14 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
ol the Agriculture oi Georgia, aud ot the practi- 
ces which have led to it. 
The present condition of the Agriculture ol 
Georgia; —who does not perceive that it is de- 
plorable indeed 1 Who is not pained with the 
view of the exhausted helds, the dilapidated 
houses, the decayed fences, the deserted farms, 
that so often present themselves 7 Who is noi 
aware ol the diminished products and profits of 
Agriculture, and the embarrassments ot Agri- 
culturists? 
The practices which have led to these results 
are obvious. The unremitted cultivation ofour 
fields, the neglect of a proper rotation ot crops, 
the failure to rt store fertilizing properties by 
means ot manure, the continual washings con- 
sequent upon injudicious methodsol cultivation, 
the neglect ol judicious ditching and horizontal 
plowing — these are the practices, or causes, 
which have exhausted our fields, and impover- 
ished our farmers. Hence, decayed houses, 
deserted plantations, and depopulated neighbor- 
hoods. Hence, the pecuniary embarrassment 
ol the agiicultural community. 
But theie are other causes ol the evils of 
which we complain. “Takingcare notlo med- 
dle w'ith [larty politics, we would,” as advised 
by Mr, Camak, “dwell emphatically on the 
partial action ofthe General Government, asone 
of the chief of these causes.” We do this the 
more readilv, as we conceive, with him, that 
there is an immense difference between party 
politics and political economy; and that, while 
weighty considerations require us to keep aloof 
from the former, the best interests of the com- 
munity require us to heed the lessons ot the 
latter. 
We turn, then, to the unequal action of the 
General Government, Leaving out ot view 
all mere party denunciation, let us candidly in- 
quire whether the action ot the general agent 
has been impartial and equal, or impartial and 
unequal? Has it been equally serviceable to 
all the great interests, and all the various sec- 
tions of the country; or has it promoted the 
welfare of some at the expense of others? Has 
the General Government aflbrded equal protec- 
tion and encouragement to all the great interests 
of the country — to East, West, North, South and 
interior? Have taxes and duties been so levied 
as to bear equitably on all the various interests 
and sections? Have the revenues ot the Go- 
vernment been expended w ith a single eye to 
the general good; or have sectional and partial 
considerations largely influenced public exac- 
tions and public expenditures? Have the pub- 
lic lands been managed for the equal benefit ol 
all? 
The Committee will not attempt to answer 
these questions; they will not attempt to occu- 
py the wide field belore them. The condition 
of different sections, and different classes, w’ill 
answer these inquiries; the records of the coun- 
try will answer them ; the recollections of our 
lellow-ciiizens will answer them. All know 
the efforts which have been made to sustain 
some ol the great interests of the country; all 
know' the favors which have been extended to 
the new States; all know the unequal expendi- 
tures ot the publio money in different sec- 
tions; all know the difference in the actual 
condition of diflerent sections of the country. — 
Nor can a difference in local situations, local 
institutions, and local habits, fully account for 
the prosperity which is maniiest in tl e condition 
of some, and the adversity wdiich is manifest in 
the condition of others. The committee are 
constrained to insist on the partial, unequal and 
injurious action ofthe General Government as 
one ot the chief causes of this state of things. 
We will now endeavor, 
2. To “show how we are to remedy the er- 
rors ol the past, and better our condition.” 
The method is obvious. We must provide 
suitable accommodations for man- and brute. — 
We must repair our fences, ditch and drain our 
lands, anii restore our soil. We must cultivate 
habits of economy and industry. We must 
confine both the General and the State Govern- 
ment to the judicious provisions of the State 
and Federal Constitutions, and to the legitimate 
purposes of government. These truths require 
no proof. 
The errors of government, however, are not 
to be corrected by violent denunciation; they 
are more effectually prevented by temperate dis- 
cussion. 
To answer any valuable purpose at the pre- 
sent time, our habits of industry and economy 
must be of a very high character. 
Our soil iato be restored by a proper rotation 
of crops, an extensive application of manure, a 
judicious use ot the plow, and occasional rest. 
In a proper rotation of crops, the ground is 
left by each succeeding crop, either in a better 
condition for the cultivation, or lor the produc- 
tion of its successor. 
The preparation of manure requires enclo- 
sures lor different kinds ofstoclr, the judicious 
arrangement oi stables, and the collection of all 
those substances which may be elaborated into 
manure. Cornstalks are important lor this use. 
The judicious use of the plow, includes 
deep plowing, horizontal plowing, and sub- 
soiling. 
The importance otoccasional resltq our lands 
will at once be adiuitted. 
Much valuable land may be reclaimed by 
draining. Much valuable soil may be retained 
by n erelj"^ horiz mtal ditching and plowing. 
It behooves u.s to begin to think of some sub- 
stitute for the common rail fence; in some sec- 
tions rail timber is becoming scarce. An ade- 
quate substituleconsists in twoditchesof proper 
width and depth, with the dirt from them thrown 
into a hank between them, (.t properdimensions, 
surmounted bv a straight fence ol 4 or 5 rails 
height. Instead of rails, the bank might be 
surmounted by rocks of vvhich there are con- 
siderable quantities on some plantations. Col. 
Moughton ol Jones county, has, it is believed, 
demonstrated the practicability and utility of 
the double ditch, and intermediate bank. 
Proper enclosures and shelters should, by all 
means, be provided for all kinds of stock. Both 
the humanity and the interest of the farmer is 
involved in this matter. With the increased 
comfort of stock, iheir value is increased. The 
additional quantity of manure saved by this 
course, would repay the trouble involved. It is 
clearly the interest and the duty of the farmer to 
provide better for the neglected cow; and w'ell 
was an agricultural meeting which took place in 
Milledgeville, in the early part of the year, call- 
ed upon in the public papers, to “heed the 
plaintive meanings of the neglected cow.” If 
it is both the duty and the interest of the tar tier 
to provide shelter for the brute, how much more 
is it his interest and duty to provide comfortable 
lodgings for the man ? If crops and stock suffer 
and waste for the want of proper shelter, men 
suffer and- die from the same cause. The la- 
borer as well as the master, imperiously re- 
quires suitable food, clothing and lodging. 
But among the means of remedying past er- 
rors, and be'tering our condition, we w'ould, by 
no means overlook Mr. Camak’s suggestion 
concerning a recommendation to the legisla- 
ture, to “enable our State University to give a 
complete course of instruction in Agricultural 
chemistry and geology.” ft would be obvious- 
ly calculated to promote the interest of Agricul- 
ture, and is, w'e think, sanctioned by the exam- 
ple of several of the States. Tf e plan of carrv- 
ingagricullnral instruction intocommon schools 
by means of suitable school books, seems alto- 
gether feasible. 
Nor should we be deterred from any of these 
plans by the common objection against “ Book 
Farming.” Our books and periodicals should 
contain practical knowledge, and then the ob- 
jection would not apply. There is no reason 
why practical knowledge mav not be imparted 
by books, in agriculture, as well as hi medicine, 
mechanics, &c. 
Having said thus much in pursuance of the 
plan suggested by Mr. Camak, we pass from it 
with the remark, that as cotton has not ad vanced 
to “ten cents,” we trust that some of our views 
may receive attention. 
But in regard to the more immediate wants 
of agriculture, we find in the Cultivator lor May, 
a few remarks so appropriate that we must be 
allowed to copy them : 
“ What we want now,” says the editor, “ is a 
plain account ot theexperimentsofmen of plain 
common sense. There are now but few per- 
sons engaged in tilling the soil who do not be- 
lieve that all professes may be varied, with cer- 
tain benefit to the crop, and profit to the owner ; 
and thus believing, they are very apt to make 
experiments of some sort or othc, and note the 
results. When they meet their neighbors on 
public occasions, these experiments and their 
results are the subject of conversation, unless 
party politics should happen to exclude every 
thing else. It would not be much trouble of a 
long winter night, or a rainy day, to write out) 
an account of these experiments for publication 
in the Cultivator. Now, this is just what we 
want: that our planters should enlarge the 
sphere of their conversation, and besides talking 
with their immediate neighbors, shall talk 
through the pages of the Cultivator, with men 
engaged in the same pursuit, one hundred miles 
distant; that il^ planter on the Savannah river 
shall talk and compare notes with the planter 
on the Chattahoochee, and he of the mountains 
with him of the seacoast, without leaving their 
own firesides. But you sav you can’t write. 
You can talk though ; and all you have to do is 
to banish the idea, so prevalent, that when you 
take pen in hand, you must get on stills and go 
hunting big words in the dictionary, wherewith 
to construct high sounding sentences; thus cry- 
ing to write in a style and manner altogether 
different from rhar you use when talkingto your 
neighbor. Banish this notion altogether. Take 
your pen and put down on paper just what you 
would say to your neighbor, just as you would 
say it when speaking of your experiments, and 
vou will then succeed to a certainty. [A pretty 
good method, the committee would say, for all 
writers and speakers.}.; If there should be some- 
errors in spelling and grammar, never mind 
that; we will take eare to have everything 
right in that respect.” 
Thus far the “Cultivator.” 
In addition to the means indicated for correct- 
ing the errors of the past, and bettering our con- 
dition, others might be mentioned, and especial- 
ly a due diversity in the objects of agricultural 
operations, a proper adjustment of the claims' 
of different objects, and an extensive association 
of men engaged in agricultural pursuits. All 
other classes of men unite to promote their in- 
terests, why not agriculturists ? Butitis lime 
to dr&w to a dose, and in doing so, we desire to- 
present for consideration, the views of the Hon. 
Thomas Spalding, as contained in an extract 
from his letter, dated 
“ Sapelo Island, Sept. 2d, 1845i 
“ Under these circumstances, 1 must be short- 
er in iny communication to you than 1 other- 
wise should have been. 
“A National Agricultural Association at 
New-York, has associated my name among 
their consulting members. In return for the 
compliment, I have promised at my leisure, to- 
prepare a paper upon the agricultural capabili- 
ties of Georgia. And, in doing so, I have in- 
tended to divide the State into three agricultu- 
ral zones ; the first extending from the sea coast 
to the granite range at Augusta, Milledgeville^ 
Macon and Columbus. This region is, in gene- 
ral, sandy, based n-pon clay, covered with pine 
orfirlimber; adapted with the tidal range of 
waters, to the production ot rice, and of long 
stapled cotton from thence to- the termination 
at the granite falls, to the production of short 
stapled' cotton, and its native growth, our pines,, 
found no where growing so well in the United' 
States but from North Carolina to the Alabama 
river. And let no one undervalue this produc- 
tion; lor the pine clad hills of Sweden and of 
Norway have given more to their people and 
their government than rhe rich plains that bor- 
der the Danube and the Vistula in Europe. — 
And this, too, will be the case in America when 
we shall be filled up with people. 
