( 979 ) 
Thirty fold, the Ground only once plow'd ; whereas 
'tis a good Crop in England ihae yields above Eight fold, 
after all their toil and labour. And yet in truth 'tis 
only the f, f renneft Parts that they have cultivated, Til- 
ling and ' Planting only the High-Lands 3 leaving the Richer 
Vales unltir'd, becaufe they underftand not any thing of 
Draining. So that the Richeft Meadow-Lands, which 
is one third of the Country, is Boggy, Marfli,and Swamp, 
whereof they make little Advantage, but loofe in them 
abundance of their Cattle, efpecially at the firft of the 
Spring, when the Cattle are weak, and venture too far 
after young Grafs. Whereas vaft Improvements might 
be made thereof,* for the generality of Virginia is a 
Sandy Land with a fliallow Soil. So that after they 
have cleared a frelh piece of Ground out of the Woods, 
it will not bear Tobacco paft two or three Years, unlefs 
Cow-pen'd ; for they Manure their Ground by keeping 
their Cattle, as in the South you do your Sheep, every 
Night confining them within Hurdles, which they re- 
move when they have fufficiently dung'd one fpot of 
Ground; but alas! they cannot Improve much thus, 
befides it produces a ftrong fort of Tobacco, in which 
the Smoakers fay they can plainly tafte the fulfbmnefe 
of the Dung. Therefore every three or four Years 
they muft be for clearing a new piece of Ground out of 
Woods, which requires much Labour and Toil, it being 
fo thick grown all over with Mafiy Timber. Thus their 
Plantations run over vaft Tradts of Ground, each am- 
bitioning to engrofs as much as they can, that they may 
be fure to have enough to Plant,and for their Stocks and 
Herds of Cattle to range and feed in, that Plantations 
of i-ooo, 'xooo-, or 3000 Acres are common, whereby 
the Country is thinly inhabited ; their Living fblitary 
and unfociable,- Trading confuted and difperfed- befides 
other Inconveniencies : Whereas they might Improve 
aoo.or 300 Acres to more Advantage, and would make 
the. 
