B , the king of good fellows, 

 and your humble servant, all sitting by a rous- 

 ing fire which was not at all uncomfortable, 

 while we were eating green peas and strawber- 

 ries. Various were the subjects briefly dis- 

 cussed on that happy evening. Literature, 

 state and national policy, crops, frosts, and agri- 

 culture, all delightfully interspersed with lighter 

 "Lidy talk," while delicate fingers, with com- 

 mendable industry, plied the useful needle. In 

 the midst of our agricultural chat I was intro- 

 duced to the "Southern Planter," a genileman 

 of good, fair proportions, of some pretensions 

 and considerable promise. The following day 

 I took occasion to hold several hour's commu- 

 nion with the said Planter, and am happy to 

 say that I am highly pleased with the acquaint- 

 ance. And while I beg you to excuse my dul- 

 ness in not becoming earlier acquainted with so 

 excellent a work, I hope you will hatch out some 

 apology for not sending me the number contain- 

 ing your strictures upon a communication of 

 mine published some time since in the Farmer's 

 Monthly Visiter. How did you expect me to 

 peregrinate with you, and how to make my 

 heart glad, with a sight of those goodly things 

 on the banks of James River, w T ith such a side- 

 way invitation? It reminded me at once of my 

 good old aunt Hetzy, who, being a little shy of 

 some of her poor relations, when she wished to 

 omit any of them, was sure to send their invita- 

 tion in such a round-about way as to make it 

 impossible to reach them before the party was 

 over!* Now if you will break that "bottle of 



* We can assure Mr. Brown that we are not at 

 all like his aunt "Hetzy," for we had every desire 

 that he should receive our invitation at the time it 

 was given, but as he was a wanderer, with only a 

 name, and, as far as we knew, without a "local ha- 

 bitation," we did all we could, and sent the invitation 

 to his friend, Governor Hill, with a request that he 



wrath," w^hich you have been keeping warm, 

 and will shed somewhat gentler ink upon what 

 you conceive to be my errors, 1 will pass a re- 

 solution nem. con. to consider your invitation 

 "just as good as new," and will present myself 

 to your honor the first opportunity, when we 

 will embrace all those rare delights which you 

 have so felicitously hinted at. 



Some of your strictures upon my remarks on 

 Virginia Farming, are a little too strict, and some 

 phrases a " leetle too sew r ere." Burdocks and 

 nettles ! You are as sharp as a newly-set prun- 

 ing hook. Nevertheless, I am willing to let the 

 "justice and liberality" which you do acknow- 

 ledge, go (all in the farming way) as a little 

 pure lime to neutralize the acids of "asperser," 

 " ignorance," and a few such gentle terms, which 

 your remarks contain. That's the way we do 

 in the soils, you know. 



I have carefully examined the contents of the 

 Southern Planter, and am happy to add my tes- 

 timony to its value. You have able correspond- 

 ents, and the style and tj^pographical appearance 

 of the work is neat and attractive. Extensive 

 travelling, by the Editor, among the planters, 

 will cive him opportunity to note observations 

 which, written out, will give the work a fresh- 

 ness and value which it will be difficult to ac- 

 quire in any other w r ay. It is impossible that 

 the science of agriculture shall not advance with 

 rapid strides when such works as the Planter 

 and seveial other papers devoied to the subject, 

 are scattered plentifully among the farming po- 

 pulation. I consider the man w 7 ho communi- 

 cates any improvement in agriculture or agri- 

 cuhural implements to the public, as conferring 

 a lasting good to his kind, and as infinitely more 

 won by a niche in the temple of fame, than 

 thousands of those whose names are rung 

 through the land for deeds whose benefits die 

 with the day. 



My excursion was too hurried and brief to 

 afford me any material facts. 1 strolled over 

 the plantation of my friend Ball, and was gra- 

 tified at the success which has attended his ef- 

 forts. His example I found contagious, and 

 will prove of great advantage in that section. 

 The crops, however, at this juncture are unpro- 

 mising, in consequence of the cold and wet wea- 

 ther. There was a heavy frost on the night of 

 the 1st instant which did considerable damage 

 to the tenderer plants. The practice of tilling 

 a less number of acies and of cultivating them 

 highly, is gaining rapidly, as is also that of im- 

 proving their breeds of horses, cattle, sheep and 

 swine. In short, every thing is promised, and 

 alread}' a great work is besrun. 



If I find opportunity, and the materials which 



would forward it to its destination. But in Virginia 

 a "good fellow" is always welcome, and it is never 

 too late here to accept an invitation once given. — Ed. 



