442 



THE SOUTHEEN PLANTER. 



[July 



breeds ; but always weigh well in proportion to 

 bulk of carcass, as they are very compact. 



The Irish Grazier is a good hoj?, but so scarce 

 as to make it hardly worth while to mention 

 them. 



The Improved Hampshire is a finely formed 

 hog. The only objection we could urge against 

 them is, that they are so often white. Whenever 

 we have seen a black or spotted one we have 

 admired it greatly. Mr. Peyton Johnston of 

 this city imported in 1856 some of this stock 

 from the Duke of Buford's estate, Gloucester, 

 England. The breed is a compound of the Es- 

 sex, the Chinese, the Neapolitan and the im- 

 proved Berkshire races, the large old English 

 Hampshire being the foundation upon which the 

 improved Hampshire was based. To those who, 

 like ourselves, object to white hogs, we may say, 

 |jy the way, that Mr. Johnston has now some dark 

 spotted sows, which are beauties. One of them,— - 

 Princess by name,— -we particularly remember 

 as the winner of a good many premiums, and as 

 looking like just what a hog ought to be. 



It is better to raise hogs of a good breed, if you 

 raise them at all, than to be bothered with the 

 mean, roguish, old fashioned "alligator" and 

 "land-pike," unless like an old acquaintance of 

 ours, you are fond of fresh meat. He used to 

 say that he liked the "Possum-faced" breed of 

 hogs better than any other, because he was fond 

 of fresh meat, and could swear that they were one- 

 half face and the other half legs at the time they 

 were put up to fatten, so that every ounce of 

 flesh on their bodies at " killing-time " was of 

 recent manufacture, and exactly suited his taste. 



In raising swine— -we repeat it— -the breeders 

 should be selected of good form, no matter by 

 what name they may be distinguished, and the best 

 and only such of every litter of pigs should be 

 "turned out" for that purpose. 



To those who believe that " the breed is all in 

 the corn crib,^^ we would say, try a fair experi- 

 ment with a " possum face " and one of any 

 of the "improved breeds," both to be fed with 

 the same kind and quantity of grain or slop, and 

 see for yourselves what the result will be. We 

 say in advance, "blood will tell." 



Jll^"" Our friend, Gray Boulware, of Bowling 

 Green, Caroline county, will please accept our 

 thanks for a very fine Berkshire pig, which has 

 just arrived. She does credit to her family, 

 all of whom boast of a long line of ancestors of 

 high blood. 



Underdraining. 



The principles of philosophy upon which the 

 advocates of this system of agricultural improve- 

 ment base their theory are too well established, 

 both by scientific deductions and practical de- 

 monstration, to require further discussion. — 

 Whilst, however, the most incredulous are in- 

 disposed to acknowledge the ameliorating in- 

 fluences which underdraining has upon the 

 soil, and the benefits which the growing crops 

 derive therefrom, yet its general adoption as a 

 part and parcel of our system of farming de- 

 pends in a great measure upon the progress of 

 invention in developing some mode by which 

 the labor of underdraining will be expedited 

 and cheapened. This, like every other step in 

 the onward march of agricultural improvement, 

 is in advance of the age, and must await a like 

 progress in the mechanical arts to render its 

 application practicable. The cost of under- 

 draining deters many who are convinced of its 

 beneficial eflects from attempting it, even on a 

 small scale, and much valuable land in our 

 State is, from this fact, permitted to lie out as 

 reservoirs of stagnant water, and homes for frogs 

 and reptiles, that, under the ameliorating system 

 of drainage, would become the most valuable 

 meadow and pasture land. 



The beneficial influence of drainage is not 

 confined only to low, wet, or marshy lands, but 

 similar advantage (although not to so great an 

 extent) results from the thorough underdraining 

 of apparently high, dry land, particularly where 

 the character of the soil is of a stiff", cloggy tex- 

 ture, and consequently very retentive of water. 

 With the present facilities, however, of under- 

 draining, but few persons are willing to incur 

 the heavy expense of underdraining, except 

 where it is indispensable for the reclamation of 

 swampy or marshlands. As a system for the 

 improvement of lands, and the augmentation of 

 crops, we cannot hope for its general introduc- 

 tion and appreciation until the cost can, by 

 mechanical operation, be brought within the 

 means of the farmer of limited capital. That 

 this may and will be done we have no doubt* 

 The mole-plan is an approximation that savors 

 of final success, although now subject to objec- 

 tions. A late invention, for w-hich a patent has 

 been granted to the inventor, Mr. F. B. Scott, of 

 Buffalo, claims the attention of the public, and 

 if it is all that the patentee claims for it, surely 

 we may congratulate the agricultural world upon 

 a triumph of mechanics in the saving of labor, 

 as important in its results to the amelioratioii of 



