AGRICULTURE IN VENEZUELA.-POLICY OF AMERICAN FARMERS. 
49 
turned out to fresh pasture next season. The calves, 
of which he had a fine lot, have suffered the most, and 
are many of them spring-poor, as the no-book farm¬ 
ers say ; but there ought to be no such application of 
the term—cattle ought to come out in the spring in 
as good condition as they are in the fall, and will, if 
stabled early, and fed with as much good hay as 
they will eat. They ought, however, to be well cur¬ 
ried once a day, have salt often, and as much water 
as they will drink; and never be suffered to put feet 
upon pasture in the spring until there is a full bite of 
feed, and the ground is sufficiently hard to bear the 
animals without poaching. 
Farmers, if you cannot afford to keep your stock in 
this way, either keep none, or remove to a climate 
where they will require less attention. 
Valley of the Green Mountains. 
December 1, 1844. 
AGRICULTURE IN VENEZUELA. 
We have quite a number of subscribers to our peri¬ 
odical in the different States of South America, and 
occasionally get interesting letters from gentlemen, 
residents there, which we would like to publish. 
Knowing the great interest that many of our readers 
on this side of the equator take in the agriculture of 
South America, we give a few extracts from a letter 
recently received from Caracas, in the republic of Ve¬ 
nezuela. Spanish and French gentlemen, in address¬ 
ing us, need not be at the trouble of translations, as 
we are familiar with both of these languages. 
“ Agriculture in this country, as yet, has not avail¬ 
ed itself of modern improvements, either in imple¬ 
ments or husbandry. There is, however, a disposi¬ 
tion to introduce improved stock, and improved agri¬ 
cultural implements. Agriculture and the breeding 
of stock are, in these tropical climates, distinct ob¬ 
jects of occupation. A society has lately been form¬ 
ed in this city, entitled La Sociedad de Criadores — 
Society of Breeders. 
“ Cocoa is cultivated in the rich alluvial soils of 
the low valleys, about 60 miles to the eastward of 
Caracas ; cane and coffee within three miles. In the 
cultivation of cane, we use both the plow and the 
harrow. We plant the tops in furrows, about five 
feet apart. After plowing and harrowing the ground 
well, we commence making the furrow by taking one 
bout with the plow as straight as possible. It is then 
spaded out neatly, leaving it about 16 inches wide 
and 10 inches deep. The cane tops are then laid in 
two rows, one on each side of the furrow the whole 
length, and then slightly covered with mould from 
the banks. Thus there remains a space between 
each row or furrow, of nearly four or five feet, accord¬ 
ing to the fertility of the soil. Before the cane cov¬ 
ers the ground, so as to prevent the growth of weeds, 
it receives from four to six clearings with the hand- 
hoe, in the course of which the young plants receive 
a slight supply of fresh mould. Now, sir, my object 
is to inquire of you, if you have any implement used 
in North American husbandry drawn by horse-power, 
that would answer to do the work of hand-hoeing ? 
Hand-weeding among the young plants would still 
be required. We do not fill up the furrows entirely, 
Deing obliged to leave them a little hollow for the 
purpose of irrigation. 
** I have been much interested in Mr. R. L. Allen’s 
article upon the utility of mules. You are probably 
aware that this is a great mule country, or rather was 
at one time. Our mules, however, are very small, 
compared with the stature mentioned in the paper 
alluded to.” 
The cultivator, of a proper kind, would answer 
well for hand-hoeing among the cane. Price of good 
ones varies from $7 to $10. Mules can be had here 
from 14 to 15| hands high, at $100 to $200, each. 
Young Durham bulls from $75 to $150. Durham 
cows from $150 to $300, dependent entirely upon 
breeding and quality. A good cow, well fed and 
cared for, will give from 16 to 24 quarts of milk per 
day. It would be well for South America to supply 
herself with our well-bred mules, cattle, sheep, and 
swine. 
POLICY OF AMERICAN FARMERS. 
From a private note, I learn, that “Policy of 
American Farmers, No, 3,” is not acceptable for the 
columns of the Agriculturist, on account of its advo¬ 
cacy of a protective tariff. The article is a brief re¬ 
capitulation of some important and striking historical 
facts relating to this subject, and confined exclusively 
to our own country, within the last 80 years. They 
exhibit the baneful effects of neglecting to provide for 
some of the first and most pressing wants of Ameri¬ 
cans, both in their individual and national capacity. 
They show the immense private suffering, and the 
danger to our very existence as a nation, from an 
omission to furnish within ourselves such manufac¬ 
tures as were necessary for consumption, or indispen¬ 
sable for defence. 
“ Policy No. 4,” further illustrated this subject, by 
a reference to ancient and modern history, showing 
conclusively, that nations exclusively agricultural, 
have ever been ignorant and impoverished; while 
such as have superadded manufactures and commerce, 
have occupied the highest place among the enlight¬ 
ened, opulent, and powerful of their contemporaries. 
I thought American farmers might draw an invalua¬ 
ble lesson from these illustrations, to guide their 
judgment in sustaining a policy vital to their own 
prosperity and interests; and I thought, too, that two 
or three pages of a paper strictly agricultural in its 
character, were not too much to occupy in the briefest 
reference to this important topic. But as you think 
some of your readers may object to even the bare 
mention of a subject which has, to a certain extent, 
been (improperly) connected with political or local 
considerations, I submit to .your better judgment; not, 
however, from the slightest conviction in my own 
mind of the validity of this objection. Truth, and a 
correct and just policy, should at all times be upheld; 
yet with a force, and to an extent strictly limited to 
the occasion. 
To continue the “ Policy of American Farmers,” 
writh this vital feature interdicted, would he like play¬ 
ing Hamlet with the part of Hamlet left out; or the 
construction of a human body, without the anatomi¬ 
cal framework to sustain the flexible muscles and 
fluids which constitute it. You may, indeed, thus 
have an oyster or soft crab; but this shapeless, de¬ 
formed, and helpless mass, it is necessary to bury in 
the sand, or an impenetrable shell, or it will become 
the prey of the first passing cormorant. R. 
January 3, 1845. 
