THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



•7 



came the commencement of cotton planting, 

 in the further South, which in its general 

 economy was a repetition of tobacco planting, 

 with the same profitable results, and the same 

 consequences to the land somewhat modified by 

 the greater average richness of the lands in 

 the cotton zone, the greater consequent ease in 

 repairing the waste of soil, and the general 

 improvement in rural economy all over the 

 world. 



It was a blessing of Providence, if net a 

 direct design, that we should make money 

 enough by subduing the forest to encourage us 

 in the work. Now it is done, or in a fair way 

 to be done ; and Virginia, who was one of the 

 pioneers in the work, and contributed millions 

 to it in men and money, is bending her atten- 

 tion to domesticate the lands she long ago sub- 

 dued ; and she will do it. Her three last of- 

 ficial valuations, covering an interval of about 

 eighteen years, show a rate of progress on which 

 she might claim the congratulation of her 

 sisters at the North, — if she had sisters there. 



We are sorry that we cannot accord to " some 

 of the families who left the barren hills of 

 Massachusetts and New Hampshire" any great 

 share, either by example or achievement, in 

 this work of renovation. Their numbers, how- 

 ever great their skill might be, are too small to 

 affect the average. But their skill is not great. 

 They are good lumber men, good dairy men, 

 good gardeners, good horticulturists. Their 

 forte lies in working small farms with minute 

 attention, and in hauling large loads with well 

 trained oxen ; and they are great economists 

 on a small scale. In these things they beat us. 

 This is all the merit we have heard ascribed to 

 them as farmers: such as it is we freely ac- 

 cord it. It could not be expected they should 

 have any other. Brought up on small farms, 

 unaccustomed to control large masses of labour, 

 how could they jump into the large harness of 

 a Virginia farm, and find it work easily and 

 naturally? Exceptions there may be — Robert 

 Edmond is one — a noble one— who works 

 negroes and has a Virginia overseer ; but we 

 know of no other : and the rule is as we have 

 stated it. We do not cavil at it, nor protest 

 against it,, nor sneer at it. Such men are wel- 

 come to live among us, and to make what they 

 can. But they will never make Virginia " blos- 

 som as the rose." If proof of these facts and 



grounds for this opinion be demanded, we have it 

 at hand in a recent letter from Mr. L. Dederiek of 

 Dranesville, Fairfax county, — who occupies an 

 exhausted "Potomacriver" farm, — to the editors 

 of the (Albany, New York,) Country Gentle- 

 man. The editors had said that "those who 

 had emigrated to Virginia had not been doing 

 very well." Mr. Declerick says it is, in many 

 cases, too true:" and he attributes " the diffi- 

 culty" " to embarrassments occasioned by pur- 

 chasing too much land." He goes on to speak 

 of " the errors and difficulties" he had " him. 

 self experienced, and which have proved the 

 ruin of others, and the great embarrassment of 

 most of the Yankees who have emigrated here." 



Now Mr. Dederiek says he has two hundred 

 acres of land, of which he cultivates twenty, 

 and runs a saw and grist mill. This is not 

 considered a very large farm in Virginia ; and 

 if that much ruins some and embarrasses most 

 of the Yankee immigrants, it will take rather 

 more than "some of the families who left the 

 barren hills of Massachusetts and New Hamp. 

 shire " to blossom" the ten and a half millions 

 of acres in Virginia farms. 



The taunt at our "institutions" does not pro- 

 voke us to discuss the subject with Mr. French. 

 Even if it had not been lately treated in all its 

 aspects so as to render it unnecessary, especially 

 when, as in this case, the argument on each 

 hand could reach only one side, the fixedness 

 of our respective opinions would make it use- 

 less so fat as convincing either disputant might 

 be concerned. Mr. French believes, and no 

 doubt sincerely, that slavery is the bane of our 

 whole system. We, quite as candidly, look 

 upon free labour as the curse of his. He thinks 

 slavery will ruin the South ; we think free 

 labour has already narrowed the doom of the 

 North to chaos or despotism, unless it shall be 

 rescued by Southern conservatism. Whether 

 these respective opinions be the result of one 

 sided views time will show. But meanwhile 

 we may agree to differ without taunts, and be 

 on terms of civil intercourse ; just as Russia 

 and the United States find it to their interest 

 to enter into treaties of amity and commerce, 

 though their systems differ irreconcileably. Of 

 governments it may be said, what Fielding 

 wrote of men: "the finest composition of 

 human nature, as wcil as the finest china, may 

 have a flaw in it; and this, I am afraid in 

 either case, is equally incurable; though, never- 



