THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



23 



against the generally disastrous effects of the heavy 

 rains of that climate falling on the sloping lands. 

 Mr. R. said that such results might have been an- 

 ticipated there. The fields in middle Georgia, are 

 kept almost continually under tilled or hoe-crops, 

 and mostly of cotton, which latter culture requires 

 the soil to be kept ahvays clean and well pulver 

 ized. The very frequent ploughing, and always 

 shallow, (which is so much the worse for washing,) 

 the general or entire absence of broad-cast or un- 

 tilled crops, and there being no grass crops, or for- 

 mation of sod, in the short intervals between the 

 tilled crops — all must dispose the hilly lands of the 

 more Southern States to be much more damaged 

 by being washed, than most well-managed lands in 

 either middle or lower Virginia, which have but 

 one tilled crop, (tobacco or corn,) in a rotation of 

 four, five, or six years. Of course, the benefits of 

 guard-ditches must be much greater on those cot- 

 ton lands than even in this hilly region, where their 

 operation is found to be so greatly beneficial. 



With his slight practical experience, Mr. R. said 

 it became him to speak diffidently. But, from all 

 that he had this day heard from good practical far- 

 mers, whose experience and opinions deserved high 

 respect, as well as from his previous observations, 

 he arrived at conclusions differing from those of 

 both the thorough approvers and opposers of this 

 practice. He entirely concurred in the belief of 

 the great benefits so obtained. But he thought 

 that under like conditions of soil, surface, and rains, 

 and also of judicious construction, the benefits of 

 guard-ditches will be the greater in proportion to 

 the extent or prevalence of the following conditions, 

 viz. frequenc}^ of the occurrence of tillage crops, 

 the more perfect and long-continued pulverization 

 of the soil, (as for cotton or tobacco,) and especially 

 the practice of shallow ploughing — the infrequency 

 of broad-cast crops, as wheat, peas, (as a manuring 

 crop,) and still more of the land remaining at rest, 

 and not grazed, under grass, or weeds, or even in the 

 less safe state of pasture. The reverse of all these 

 conditions, and especially with the deep ploughing 

 under of much vegetable matter, would render less 

 necessary, and less profitable, the use of graduated 

 trenches; and perhaps, (as had been stated by Mr. 

 Cocke,) in cases of highly enriched lands, under 

 broad-cast crops and grass most generally, the be- 

 nefits of this practice may be less than its cost. 

 Thus, undoubtedly beneficial and valuable as this 

 improvement is generally, its use seems to indicate 

 a transition state of agriculture ; presenting, truly, 

 evidence of great progress achieved in judicious 

 improvement, but of a mode of improvement which 

 will be hereafter the less practiced (where now in 

 use,) in proportion to the nearer approach to the 

 highest condition of improved culture and ferti- 

 lization. 



It had been remarked in this discussion that the 

 lime-stone -mountain lands did not wash because 

 of the open fissures of the underlying lime-stone, 

 which served as under-draining, and drew down the 

 excess of rain-water from the surface. It is true, 

 that there is some mechanical effect of this kind, 

 and, in some cases, operating even to an injurious 

 extent on lime-stone land. He had learned from 

 the late J. Sampson, Esq., that in his vegetable 

 garden grounds at the Red Sweet Springs, he had 

 attempted, and without success, the irrigating the 

 crops, because the water carried on, sunk so rapidly 

 through the open texture of the soil, and the still 

 more open fissured rock below. But, besides this 

 mechanical operation, (and which is the same, 



though less in degree, in the peculiar South-W- 

 Mountain lands, adverted to by Mr. F. G. Ruffln in 

 his remarks,) Mr. R. thought that the well-known 

 less liability of hilly calcareous lands to be washed 

 by rain-floods was more generally owing to their 

 chemical than to their mechanical constitution. No 

 persons had such good opportunity to know the fact 

 and to judge of the cause, of this greater exemp- 

 tion, as those farmers, who, like himself, had marled 

 or limed land of previously the worst character for 

 being easily and hopelessly (as then supposed) da- 

 maged by washing. The addition of lime to soil, 

 before greatly deficient in that necessary ingredient, 

 gives greater mutual attraction and adhesiveness to 

 all the different parts, so as to resist their easy sepa- 

 ration and removal of any one part by rain-floods. 

 He would not occupy more time by digressing on 

 this particular branch of the subject. But there 

 is no question that calcareous soils, whether na- 

 tural or made so artificially, are much less liable 

 to be damaged by being washed. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 ON IMPROVING OR ENRICHING POOR LAND — 



WHETHER NATURALLY POOR OR NATURALLY RICH, 



OR GOOD AND SUBSEQUENTLY EXHAUSTED BY 



SEVERE CROPPING. 



BY WILLIAM H. HARRISON. 



It seems to me that in commencing the work of 

 agricultural improvement a preliminary step should 

 be to take a general and thorough survey of the 

 soil of the farm to be improved. My object in 

 doing this would be to ascertain whether from the 

 similarity of the soil of the different portions the 

 same rotation of crops would be applicable to the 

 whole; or whether, as often happens, from the di- 

 verse character of the several parts, a varied ro- 

 tation would be advisable. The fact being estab- 

 lished that there is sufficient uniformity of soil to 

 make it expedient to embrace the whole area of 

 cultivable land in a general system, the next step 

 should be to consider the amount of labor to be 

 employed on the farm ; also taking into the account 

 the degree of poverty of the soil, in order to deter- 

 mine the proper rotation of crops. If the force is 

 an adequate one, and the land only moderately 

 poor, let the farm be divided into five fields, and 

 let the rotation be corn, wheat, clover, wheat, pas- 

 ture. If, on the other hand, the force is weak, and 

 the land excessively poor, I would recommend a 

 more extended rotation, and would divide the farm 

 into six or seven fields. The six field rotation would 

 be, corn, peas or rye, wheat, clover, wheat, pasture. 

 The seven field system would only vary from this 

 in allowing the clover field to remain unbroken for 

 two years. 



It being a well known fact that the value of both 

 calcareous and putrescent manures is greatly di- 

 minished, if not wholly lost, when applied to lands 

 that are sobbed by water, the next thing to be done 

 should be to establish the most thorough system 

 of drainage over the whole of the arable surface 

 that requires it. 



It is undoubtedly a great advantage to the farmer 

 to have his fields enclosed, but the expediency of 

 doing it or not must be determined by the circum- 

 stances of the case. If fences around the fields 

 are to be dispensed with, a standing pasture, of at 

 least half the size of one of the fields, should be 



