378 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



Report of the Executive Committee be pub- 

 lished for the use of the members of the 

 Society. 



There being no other business before the 

 Society, Col. T. M. Bondurant of Buckingham, 

 requested information from such persons pre- 

 sent as might be able to speak from experience 

 of the effects of guano applied as a top dress- 

 ing for wheat. This led to an interesting dis- 

 cussion, in which Willoughby Newton, Esq. 

 of Westmoreland, Francis Nelson, Esq. of New 

 Kent, Col. Bondurant of Buckingham, Com- 

 modore T. Ap C. Jones of Fairfax, Dr. A. 

 Crumpof Powhatan, Mr. Harris of Powhatan, 

 Dr. P. C. Venable of Mecklenburg, Dr. E. P. 

 White of Caroline, B. H. Magruder, Esq. of 

 Albemarle, Col. Patteson of Fauquier, and 

 others took part. 



On motion of Mr. Newton, seconded by Mr. 

 Harvie, the further discussion of the subject 

 was postponed until to-morrow night. 



Adjourned to meel>in this Hall to-morrow 

 evening at half past 7 o'clock. 



Tuesday Evening, Nov. 1, 1853. 



The Society met agreeably to adjournment. 



The President announced ihat Dr. James S. 

 Whitten of Hancock county, Georgia, was in 

 attendance upon this meeting as a Delegate 

 from the Southern Central Agricultural So- 

 ciety, whose letter accrediting him as such, 

 expresses the "hope that this manifestation 

 on (their) part of a wish to cooperate in effect- 

 ing the common objects of our Societies will 

 be cordially reciprocated." 



Mr. Ruffin, from the Committee on the ap- 

 pointment of a State Agricultural Chemist, 

 reported that the committee were unanimously 

 of the opinion that such an officer ought to b»? 

 appointed, but that owing to the absence of 

 some important documents, they could not at 

 present make a more full report upon the 

 subject. 



On motion of L. E. Harvie, Esq. of Amelia, 

 the above report was laid upon the table, who, 

 after an eloquent and earnest appeal to the 

 Society, submitted the following resolutions: 



1. Resolved, That in view of the indispensa- 

 ble necessity for raising a permanent fund for 

 the uses of this Society, a voluntary subscrip- 

 tion be made by the individual members of 

 the Society, and those interested in the subject 

 of agriculture, payable in not less than six 

 months, and that such subscription be binding 

 when it amounts in the aggregate to twenty 

 thousand dollars. 



2. Resolved, That the individual members 

 here present be urged to become life members. 



3. Resolved, That committees be appointed 

 for the several counties to raise subscriptions 

 for the use of the Society. 



These resolutions were ably supported by 

 Mr. Newton of Westmoreland, and carried 

 by an overwhelming majority. 



Mr. Ruffin of Hanover, rose to suggest three 

 modes of effecting the object of the resolutions: 

 1st. The distribution of cards for subscription 



among the members present; 2d. That persons 

 desirous of becoming life members should re- 

 port their names to the Secretary; and 3d. That 

 public spirited gentlemen should pledge their 

 counties for such sums as they might think 

 proper to become responsible for to the Society. 



Cards were then distributed, and many gen- 

 tlemen rose and gave in their names and some 

 of them those of their wives, sons and daugh- 

 ters, as life members, and others guaranteed 

 their counties for specific amounts. This oc- 

 cupied the remainder of the evening's session, 

 and the subscriptions thus made amounted in 

 the aggregate to about forty thousand dollars. 



Adjourned to meet in this Hall to-morrow 

 evening, at half past 7 o'clock. 



Wednesday Evening, Nov. 2, 1853. 



The Society met pursuant to adjournment. 



Mr. Boulware of King & Queen, from the 

 Committee appointed to confer with the Pre- 

 sident in regard to the monopoly in the trade 

 in Guano, submitted the following report: 



The undersigned committee appointed 

 to visit the President of the United States, 

 and solicit his aid in relieving the country 

 of the present monopoly in guano, beg 

 leave to make the following report: 



It was first deemed important by the 

 committee to examine the records of the 

 State Department at Washington, and as- 

 certain what had been the action of our 

 government on the subject; and also col- 

 lect all the information which might be 

 obtained there, as to the manner in which 

 this irade is carried on. The Secretary 

 of State courteously permitted the investi- 

 gations to be made, which were desired. 

 The committee then proceeded to Balti- 

 more, where the agency for the sale of 

 guano in this country is established, and 

 sought from merchants and other sources 

 within their reach, whatever other facts 

 might serve to throw light on the course 

 and character of this trade. 



The sale of guano is in the hands of a 

 Peruvian company, or, more properly, mer- 

 cantile house, which is established in Eng- 

 land, and has an agent who conducts the 

 business in the U. States. This company 

 hastheexclusive privilegeof tradingin gua- 

 no in this country. They enjoy a monopoly 

 entirely inconsistent with all our usages, 

 opposed to our interests, and justly subject 

 to all the prejudice entertained by our peo- 

 ple on the subject of monopolies. The 

 singular and anomalous spectacle is pre- 

 sented, of a foreign government establish- 

 ing on our territory a monopoly, which 

 embraces an amount of trade equal, pro- 

 bably, to eight or ten millions of dollars 

 per annum; and which must increase with 



