70 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



sylvania, who added one to the list, and has 

 recently furnished us with a repetition of it in 

 these words : 



" In the year 1840, 1 commenced seeding my 

 orchard in oats for the benefit of my hogs, 

 turning them on the oats as soon as I discover- 

 ed the straw yellowing under the head ; which 

 I continued until 1854 with a decided improve- 

 ment in the land. I was prevented by circum- 

 stances from seeding the oats in 1854, and by 

 the fall the lot was so thickly set in Virginia 

 blue grass it would have been useless to have 

 fallowed it for oats. To cleanse the land of 

 the grass I put the land in corn in 1854. The 

 crop was greatly better than I had expected, 

 some acres yielding at least 50 bushels to the 

 acre this year, I shall cultivate it in corn again, 

 after which, I shall continue my oats system ; 

 by the bye, I would advise you to recommend 

 to every farmer to sow oats for the benefit of his 

 hogs — say about one bushel for every five kill- 

 ing hogs."" 



The additional time since the statement was 

 originally made is of course included in the 

 above. 



6. These facts, and one to the same purport 

 from another source which we remember to 

 have received, but cannot now recollect the par- 

 ticulars of, and which is therefore omitted here, 

 we mentioned about four years ago, at a 

 meeting of the farmers of Virginia, convened 

 in the Capitol to vitalize our present and then 

 new born Agricultural Society. They elicited 

 some discussion, and one additional fact. Mr. 



Note. — Mr. Poindexter also gives another in- 

 teresting case of continuous cropping. 



" I will now give you another instance of 

 repeated culture on a small lot of high or hill 

 land from which the crops were taken off". 



In 1843 I cleared a lot of 6 acres for tobacco; 

 under my system the tobacco was repeated, 

 and was followed by wheat and clover, but the 

 clover crop was an entire failure, I again seeded 

 wheat and clover. The wheat crop was* very 

 fine and the next year when the clover matured, 

 the whole lot bedded and the crop was cut off. 

 The clover stubble was fallowed for wheat, and 

 was better than the first and the clover crop 

 following which was cut was equal to any crop 

 I ever saw on high land. Finding the last 

 crop of clover much heavier than the first, I 

 determined I would take off a crop every year 

 until I saw the crop diminishing, which I have 

 done with the exception of two very dry sea- 

 sons, when the clover would not pay to cut, with- 

 out the least diminution of either corn or wheat 

 and without the aid of any kind of manure ex- 

 cept Plaster. This year I shall put the lot in corn 

 to be followed by wheat ; which will be fourteen 

 crops to be taken from the land in 16 years.' 7 



Chas. Carter Lee said that his uncle, Mr. Bur- 

 well of Roanoke, had told him, in reply to the 

 question, how he had managed so greatly to 

 improve a poor field in front of his house ? 

 that he was almost afraid to tell him — but the 

 truth was he had done it by growing oats on 

 the land year after year for — if our memory 

 serves us — eight years. 



We have given the names of all the parties 

 above — a liberty we beg them to excuse — be- 

 cause testimony is more impressive when the 

 witness is not veiled, and because we wish them 

 to corraet any error in our statements. If they 

 will so correct us they will do us and the pub- 

 lic a favour. And if any gentleman can add 

 his testimony to the above an equal favour will 

 have been conferred. 



As the case now stands, we have given, in- 

 cluding the extract from the Country Gentle- 

 man, seven cases in which oats cultivated under 

 all circumstances of soil and after-treatment, 

 have improved, or at all events failed to impov- 

 erish, land. The facts possess a scientific value 

 probably above their practical importance. But 

 still one or two valuable practical deductions 

 may be made. 



First. It proves that one may have the same 

 lot for hogs for many years. This will enable 

 him to commence the process of fattening — 

 unless he shall previously, and more judi- 

 ciously, have begun it on clover — at an earlier 

 period than is common, and, by means of green 

 corn fed in the roasting ear, and secured, by 

 successive plantings, in that condition until 

 frost, to continue it uninterruptedly until a short 

 time before killing, which should always, yes 

 always, take place as early in November as the 

 weather will allow. 



Second. It will enable a great many to sub- 

 due, if not destroy, the wild onion, which fre- 

 quently causes a loss of 5 to 10 per cent, in the 

 price of wheat, without injuring the land. 



Third. It presents a ready means of getting 

 a good fallow on lands apt to bake in summer; 

 as it ensures that the land will not be injured 

 by the growth of oats, whilst it can certainly 

 be fallowed with half the labour. Whilst for 

 hogs, which will harvest it themselves, or for 

 marketing near a city, where the sheaf oats 

 may bear a high price, it is a valuable crop, 

 (provided, in the latter case, the land will bring 

 straw enough to give weight,) yet, as a general 

 rule, whether for market as clean oats, or for 



