524 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[September 



only on cotton plants, or other vegetables, 

 during their young and tender growth. 

 They are so numerous, and inaccessible in 

 their dwellings, that it would be a hopeless 

 attempt to destroy them. The thorough 

 drainage of the under stratum, (if that were 

 possible,) would be the only sure means to 

 cause their total disappearance. 



The crayfish is a solitary inhabitant of its 

 hole. At night only, they come out and 

 assemble in numbers on the surface of the 

 land. But it is supposed that one only in- 

 habits each hole, except when the numerous 

 young of this one are hatched, and before 

 they separate. The new borings are seen 

 usually, and in great numbers, only in the 

 latter part of winter and thence forward into 

 the early part of summer. In the remain- 

 der of the year, there are no signs of the 

 crayfishes; and it would seem that they 

 then lie dormant in their holes — or elsewhere, 

 perhaps resort to deeper water, where that is 

 accessible. 



A very general and also important effect 

 of the borings of the crayfishes, continued 

 through past ages, has been to marl, more or 

 less, the surface of the earth, or to mix the 

 marl from below with the upper earth, by 

 bringing up the calcareous bottom and de- 

 positing it on the surface. This operation, 

 continued so long, and probably over the 

 much larger space of the general surface, 

 must have had very general and great effect. 

 On the land where the lime rock approach- 1 

 ed near to the surface, there must have been 

 much of equalizing intermixture thus pro- 

 duced. Still more for beneficial and needed 

 manuring, though to less extent, was this 

 operation on the various covering but thin 

 patches of what was formerly entirely non- 

 calcareous earth and soil, (the different vari- 

 eties of "post oak" and "sandy" lands,) 

 which, without these labors of crayfishes, 

 would have remained, unsupplied with lime, 

 and therefore would all have been as poor, 

 as the best of them are now fertile. 



By these operations of these little animals 

 the thin layers of poor " post oak" or sandy 

 earth, lying upon marl within reach of the 

 crayfish, would be rendered neutral, or cal- 

 careous, and so enabled to become, in time, 

 either rich " post oak" land — or, by longer 

 continued supplies of lime thus brought up 

 from below, might be made highly calcare- 

 ous; and therefore it would lose its former 

 character of " post oak" soil. Such soils, 

 so changed in constitution and character in 



past ages, would not now be known as " post 

 oak" land. It is the opinion of the resi- 

 dents that on the land known by this name, 

 there are no crayfishes. I infer that in 

 such situations the calcareous rock lies too 

 low beneath, for the crayfishes to dig to per- 

 manent water ) and wherever not too low, 

 they had dug, and have there changed the 

 character of the soil, and so have caused it to 

 be designated differently. 



It is unfortunate for the cultivators that 

 the crayfish is solitary in its labors, and that 

 each dwelling is separate from all others. If 

 they had been generally connected, each with 

 the neighouring holes, by deep lateral borings, 

 or horizontal galleries, the whole connected 

 net-work, in this peculiarly stiff and close 

 soil and under-beds, would have effected a 

 general and permanent system of under- 

 draining, the most perfect that can be con- 

 ceived — and more effectual than all that the 

 science, skill and labor of man have ever 

 been able to construct elsewhere — or possi- 

 bly can effect here, at any amount of ex- 

 pense. 



As has been stated, with the exception of 

 the level bottom lands bordering on the 

 creeks, usually dry, the whole surface of this 

 country is high and undulating throughout. 

 It is rare that a space of as much as two 

 acres in extent of level high land is seen — 

 and as rare that any slope is too steep for 

 easy tillage, and to be secure from very in- 

 ] jurious washing, where proper guard or grad- 

 uated ditches are used, to convey away the 

 superfluous or dangerous rain-water. More 

 of original forest growth has been cleared 

 off, and a larger proportion of the whole sur- 

 face of the country is now under tillage, 

 (and unfortunately also under unremitting 

 tillage,) than there is of cleared land in any 

 portion of eastern or middle Virginia. This 

 condition opens a broad expanse every where 

 to the eye — and the landscape is generally 

 beautiful, both in the natural and artificial 

 features. It is only where very injudicious 

 as well as incessant tillage has already pro- 

 duced its certain results, of impoverished 

 soil and washed and gullied slopes, that 

 there is deformity, or anything displeasing 

 in the view. If under rotation culture such, 

 in general character, as is now used on the 

 improved or improving lands of lower Vir- 

 ginia, with broad-cast grain crops, and grass, 

 or broad-cast pea-manuring crops alternating 

 with the tilled crops of cotton and corn, this 

 fine soil would scarcely be damaged by wash- 



