108 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



fume in the one, that was wanting in the other. 

 Moreover, lime, whilst in small quantities it pro- 

 motes deca} 7 , like salt, when applied in larger 

 proportions acts as an antiseptic. It may have 

 been that the vegetable decomposition, out of 

 doors, was prevented by the action of an over- 

 dose of lime. 



A TRUE PICTURE. 



The following picture of a Southern planter, 

 as we too often find him, is from the graphic 

 pen of our friend Wilson, of the Planters' Ban- 

 ner. There is a deuced sight more truth than 

 poetry in it. By-and-by our planters will pro- 

 bably learn a little gumption, and then we shall 

 be happy to see the picture reversed, but until 

 then candor compels us to acknowledge its cor- 

 rectness. — Tropic. 



"Now for the picture of the planter. He 

 wouldn't sell a chicken, nor a dozen of eggs, 

 nor a bushel of peaches, nor a calf, for any con- 

 sideration. He is above that ! He raises cotton — 

 he does ! He rides in a six hundred dollar car- 

 riage, for which he is in debt. His daughters 

 thrum a piano that never will be paid for. He 

 buys corn which he could raise at ten cents a 

 bushel, and pays sixty cents for it, after two and 

 a half per cent, advance to his commission mer- 

 chant. He could raise his own tobacco, yet he 

 pays $3 a pound for ' Richmond scented.' He 

 could raise his own hogs, yet he patronizes Cin- 

 cinnati. The consequences are disastrous. Be- 

 ing the possessor of one staple, he fluctuates 

 with the market of that article. He takes the 

 1 Price Current' — he pays postage — he gobbles 

 down the English news like a cormorant. If 

 he sells to-day, he'll lose— therefore, he'll wait 

 for better advices. He is 'mixed up' in cotton, 

 and is a gambler therein. Meantime he wants 

 money • drafts on his factor ! He wants cotton 

 goods and clothes for his plantation, that be 

 could make at home. He orders them, and 

 feels 'large.' The manufacturer, the insurer, 

 the shipper, the freighter, the drayman, the 

 warehouse man, the seller, and finally, the 

 commission merchant, all have a finger in the 

 pie of profits, and the pround, foolish planter 

 pays them all. The year closes, and he is ' up 

 to his eyebrows' in debt! This is the result of 

 his not 'calculating,' nor even guessing the dif- 

 ference between farming and planting. One 

 supports a family ; the other supports pride, until 

 pride gets a fall." 



For the Southern Planter. 

 WARD : S WHITE WHEAT. 



JSlr. Editor, — In the January number of the 

 Southern Planter, page 19, 1 observe a few 

 words said about Ward's white bearded wheat, 



supposed to be described by Gen. Harmon, as 

 follows: "Kentucky while bearded, better known 

 in Western New York as Hutchinson's, or 

 bearded flint, or Canada flint." 



Whether it is the same kind as that known 

 in this section of country, as "Ward's white 

 bearded," I am not able to say. The kind known 

 in this vicinity by that name has a tolerably 

 long beard, and resembles very much, when 

 ripening, the variety called the " golden shuck." 

 When ripe, the shuck is of a reddish brown, the 

 straw is, near the ground, about as solid as that 

 of the white flint, and ripens about as early as 

 that variety. It has been extensively cultivated 

 in this and the adjoining counties for the last 

 eight or nine years. A gentleman informed me 

 a few days ago that his father carried some of 

 it with him to Kentucky, when he moved there 

 some seven or eight years ago. This wheat 

 was propagated by me from four heads which 

 I found growing in my wheat patch in the sum- 

 mer of 1830. About one head and a half was 

 wasted before 1 discovered that it was while ; I 

 then rubbed out the balance and sowed it a few 

 days before Christmas. I continued to sow the 

 product each year, without taking much pains 

 with it. The harvest of 1833 I reaped four 

 bushels and five-eighths, from which the next 

 harvest I reaped about ninety-six bushels, which 

 was more than double the quantity necessary to 

 sow my crop ; the balance, by my recommenda- 

 tion, was purchased of me, by my neighbors, 

 for seed ; they were very well pleased with it. 

 Nearly all I made to spare, for several years, 

 was readily sold at the Richmond price, delivered 

 at my granary. I still continue to cultivate it, 

 and now, after about thirteen years experience, 

 I have no hesitation in saying that it is, in my 

 opinion, the best kind I have ever seen. With 

 regard to it, I can endorse the opinion expressed 

 a few years ago by an old negro man of mine ; 

 he came to me in the wheat patch, in harvest, 

 and said, " Master, I am an old man, and have 

 seen a heper kinds of wheat in my life, but this 

 kind of ours stands every thing better lhan any 

 kind I have ever seen." It is still in this vici- 

 nity, I believe, more generally cultivated than 

 any other kind. Some have fallen out with it, 

 and sought for some other kind, which will, in 

 turn, share the same fate. I am not surprised 

 at it, as it is my opinion, that the very best kind 

 of wheat will after a few years degenerate, if 

 sowed upon land not well adapted to its growth ; 

 whereas, if sowed on land well adapted to it, it 

 will, with ordinary care, rarely if ever degener- 

 ate. If those farmers whose land is not suited 

 to the growth of the wheat crop, would make 

 it a rule (and let it be like the law of the Medes 

 and Persians, which altereth not,) once at least 

 in two years to procure their seed wheat from 

 some care-taking person whose land is well 

 adapted to its growth, they would, in my opinion, 



