696 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[November 



Richmond, gave us instructions on this sub- 

 ject which ought never to be forgotten. He 

 fully demonstrated that by suffering the 

 buds of the clover, in its infant state, to be 

 nibbled out by stock, we suffered injury as 

 incalculable as are the benefits derived to 

 the clover, the land and the stock, by pre- 

 serving it from depredation until it arrives' 

 at full maturity. But to spare the goose 

 laying golden eggs is a lesson hard to learn. 



It may be an auspicious time to press the 

 claims of grass-culture on the attention of 

 farmers, when their favor is so strongly 

 turned towards chemical manures. We can- 

 not alter the difficulties connected with our 

 climate ; we cannot cause rain when we 

 please, nor temper the bitterness of the cold 

 to the young plants, but we may, in a great 

 degree, change the constitution of our soils 

 by adding to them such chemical agents as so 

 wonderfully qualify them for the production 

 of grass. In doing this, while we by no means 

 expect to rival the mountain grass lands, we 

 should make some approach toward their 

 excellence, and then we should make great 

 improvement in the production of the pecu- 

 liar objects of our agriculture — tobacco, 

 corn, and small grain. We have already 

 declared that we have no more cold in win- 

 ter nor drought in summer than that suffer- 

 ed in some of our south-western counties. 

 Indeed, our frosts cease earlier in spring and 

 come later in fall. We must then ascribe 

 our great inferiority to that region in the 

 growth of grass to defects in our soil, rather 

 than in our climate. We should endeavor 

 to approximate the excellence, to which we 

 cannot attain, and if there be truth in hu- 

 man effort, we must, to some extent, succeed. 

 In difficult enterprises, those who never try, 

 always fail. There, can be no doubt but 

 that the bulk of our people have labored under 

 great deception with regard to grass-culture 

 The majority, perhaps erring from want of 

 reflection, practically neglecting what they 

 did not choose to take the trouble of inves- 

 tigating. But there w T ere some who, on 

 principle, opposed it, denying both its prac- 

 ticability and usefulness. I have, within 

 the last ten years, heard an educated agri- 

 culturist declare that he had too much trou- 

 ble killing grass to be sowing its seed, and 

 that his doctrine was to get every dollar he 

 could out of his land, and never to return 

 one to it. On this plan golden eggs would 

 soon cease to be laid. 



The writer would not have it understood 



(that he considers that this could be made a 

 fine grass and stock country by any com- 

 'pensating course of treatment. He only 

 means, that by judicious efforts to clothe 

 •every field at the proper time, in the rota- 

 tion, with a coat of good grasses, we might 

 soon fertilize the whole area of cultivation, 

 bring all to good clover heart, and realize 

 far higher profits than we do on the present 

 prevailing system. He firmly believes that 

 it was intended that different realms should 

 be adapted to different objects of culture, 

 but that we may intermingle matters not 

 naturally and specially calling for our at- 

 tention, with those peculiarly our own, 

 where it can be done beneficially. It is 

 very true that much may be done by turn- 

 ing under rank weeds, oats and rye, (the 

 two latter both grasses,) but not so much, 

 the writer thinks, as by sowing grasses reg- 

 ularly for this purpose and for the suste- 

 nance of animals. Peas — which below tide- 

 water work so well as fertilizers — interfere 

 too much with the tobacco crop in this re- 

 gion. Clover — which though no grass at 

 all, the writer has styled king of grasses — 

 may be thus used, but to much greater ad- 

 vantage with the aid of other grasses. 

 Most truly and respectfully yours, 



C. 



Cumberland, September. 1860. 



Agriculture in France. 



" Regarding agriculture, it must be made 

 to participate in the benefits of banking in- 

 stitutions, to clear away forests situated in 

 plains, to replant the mountains with trees, 

 to lay out every year a considerable sum on 

 great works of draining, irrigation and til- 

 lage. These works, by transforming waste 

 lands into cultivated grounds, will enrich the 

 communes without impoverishing the State, 

 which will get back its advances by the 

 sale of a part of those lands restored to agri- 

 culture." 



Such is the programme of agricultural 

 enterprise by which Napoleon proposes to 

 elevate the half-starved peasantry of France. 

 Surely, there is need enough that the Em- 

 peror should bestow a thought upon that 

 hitherto ill-cared for portion of his subjects. 

 The degraded condition of the French peas- 

 antry is a standing reproach to the govern- 

 ment of that country. There are millions 

 of people, of a stalwart and vigorous race, 

 and living upon a tract of the finest soil in 



