THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



306 



of sufficient force and speed of operations, a pro- 

 portionate quantity of every crop was reaped riper, 

 and much riper, than the state preferred, and 

 that by this unavoidable delay, much waste and 

 loss have been incurred. 



FINE FRUIT. 



About ten days ago, we received per Adams & 

 Co.'s Express, freight paid, a box of fruit, contain- 

 ing pears, apples and peaches, from Mr. H. R. Ro- 

 bey, proprietor of the Hopewell Nurseries, near 

 Fredericksburg. We never eat apples when we can 

 get peaches, nor either when we can get pears, nor 

 pears when we can get figs. But having no flgs j 

 we ate— we and some friends, Mr. Robey, of course 

 sent more than enough for "just you by yourself"— 

 all the pears that were then eatable, and found 

 them first rate ; then Ave fell upon the peaches, and 

 found them delicious— almost as good as if they 

 had been brandied ; to which, by the bye, Mr Ro. 

 bey has a peach admirably adapted. The apples 

 we left for a more convenient season. They were 

 very large and apparently fine. If we are to judge 

 the trees by their fruit, we should say Mr. Robey 

 lias some good trees ; and the people of Freder- 

 icksburg and the country around, need not go to 

 the North— that eternal North— to get anything in 

 the plant line. 



P. S. We have since eaten some more pears, and 

 feel better. Dreamed last night that we were the 

 Duchess D'Angouieme in hoop petticoats, hanging 

 by a Chinese queue, from a pear tree, and were 

 proposing to " pear oil'", with a Mr. Bartlett; when 

 Mr. Robey came in and began to eat Mr. Bartlett, 

 pronouncing him very juicy and sweet as sugar. 

 Whereat our ladyship was so shocked that we at- 

 tempted to fly the orchard, but tripped in our un- 

 accustomed attire, fell down five miles and knock- 

 ed out three teeth. Waked up very much stunned 

 at the. end of the trip, congratulating ourself that 

 it was no worse, and that the drapery had proved 

 so good a parachute. 



Mean to read no more fruit'tree catalogues about 

 bed time. 



GUINEA FOWLS vs. RATS ONCE MORE. 



A correspondent from Orange writes that Guinea 

 fowls will not drive off rats, as he knows of cases 

 in which they both infest the same curtilage. — 

 So do we : in our own case, we have had a.hen- 

 yard, where one side of the enclosure was the 

 gable end of a smoke house. The Guineas lived 

 there, and the rats destroyed two or three hun- 

 dred weight of meat every year. It is proba- 

 ble that their first introduction annoys the rats — 

 their nocturnal clatter will annoy folks — and drives 

 them away ; but they will soon become accustom- 

 ed to it, and return. Any cthe^ unusual noise, if 



loud, and constantly repeated, will cause them to 

 depart, but only for a season. Thus, we have al- 

 ways heard that Gov. Randolph once rid a barn of 

 them by causing a drum to be beat all night in the 

 barn, for two or three nights in succession. We 

 do not know if they returned, but presume they 

 did. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 DRAINAGE. 



Mr. Editor : 



Sir : — At your kind request, I submit some* 

 of the details of my practice, upon the much 

 neglected subject of ditching, in our State. It 

 is a difficult matter with me to give any general 

 directions, suitable for all occasions and locali- 

 ties. I think, however, I can point out some 

 important labor-saving plans, combining great 

 efficiency, as well as thereby relieving the 

 operation of ditching of many of its terrors, 

 of expense and tediousness, in this era of rapid 

 progression. 



In taking possession of a farm in Virginia, 

 where the previous management was according 

 to the customs of the olden time, you are 

 apt to be confused by the old ditches, fences, 

 hedge rows and bushes, in running your drains 

 in proper places. It is, therefore, necessary to 

 take a comprehensive view of the mil of the coun- 

 try, and particularly the fall of the whole land 

 you design ditching. In doing this, discard 

 all the old ditches and other draw-backs from 

 your eye, as much as possible. Set out with 

 the determination to leave no cpen ditch wher- 

 ever the body of water can be compassed, safe- 

 ly, with a secret ditch.* Open ditches offend 

 the eye by their annual crops of briars, alder, 

 &c, besides, in most cases, becoming nullities. 

 The freezing and thawing of winter, or the 

 dashing rains of summer, almost invariably 

 fill them up, or cause them to change their 

 course. It is necessary, where you have no 

 river or creek, to receive your secret ditches, to 

 have one, and sometimes, though rarely, two, 

 main open ditches, in a land, to carry the wa- 

 ter irom the covered drains, and from the sur- 

 face. Open ditches should be located in the 

 lowest places ; the banks, while the operation 

 is going on, should be drawn off, according to 

 the quantity of earth, by ploughing and scoop- 

 ing, to the distance, (each side of the ditch,) 

 from 5 to 10 yards. This must be done to 

 enable the surface water to flow from all parts 

 of the land, freely into the ditch. The old 



*It is very important to notice your land,when per- 

 fectly saturated, after a long spell of wet weather; 

 the narrow ditches are intended for ordinary land ; 

 when the body of water requires it, widen the 

 ditches to 16 inches. 



