303 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



give a quick, vibrating motion to the " seed 

 rod," "plaster rod," &c., while the iron lever 

 is operated by the " slow motioned zizzag" on 

 the left hand wk»l to operate the " feeder." 

 A cord passing from the upper end of the 

 wooden lever over the pulley, to the left leg of 

 the chair above the middle, is very convenient 

 for the operator, enabling him to stop the sew- 

 ing; at pleasure, merely by placing his foot 

 upon the cord. The shafts and seat being 

 put in place, the machine is ready for action. 



The " rods" for sowing may be changed by 

 raising a small iron slide inside of one end of 

 the box, and drawing out one rod at that end 

 and putting in another. The amount of seed 

 per acre must be determined by the operator. 

 Let him set the machine so the seed he wishes 

 to sow will just pass. This with a medium 

 motion of the rod, (or at all events with the 

 shortest motion of the rod,) will give as small 

 a quantity as is ever desired, and the quantity 

 may be increased by increasing the motion of 

 the rod, or by enlarging' the passage for the 

 seed. The index shows when you enlarge the 

 passage for the seed — thus it may be increased 

 to any desired quantity, (varying, if you wish 

 as little as half a pint at a time,) within the 

 capacity of the machine, which is from a peck 

 of grain to ten bushels or more, and from two 

 quarts to three bushels of clover or timothy 

 seed, or of the two mixed, and from one peck 

 to twenty bushels or more of lime, plaster, &c. 

 It is proper here to say, the dryer the lime, 

 plaster, guano, &c. the more per acre may be 

 sown, for when damp they require a larger 

 space to discharge the same amount. And 

 now a word to those who have, or may have 

 Seymour's Grain Drill. 



The seed box and mode of distributing the 

 seed and regulating the quantity is the same 

 as in the Broadcast Sowing Machine. 

 . It is so obvious how every part goes that it 

 would seem difficult to make a mistake in put- 

 ting it together. 



The wonder is, that so simple a machine is 

 capable of doing, with almost no machinery, 

 all which is deemed important, that any other 

 grain drill will do, while it is divested of that 

 complication in which most of them so largely 

 share. Directions for using are found in each 

 machine. P. Seymour, 



Patentee of Seymour's Broadcast 

 , Sowing Machine, and Seymour's 



Grain Drill. 



He that rises la^e, must trot all day, and 

 scarce overtake his business at night. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 But especially for Mr. W. J Bingham. 

 GRASSES, SHEEP, &c. 



Sir : — You inquire about grasses, sheep, 

 &c, to which I reply. 



If you have abundance of hay for winter, 

 and grass for summer, then perhaps the Dur- 

 ham cattle are preferable to any other ; but 

 on ordinary keep the Devon, or the black Scotch 

 polled are to be preferred. The Scotch cattle 

 above alluded to are black, with red back, no 

 horns, short legs, heavy bodies, thick hides, 

 hardy, and easily fatted ; and everything con- 

 sidered, I incline to think they are for general 

 purposes, the most profitable breed of cattle in 

 our country. I had a few some years past, 

 but discarded them and started after the fash- 

 ion, which I now regret. 



If you have a convenient market for mut- 

 ton, then the carcase should be the predomi- 

 nant object, and consequently the larger the 

 breed the better, provided that breed will fat- 

 ten kindly. If the marketing your mutton 

 would cost much, then wool should be the pre- 

 dominant object, and consequently the finer 

 the quality the better. But what will you do 

 with your old sheep ? It is true that a healthy 

 wedder or buck will live to the age of 30 or 

 even 40 years, and yield his fleece annually ; 

 but what is to be done with the old ewes ? In 

 my younger days I was a breeder 6f sheep, 

 but not now ; yet, if I were, I should prefer 

 the Spanish Merino, which combines both va- 

 luable carcase and valuable wool. But, Sir, 

 let me tell you that no man can succeed in any 

 manner of business unless he takes pleasure in 

 attending to that business, consequently if you 

 cannot condescend to occasionally follow your 

 shepherd and sheep all day, with an ash-cake 

 in one pocket and a bottle of water in the oth- 

 er, touch not the sheep business. 



There is no profit, worth consideration, on a 

 stock of less than 1000 sheep. In a healthy 

 region, from one to two thousand can be kept 

 in°a flock, in health, provided the shepherd 

 does not permit them to lie in filthy places. And 

 I will also make the declaration that no man 

 can profit by breeding sheep on lands which 

 are fit and proper for agricultural purposes. 

 Elevated, broken, and rocky lands, and loca- 

 tions secluded from market are proper for 

 sheep walks—" The cattle on a thousand hills 

 are mine, saith the Lord." If your fences are 

 not tall, then you should not own a tall sheep, 

 for certainly over he goes, and then overgoes 

 short legs also. 



As to the proper grasses which you should 

 sow, I thought I had been sufficiently explicit 



