96 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



dred bushels, and found all good ; the four hun- 

 dred especially. My usual application is sixty 

 bushels, which comes round thus : first wheat, 

 then clover, clover, then wheat. I have not 

 passed the third application of lime, except for 

 experiment, and these upon wheat. I have ap- 

 plied it upon blowing, drifting; sands, and with 

 better effect than upon clay : but upon all it is 

 good. 



Any part of my farm, of six hundred acres, 

 will now give me a ton or more of clover, and 

 after a good sowing, I seed two or three gallons 

 per acre, I rely mainly upon the root, for fertiliz- 

 ing the land. The difference between the crops 

 now and when I began to farm, is ten to one, or 

 more of corn, wheat and oats ; and of grass full 

 one thousand for one. 



As for manure, that is the life and blood of 

 farming: like the hair of Samson, it is the 

 boundless strength. 



Let me be understood ; one-fourth of my farm 

 was occupied by rushes, frogs, cranes, wild hens, 

 &c. &c. Ditching was as important, or more 

 so, than lime: this I have done to the strange 

 amount of twenty-five thousand yards, or more. 

 We are now as dry as the hills. Eighty-five 

 thousand bushels of oyster shells have been 

 burnt and spread, and dear old mother earth, to 

 whose lap I must soon pass, cries for more ; and 

 more she shall have, for I take pride in robing 

 her in green and gold, for she will hush me to 

 sweet repose when all the world has forgotten 

 me. 



Fairfax. 



Fairfax County, Feb. 18, 1845. 



P. S. — You may not ask my name — I have 

 no ambition ; I live upon the great Washington 

 and Richmond highway, and all who pass can 

 see. I am the same who called upon Virginia 

 through the columns of the Register, published 

 by Mr. Ruffin, to do honestly what she pro- 

 fessed, protect person and property: her fence 

 law w T as barbarous and savage ; A was taxed, 

 and B was allowed to eat him up, who paid no 

 tax. F. 



RED INK FOR WRITING. 



Boil over a slow fire four ounces of Brazil- 

 wood, in small raspings or chips, in a quart of 

 water, till a third part of the water is evaporated. 

 Add during the boiling two drachms of alum in 

 powder. When the ink is cold, strain it through 

 a fine cloth. Vinegar or stale urine is often 

 used instead of water. In case of using water, 

 adding a very small quantity of sal ammoniac 

 would improve the ink. — Selected. 



TO MAKE FINE BLACK WRITING INK. 



Take two gallons of a strong decoction of 

 logwood, well strained, and then add one and a 



half pounds of blue galls in coarse powder; six 

 ounces sulphate of iron ; one ounce acetate of 

 copper; six ounces well ground sugar; and 

 twelve ounces gum arabic. Set the above on 

 the fire until it begins to boil, then set it away 

 until it has acquired the desired black. — Selected. 



AN OFFER. 



For every four new subscribers that any friend 

 will send us we will furnish him a copy of the 

 first, third or fourth volume of the Planter, and 

 for every ten subscribers, we will furnish all 

 three of these volumes. 



ERRATUM. 

 If in the last number, at page 57, the reader 

 will transfer the first line of the left hand column 

 to the foot of the right hand column, both para- 

 graphs will be sensibly improved. 



CONTENTS OF NO. IV. 



Manure— Mr. Bement's mode of preparing and ap- 

 plying, p. 73. 



Corn for Fodder — How to cultivate, p. 74. 



Tobacco — Directions for hanging, and burning plant 

 patches, p. 75. 



Lectures on Agriculture — To be delivered by Dr. Lee, 

 p. 75. 



Cucumbers, — How to raise early cucumbers, p. 76. 

 Currant Wine— Recipe for making, p. 76. 

 Honey — To clarify, p. 76. 



Beams — Directions for making "baked beans," p. 76. 



Chickens and Ducks — Hints for raising, p. 76. 



Hogs — The origin and merits of the Berkshire, p. 77. 



Potatoes — Directions for cooking, p. 78. 



Corn — The merits of ploughing alternate rows, p. 78. 



Swine — Food for, should be cooked, p. 79. 



Patents — Report of Commissioner Ellsworth, p. 79. 



Farming — System of, in Western New York, p. 82. 



Table — Of number of com hills to the acre at given 

 distances, p. 84. 



Mending a Tree — How to do it, p. 84. 



Chuckatuck Agricultural Club — Resolutions of, p. 84. 



Parsnip Wine — Recipe for making, p. 85. 



Dairy — Neglect of dairy products in Virginia, p. 85. 



Health and Comfort — Directions for securing both, 86. 



Corn— Directions for planting and cultivating, p. 86. 



Tea Plant — Cultivation of, recommended to the South- 

 ern States, p. 87. 



Corn — To prepare seed corn, p. 88. 



Butter — New way to make, p. 88. 



Drought — Essay on, p. 89. 



Poor Lrind — To improve, p. 90. 



Geese — Utility of, p. 90. 



Corn and, Wheat— Experiments with, p. 91. 



Roads — Proper method of construction, p. 91. 



Corn— Report from the Orange Club, p. 92. 



Agricultural School — Established in North Carolina, 

 p. 92. 



Working Man's Cottage— Cut of, p. 93. 



Cucumber — To cultivate, p. 93. 



Southern Planter — Some people's opinion of, p. 94. 



Seed Corn — Preparation for soaking, p. 94. 



Top-Dressing — Recommended, p. 95. 



Stiff Clays — How to manage, p. 95. 



Lime and Plaster— Instance of their value, p, 95. 



An Offer — Worthy of notice, p. 96. 



