SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
303 
EUROPE AND AMERICA-s-SEA ISLANDS, «fcc. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — In casting our eyes 
over Europe, we behold events of vast import intimately 
connected with oui common Agriculture and manufac- 
tures, as well as the progress of civil and religious liberty, 
transpiring there. It is not the roar of cannon, the clatter 
of musketry, the clash of swords and the downfall of ty- 
ranny and oppression that is to effect these great events ; 
but, it is the renovating influence of free Institutions — it 
is the elective representative government that is to grow 
out of this chaos and slaughter to regenerate Italy and 
Sardinia. If Napoleon, Emanuel and .Garibaldi, the once 
poor, obscure Captain of one of our northern coasting 
vessels, and tallow-chandler of Long Island, will, or can 
carry out their laudable, noble designs in elevating poor, 
down-trodden romanist, oppressed Italy and Sardinia by 
securing to them a government of their own choice, and 
enable them to throw off the inquisitorial, withering 
hierachy of Rome; they will become more renowned 
than being considered the mere type of Napoleon I. 
Now let us turn from these scenes of horror and contem- 
plate our beautiful, our, favored and blessed country! 
Abounding in all the luxuries aud comforts of an Agri- 
cultural people, perfecting what may be amiss in govern- 
ment by a free elective franchise and religious toleration ; 
feeding nations with our vast surplus cereals; clothing 
the whole world with our cotton ; and at peace with all 
nations, save our unfortunate natives, who, too, are ac- 
comphshing their doom that “their hands shall be against 
every man’s, and every man’s hands shall be against 
them but alas 1 they know it not until the bright beams 
of gospel light burst into their souls, with the power of 
conviction and conversion, to the religion of the meek 
and lowly Jesus ! 
Here, along these pleasant isles of the ocean, we have 
laid by our flourishing crops, planted our valued extra 
crop of slips, draws and peas, as we do not depend on 
Irish potatoes at all, and if drouth reduces our corn, slips 
and peas supply the deficiency, so soon as that little cloud 
ariseth out of the sea like a man’s hand, which Elijah 
saw from the top of Carmel, which confounded the false 
prophets and caused the wicked Ahab and his people to 
fall down and cry aloud, the Lord he is the God, and they 
took the false prophets of Baal down to the brook Kishon, 
and there Elijah slew them and he said unto Ahab : get 
thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance 
of rain, and their flocks and their herds were saved from 
famine, as Elijah’s sacrifice of a bullock was consumed by 
fire from Heaven, although three times saturated with 
water, while a similar sacrifice offered by Baal prophets, 
remained untouched by fire !” Such are some of the beau- 
tiful and striking manifestations of God’s power and in- 
clination to “do his will on earth as it is done in Heaven,” 
and if our land yields her increase in due season, we have 
the evidence before our eyes of his interposition to save 
our flock, our herds and our crops from drought, famine, 
pestilence and death. 
I am, gentlemen, yours respectfully, 
A Planter. 
Glynn County, July, 1859. 
N. B. — We stiall be soon clearing down new land, 
mowing rushes and m^.rsh, digging mud, collecting suc- 
culent weeds for our manure pens, to take old time by 
the forelock to prepare for another crop, and finally render 
our light sandy lands a rich loam more productive of our 
fine Sea Island cotton than it was originally : and some of 
our cotton on our rich compost is now over six feet high, 
loaded with fruit, and will be soon opening, and our corn 
hard enough to turn down, and thirteen full ears have 
been counted rn a hill of Peabody prolific corn; as you 
know one of the peculiar characteristics of this extraor- 
dinary corn is to succor, which produces as much as the 
original stock, when heavily manured with our rich com- 
post, 
IMPROVED FARMING— DICKSON’S PLAN, &c. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — It occurs to me, the 
following facts may be useful to farmers generally; at 
least they have taught me a lesson which I have deemed 
exceedingly profitable : In the year 1839, which every 
one, old enough, remembers was very dry, Mr. Thos. J. 
Dickson was then a young farmer, following the plans 
he had been raised to follow, using great industry. That 
year he had a poor neighbor living on land adjoining who 
had no horse to plow, but who had a patch to put in corn ; 
Mr. Dickson was induced to prepare this patch of land 
for corn, he breaking up the land deep and thoroughly 
with the Dagon Plow, and planted it for him ; afterwards 
this poor man, having no horse to plow his land, culti- 
vated with the hoe only, by keeping down the weeds 
and grass. Mr. Dickson went on to cultivate his crop, 
planted in the same manner as he and I had been raised 
to do, by deep and thoroughly plowing. The year was 
a trying one— no rain from the 22d of March to the 22d 
June Mr. Dickson says Ms corn fired badly and a large 
portion of the tassels dried up. His poor neighbor’s patch 
did not have a dried blade upon it or a tassel dried. It 
threbled Mr. Dickson’s corn, on adjoining and better 
land. This was a lesson taught Mr. Dickson which is 
now telling throughout this county. Mr. Dickson at 
once perceived, to enable corn roots to go deep, the land 
must be well pulverized and afterwards when the plow is 
used only to answer the purpose of the hoe ; Hence, he 
adopted the sweep, from the planting of both corn and 
cotton to the end of it. 
If any benefit is to arise from this communication, it is 
probably this : most of us seeing the marvelous success 
of the two Mr. Dickson’s, adopt the sweeps — they use 
the sweeps flat and wide and only to answer the purpose 
of the hoe, cutting neither corn or cotton roots — too 
many of us use the sweeps, running on the points and 
doing the work of the shovel, killing our horse and mules 
and cutting the roots as a shovel would do. 
It is to be regretted that both Thos, J. Dickson and 
David Dickson do not write more than they do. Neither 
is averse to giving information— I never talk to or visit 
either without benefit. If I have success as a farmer 
(having followed other pursuits) it is to them I owe it. 
I have this year cultivated between 30 and 31 acres 
corn and cotton to the hand, and 52 1-7 acres to the plow. 
I have not, during the year, been three weeks getting over 
my entire crop. My land is incapable of a better crop. 
Besides corn and cotton, I plant largely of oats, potatoes 
and turnips. Jas. Thomas, 
Hancock Co., Ga., 1859, 
A Useful Table. — Counting plants one foot apart 
each way, we shall have forty-three thousand five hun- 
dred and sixty upon an acre, because an acre contains 
that number of superficial feet. Take the figure in the 
first column of the following table as the distance apart, 
and an acre will contain the number of plants in the 
second column : 
1 
1-2 feet 
19,360 
12 feet 
2 
feet 
... .10,890 
15 feet 
198 
2 
1-2 feet 
6,969 
18 feet 
3 
feet 
4,880 
20 feet 
168 
3 
1-2 feet 
3,530 
23 feet 
4 
feet 
2,722 
25 feet 
5 
feet 
1,742 
30 feet 
48 
6 
feet . . . . . 
1,200 
35 feet 
35 
8 
feet 
680 
40 feet 
10 
feet 
435 
45 feet 
21 
