THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
139 
being careful to take no more land than the 
plow can turn well, not more than halt the width 
of the plow, and no deeper than just to get be- 
neath the roots. I let it remain until there 
comes a freeze. About the first of January 1 
lay it off three and a half feet with a scooter 
plow, and ridge it up with an Alien plow, run- 
ning lour lurrows around each scooter furrow, 
then 1 re-bed it once a month until planting 
time, throwing the ridge back in the middle each 
time, and exposing a fresh quantity of roots 
each time to the action of the cold and wind, 
being careful each time to plow no deeper than 
at first. The last time I re-bed it is at the time 
I intend to plant. Three furrows to the row 
v/ill make the bed, the last furrow with a good 
size shovel plow ; then I sow the cotton seed 
down in the middle and cover with a board. 
My reason lor this is to get the cotton in the 
clearest place of Bermuda. I plow it the first 
lime with an Allen plow, running with the 
bar next the cotton; then the hoe comes and 
takes away all the Bermuda roots from the cot- 
ton. The second time 1 run a short scooter as 
near the cotton as 1 can, very shallow; let it 
stand a few days, then plow out the middles 
with a shovel. After this, I hoe before plowing, 
so that the hoe hands can see and get out every 
sprig that is up. If I can get a dry month in 
May or June, I work it once a week. Whoev- 
er bestows this quantity of labor on a Bermuda 
field is sure to conquer the monster, and as I 
said before, I believe this is the only sure way to 
doit. He that undertakes it must wage a war 
of extermination. Anything short of that will 
only allow it an opportunity to takedeeper root. 
I am convinced that shading will not destroy it. 
Mr. Pitls, in his essay on Bermuda, has thrown 
light enough on that subject to convince the 
readers of your valuable work that shading 
will not do. I concur with him in opinion. 
One of your correspondents wishes to know 
if it will not be a good plan to plant Bermuda 
in order to improve land. My opinion is, that 
il the roots could be turned under and decompos- 
ed withoutsomuch workandexposure to the sun 
and atmosphere, it might improve the soil ; but 
being so much exposed evaporates the strength of 
it, and working the land so frequently injures it. 
1 have thus given you some of my essays in 
Bermuda killing, and if you think them worth 
a place in the Cultivator you may hear from 
me again. In the meantime, if you wish certi- 
ficates for my statements, they can be furnished 
at any time. John W. Rhenev. 
Burke County, Ga., JulySlst, 1845. 
Bermuda Grass^-Raisiug Sheep. 
Mr. Camak:— I had intended to answer, in- 
quiries, in the July number, by “ P.” of Monroe, 
Walton county, which he proposes to you or me, 
or any others, relative to Bermuda Grass; but 
Diy engagements have been so great, that 1 could 
not then do so. He asks, first, what would be 
the expense of enriching land by planting this 
grass, and turning under, compared with the out- 
lay required when leaves and other like sub- 
stances are usedJ His several other inquiries 
are of kindred character, all wishing to know 
the cost and labor of enriching lands by this 
grass, &c. Now, in reply to all these, in one 
sweeping sentence, I advise “P.” if he has not 
this grass on his farm, to be sure and not intro- 
duce It. 1 have said, in giving you some of my 
experience with this grass, in your May num- 
ber, that it we could kill it, 1 would consider it 
a great improver to our poor, old, worn-out 
lands, and that it would be to us, what red clover 
is to the North ; yet I did not intend to encourage 
any planter to get it, who had it not already on 
his premises. Let then, “P.” resort to any 
other mode of manuring or plowing in green 
crops, to improve his lands, rather than by the 
Bermuda, till we, who have it in such profusion, 
can give him some less expensive way of getting 
clear of it, when we want to put the ground in 
cultivation with other crops. If he has it, we in- 
vite his co-operation, in finding out the secret, of 
how we shall give the death-blow to this vegeta- 
ble, which, I must think, has one life more than 
the cat, which it is said, has nine ; for I must 
think, I have killed some of mine, nine times, 
and I find it alive yet, which at least gives it ten 
lives. But, without jesting, the subject of Ber- 
muda Grass is becoming a grave question, and 
it is what we have yet to come up and meet as 
tillers of the soil, and learn to conquer, or it will 
conquer us. 
I am glad to see so many pieces on the sub- 
ject of this grass, as in less than ten years, it 
will be spread over this whole country ; and the 
sooner we learn to manage it, the better. It is 
to be to us, no common friend, or the most deadly 
enemy, and it surely behooves us to know in 
which of these characters to view it. 
And now, while I have pen in hand, let me 
make amends for having done so little for the 
“ Southern Cultivator,” by calling the atten- 
tion of every member of the community, who 
has a piece of land as large as a garden, (and if 
indeed he has none, he can be re-paid by other 
matter of general interest) to what “Jethro, of 
Reclusa” (see August No. page 123) says, of 
the utility of this periodical. And why should 
it not have its hundred subscribers, where it 
now has one? 1 subscribe to all he says, be- 
sides paying my dollar, which is, in all con- 
science, cheap enough ; and it shall have my 
thanks to boot, if its able conductors or its nu- 
merous contributors, will only aid me in mana- 
ging my Bermuda Grass. 
But again; this same “Jethro” calls upon 
you, Mr. Camak, for your aid, (as well as the 
Editorial corps of the State,) to a subject, “the 
success of which, will enhance one of the dear- 
est interests of Georgia.” “ Will our next Le- 
gislature not grant us a law for the encourage- 
ment of the raising of sheep, and the production 
of wool?" I call upon all whom it may con- 
cern, (and w'ho is there that is not concerned) to 
aid and strive to get the Legislature, in addition 
to the wolf law, w'hich I believe now exists, to 
at least pass a Dog Late. Here lies the root of 
all the mischief, and the preventive to our hav- 
ing, “ in less than five years, sheep upon a thou- 
sand hills.” But for this, I would add, w'e 
would have our thousands of sheep, upon our 
tens of thousands of hills, and as many valleys. 
I have tried it, and thousands of others have 
tried it : but w'ho can raise sheep, while every 
man, boy, and negro, has his dog running at 
large, that will kill as fast as you raise. Then 
let the Legislature say, no one shall have a dog, 
unle.ss it be confined in his yard nights, as well 
as day ; for night is the time the damage is done. 
Or require a tax of ten dollars, on all over one 
a man has or permits to be on his plantation, 
wiihafineof five dollars for every sheep such 
dog kills, on the owner of the plantation or pre- 
mises to which said dog belongs. 
Yours, truly, J- Cunningham, 
Greensboro’, Ga., August, 1845. 
Agricultural Tour— The Growing Crops. 
Mr. Camak:— I promised you in my last, be- 
fore setting out from Alabama, that 1 would give 
you such information on the subject of agricul- 
ture as W'e might be able to get on our tour to the 
West, East, and North. In compliance with that 
promise I now attempt to say something of what 
W'e have seen andheard of the growingcrop. We 
left Eufaula on the 4th June. The Spring had 
been cold and dry. The crop of corn was suf- 
fering for rain and warm weather, as well as 
cotton. On reaching Montgomery county, w'e 
were pleased to find the corn crop promising a 
large harvest, so far as we examined. We 
spent several days with my triend Dr. S. C. 
Oliver, who is quite a large cotton planter. He 
has upwards of one thousand acres in cotton; 
near halt that number of acres in corn, and a 
fine oat crop. His entire crop looked well. To 
have been, for the last sixteen years, engaged 
in politics, he has certainly accomplished much 
as an agriculturist. Circle-Wood, the resi- 
dence of Dr. Oliver, of Montgomery, Ala., is a 
most beautiful place. The lands being rich, if 
this gentleman would devote his talents to the 
improvement ol his fine farm, he would have 
one of the best plantations in the State. We 
visited the farm of Mr. Abner McGehee. This 
enterprising gentleman, who has done so much 
for the country in building up the rail road from 
Montgomery to West Point, owns a large and 
well cultivated farm. We found Mr. Mc- 
Gehee planting a mixed crop ; that is, corn and 
cotton planted together, the row’s running in the 
same direction. Both corn and cotton looked 
well when I saw it, on the 7ih June. The cot- 
ton crop on the rich prairie lands ol Mont- 
gomery, is said to be a verv uncertain crop. 
This is the reason given for mixing it with corn. 
I rode over the crop of J udge B ibb and found his 
farm in a high state of cultivation. This in- 
dustrious gentleman pays great attention per- 
sonally to his Agricultural operations. Judge 
Bibb has done much in the way of ditching. 
He has a number of ditches running in every 
direction so as to save his land from washing 
and secure a good crop the wettest season. 
In passing down the Alabama river, I con- 
versed with several planters residing on the 
river, who informed me that the crop of cotton 
of the present year was equal to the crop of 
1844 in point of quantity of land planted, but 
that owing to the cold dry spring it was by no 
means promising, having been much injured by 
the lice. 
In passing up the Mississippi river alter 
leaving New Orleans you are delighted with the 
beautiful farms in the State of Louisiana. 
These sugar plantations present a most splen- 
did appearance. The entire land is in a high 
state ol cultivation, and beauiilul residences, 
surrounded by negro cabins, all painted white, 
gives the appearance of handsome villages. 
The first hundred miles alter leaving New Or- 
leans we were so fortunate as to pass up in the 
daytime. I say fortunate, as it is so common 
for the boats to leave New Orleans so late as to 
prevent one’s seeing this beautiful sight. 
I have no space to speak of towns and cities ; 
I will, however, say that St. Louis is ttie most 
growing city I have ever seen. The immense 
trade from that place is in tobacco, hemp, lead, 
cattle, coal, flour, pork, lumber, &c. We were 
informed by the farmers on board the steamboat 
that there was a considerable falling off in the 
cotton crop in Louisiana and Mississippi ; that 
many of the farmers were turningtheirattention 
to the growing of Sugar, instead of Cotton. One 
of the large steamboats, i learned, had gone down 
loaded with machinery trom Cincinnati for the 
preparation ol sugar. 
We left the Ohio at Evansville, Indiana. 
Here we took stages, and ha i an opportunity 
ol looking out upon the growing crop; and this 
being my first visit to the far West, I was, as 
you may suppose, much interested with the 
manner ofcultivation. We travelled the first 
day fifty miles, through the State of Indiana, to 
Vincennes. We found the corn and wheat 
crop, which is the principal cropol this country, 
much injured by the late heavy rains. Indeed, 
the entire country, lying on the upper Missis- 
sippi and Wabash, has been flooded with rain 
for the last month. We found the richest lands, 
as we passed on, in the hands of the most sloven- 
ly and careless farmers. The Wheal crop be- 
ing generally cut, was said to be much injured 
by the vast quantity of rain. We reached Vin- 
cennes at night, and found It a beautiful town 
on the bank of the Wabash. We crossed the 
Wabash at this place, and travelled some eighty 
miles, in the valley of this river, over the rich- 
est country of land I have ever seen. You tra- 
vel from morning until night over a perfectly 
level country; scarcely a hill in the distance; 
the timber generally black walnut, beech, pop- 
lar, &c. You occasionally come to a large 
prairie of ten or twelve thousand acres. Here 
you find a number ol families settled together, 
there being nothing to do on these prairies but 
break up the land, fence it in, and the first year 
you get from forty to fifty bushels of corn, and 
from twenty to thirty bushels of wheal to the 
acre. They plant the corn here four feet each 
way, and leave generally four stalks in a hill. 
