THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



105 



mimal were not sufficient to accomplish her 

 purpose. 



A ewe belonging to Mf. William Applebury, 

 (S. A.) about two years old, became so disabled 

 and diseased from the excessive distension of 

 the uterus, as to make her entirely helpless and 

 apparently dying. Mr. Applebury thought it 

 most humane to have her killed. On examin- 

 ing the contents of the womb, he found four 

 perfect lambs near sufficiently matured for birth. 

 A fine subject for the physiologists. 



J. M. W. 



Chatham, Feb: 17, 1844. 



As an accompaniment to the above, we may 

 mention that a gentleman of this city, of the 

 highest respectability, called at our office a few 

 days since and stated, that a sow on his farm 

 in the neighborhood had the evening before given 

 birth to eleven fine full grown pigs, and that 

 about twelve hours after, she produced another 

 litter of ten, about three-fourths matured — evi- 

 dently the result of a second conception. 



IMPROVEMENT OF WORN-OUT LANDS. 

 From a very intelligent traveller, whose ac- 

 quaintance we happened to make as he was 

 passing through our city, we have received the 

 following communication : 



Fayetteville, Cumberland Co., JV. C. 



C. T. Botts, Esq. 



Dear Sir, — In passing through parts of Vir- 

 ginia and North Carolina, I was much surprised 

 to see large fields lying waste, which I was in- 

 formed had been abandoned as "worn out," 

 whilst the proprietor had substituted new grounds 

 for them, at all the expense and inconvenience 

 of a new home and a new clearing. Beside 

 the sacred and endearing associations which 

 usually cluster around the ancient homestead, 

 a great pecuniary loss must be sustained in the 

 pursuit of this system. It would seem that one- 

 half of the time and labor required to fit a new 

 farm for the crop, would restore the old one. A 

 plan for the improvement of old lands is very 

 successfully practised at the North, which, it 

 appears to me, would be applicable here. It is 

 as follows : 



Procure as many bushels of buckwheat as 

 there may be acres to improve, and as soon as 

 the spring opens, plough the fields deep and 

 sow the buckwheat broadcast, and harrow it in. 

 This on the very poorest lands at the North 

 will yield a quick and luxuriant growth. 



As soon as the crop is in full blossom, (unless 

 it has grown so rank as to have lodged of it- 

 self,) flatten it to the ground by the use of a 

 roller, followed immediately by the plough, which 

 Vol. IV.— 14 



shall whirl it under. Sow again another bushel 

 to the acre upon the upturned sod, rake it in, 

 and as before, turn it under. Then sow the 

 seed of the largest kind of red clover, which 

 should be suffered to grow to maturity, then to 

 be trampled down and eaten off by stock. To 

 all these crops, one bushel of plaster per acre, 

 applied when they are about one-fourth grown, 

 will vastly increase the amount of vegetable 

 matter, and will also secure a more extended 

 fermentation. 



At the end of the second year, all lands thus 

 treated, will be restored to their original fertility. 

 At least, I know from experience that such has 

 been the effect in the more northern sections of 

 the Union, and I do not see why the same re- 

 sult should not follow at the South. 



A Northen Farmer. 



WATER-ROTTING HEMP. 

 To the Editor of the Southern Planter: 



Sir, — It is from no desire to appear in print, 

 that I ask a small space in your valuable paper, 

 to enable me to give my mite of information on 

 the subject at the head of this article, but sim- 

 ply the carrying out of an intention long since 

 made of publishing my experience on the mode 

 of water-rotting hemp — I am the more induced 

 to do this, because in Virginia it is very little 

 understood, if indeed, I am not almost the only 

 one at all engaged in it. While on the subject 

 of hemp, perhaps it might not be amiss to say 

 something in a general way as to its cultivation 

 and management ; I shall, therefore, give my 

 views : 



1st. As to the sort of land suitable for hemp. 



2d. Its preparation ; the time and manner of 

 sowing; quantity of seed; time of pulling or 

 cutting, and manner of securing. 



3d. The ordinary mode of dew-rotting, and 

 subsequent management. 



4th. The water-rotting process. 



1st. Then, it is useless to sow hemp on poor 

 land ; rich soil is indispensable. Rich tobacco 

 lots, flat rich creek or river bottoms, mountain 

 hollows with southern exposure, or clover lands 

 where two or three successive crops have been 

 permitted to fall. These are the only lands 

 from which a good crop of hemp may be ex- 

 pected. As to the preparation of the soil, a to- 

 bacco lot requires nothing but to be broken up 

 with a barshare, (just before sowing,) harrow- 

 ing, sowing and ploughing in quite shallow, 

 with the shovel plough. Most other lands, es- 

 pecially meadow and clover lands, should be 

 well broken up in the fall, and again in the 

 winter or early in spring, and well harrowed, 

 and finally, before sowing closely bull-tongued, 

 harrowed, sowed, and shovelled, about three 

 inches deep. As to the time of sowing, there 

 is some difference of opinion, Some sow as 



