THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



43G 



interest of the farmer, that he should not do 

 what must lower the grade of the class whose 

 aid he seeks. 



We have known some persons to argue that a 

 recommendation of a man should contain an enu- 

 meration of all his good qualities, and be silent 

 as to his defects. But this is deception, unless 

 the silence as to his defects is expressly stated ; 

 and we do not think any man has a moral right 

 to frame a recommendation in that way. But if 

 it be stated that you are silent as to defects, ex- 

 cept very gross ones, which should be mentioned, 

 it is perhaps as good a plan as any. Another, 

 which we have known to be adopted, is to re- 

 solve never either to give or demand a recom- 

 mendation, and to have that understood. 



Many persons speak of the necessity of fre- 

 quently changing an overseer as a disadvan- 

 tage. We doubt it. A man who has an agent 

 that fully comprehends his wants and can car- 

 ry out his plans, is apt to become careless in 

 the administration of his own affairs; and the 

 agent, not because he is an overseer, but be- 

 cause he is a man, will be apt to presume upon 

 the carelessness of his employer. It is then to 

 the interest of both parties that there should 

 be an occasional change. It keeps the farmer 

 up to his business and the overseer up to the 

 bit. 



It seems to be thought that injury will result 

 from discharging an overseer during the crop 

 season. We doubt that too. If it were more 

 the custom it would not be so often necessary; 

 and if a bargain to that effect were made there 

 would be no hardship in it. 



It might raise the wages of good overseers, 

 but there is no objection to that. It would re- 

 duce the wages of inferior managers, and that 

 is desirable. 



We would be very glad to see several chan- 

 ges in this whole matter", changes which 

 would result not only to the benefit of the em- 

 ployers, but also to the overseers themselves, 

 who, when really good, are most useful mem- 

 bers of society. We know several men well, who 

 are or have been overseers, that are as much 

 respected where they are known as the " solid 

 men of Boston." We would like to see that 

 number increased, as there is great need of 

 them ; and we believe nothing will conduce 

 more towards this than an abolition of the per- 

 nicious practice of indiscriminate recommenda- 

 tions. 



Fine Wheat. 



We inspected yesterday a sample of very fine 

 wheat which was grown on the farm of Mr. 

 Robert Edmond, on his beautiful Chickahomi- 

 ny estate, near this city, which farm, by the 

 way, for its general good management, but es- 

 pecially for the completeness of its* buildings, 

 we would like to exhibit to every farmer in 

 Virginia. 



The heads of this wheat are remarkably well 

 filled, having, in some cases, five grains to the 

 " Mesh," and an average of some eighty or 

 ninety to the head. The wheat, a mulatto — 

 between red and white — grows with a strong, 

 powerful straw, and ripens with the Poland. 

 If it turns out well, we shall hear from it again. 



The Prospect for Wheat in Virginia. 



It is very hard to say from what we have 

 heard whether the wheat crop of this year will 

 reach the amount of the last, which was below 

 the average. Winter killing in many places, 

 chinch bug in others, army worm in others, 

 joint worm and fly in others, and a late harvest 

 generally, which, even where it does not cause 

 rust, will dry up the wheat before it is fully 

 matured, one or more of these disasters nearly 

 every where operate a diminution of the crop. 

 On the other hand, the season for filling and 

 ripening, except in its lateness, has been un- 

 commonly fine, and the good lands, except 

 where affected as above, promise unusually 

 well. 



In the Valley we hear that, the crop is mise- 

 rable ; in upper Piedmont, from Loudoun to 

 Nelson counties, generally bad ; in lower Pied- 

 mont — that is from the head of tide to the tier 

 of mountain counties, very unequal, but gene- 

 rally inferior ; on Tidewater the good lands 

 would have very superior crops but for the ar- 

 my worm, and the inferior lands are very bad- 

 ly killed, to an estimate, in some cases, of four 

 fifths of the crop. The Pamunkey and Matta- 

 poni counties — Caroline, the upper part of 

 Hanover, and King & Queen and King William 

 are badly hurt with fly, joint worm and winter 

 kill. Powhatan and that region on the South- 

 side are said to have joint worm to a serious 

 extent. In Goochland and Fluvanna, as far as 

 we learn, the crops are good. In Brunswick 

 andDinwiddie they are very good. On the whole 

 we think we are authorized to say that the crop 



