LETTERS FROM THE SOUTH-NO. 5. 
113 
LETTERS FROM THE SOUTH.—No. 5. 
The only plantation my limited time would permit 
me to visit in South Carolina, besides the one men¬ 
tioned in No. 2, was that of Gov. Hammond. This 
extends from Silver Bluff, on the Savannah, some 3 
or 4 miles back, and for a long distance on its banks. 
All that portion of it which is near the water is a 
fertile alluvial soil, and is frequently enriched by 
the overflow of the river; while much of that 
which is remote, passes into the high upland sand 
or gravel, which is characteristic of the great ma¬ 
jority of land in the eastern portion of the State. 
Cultivation is confined almost exclusively to the 
former, and the best portions of the latter. The 
plantation lies some 16 miles below Augusta, and 
the road leading to it is varied, and much of it 
highly picturesque. For three miles it leads over 
a fertile alluvial plain, which, although high above 
the ordinary level of the river, is frequently over¬ 
flowed after heavy and long continued rains. Much 
of it is enclosed and subjected to tillage; but the 
greater proportion of what I saw has the appear¬ 
ance of having been once reclaimed from the origi¬ 
nal forest, and notwithstanding its proximity to a 
large town, it is now lying in commons. Its luxu¬ 
riant herbage is cropped by numerous herds of cat¬ 
tle and swine, which find a secure retreat from the 
oppressive sun and beating storms in the thickly 
tangled chaperals formed by the evergreen and de¬ 
ciduous trees, over which the grape a!nd other vines 
and the Cherokee rose clamber in wanton and fan¬ 
tastic profusion. One field enclosed a large flock 
of goats, the first of the kind, as farm stock, I had 
ever seen in this country. As the dairy is a minor 
object at the south, I conjectured they were reared 
principally for the shambles, and this opinion was 
confirmed by the little information I could gather 
on the subject. 
There is a bridge at Augusta, connecting it with 
Hamburg on the opposite side, the lowest, I believe, 
on the Savannah. Steamboats of considerable size 
ascend to this point in an ordinary stage of water ; 
but when low, only the smallest reach it, and even 
then with no little delay and trouble. The conse¬ 
quence is, that the railroad is enabled to underbid 
the boats for freight, and a large portion of it takes 
this route to Charleston; while the Central or Sa¬ 
vannah road, running south and west of Augusta, 
draws off a portion of the produce and trade directly 
to the seaboard, which formerly went by the way 
of Augusta. 
Georgia, like all the other older States, concen¬ 
trated at an early day the earnest attention and ex¬ 
cited the fondest hopes of some master spirits of 
the age. Among these may be mentioned the acute 
and metaphysical mind of Locke, the comprehen¬ 
sive and liberal philanthropy of Oglethorpe, and 
the irresistible eloquence and unswerving devotion 
of Whitfield. But the form of government de¬ 
signed for it by the philosopher, was too Utopian 
and speculative for a modern practical people, and 
was blown away like a gossamer by the first breath 
of the popular will; while the more solid and ra¬ 
tional views of the philanthropist and the Christian, 
which were fully impressed upon her early institu¬ 
tions, will be felt for good to the latest generations. 
Georgia was the southern frontier during the Re¬ 
volution, and owing to the sparseness of her popu¬ 
lation and the peculiar position of her citizens, was 
by far the weakest of the old Thirteen, and she 
early fell an almost unresisting prey to the royal 
forces. Her population and improvement were 
comparatively rapid after the close of the war, and 
she now ranks amongst the foremost of the south¬ 
ern States, in products, wealth, and population. 
Thus much, en passant, for my first glimpse of 
Georgia. 
Gov. Hammond has devoted much time to the 
investigations of modern scientific agriculture, and 
has carried into successful practice many of its 
best improvements. This is manifest in the varied 
crops which he cultivates, in his numerous nuge 
piles of manure, and his extensive ditches, by 
means of which large bodies of fertile land have 
been reclaimed from an utterly worthless condition. 
The latter yield muck of great value for manure, 
or, when properly treated, make the most enduring 
and productive soils for crops where they lie. Like 
the peat and muck beds of the North, they require 
the decomposing effects of the atmosphere for 
some time after thorough drainage, to adapt them 
to the cultivation of miscellaneous crops; and 
from the occasional scantiness of these, we may 
fairly infer, that they are deficient in some of the 
essential requisites for the fullest development of 
profitable crops. The luxuriant growth of certain 
weeds or grasses, wherever the cultivated crop fails, 
shows conclusively the rich storehouse of numerous 
elements of vegetable life, and that the addition of 
the one or more that may be wanting, will not fail 
to ensure large returns of the useful products. The 
usual practice with these soils at the North, is to 
throw up piles of the top or superficial vegetable 
soil, and when thoroughly dry, burn it and 
scatter the ashes over the surface. To this is added 
barn-yard manure, and especially wood ashes; and 
when it approaches nearly to the character of peat, 
sand or gravel should also be applied. Lime and 
plaster of Paris, and sometimes salt, are also fre¬ 
quently valuable applications. 
Gov. Hammond has introduced the practice of 
extensive marling, and with great benefit. He is 
thus enabled to increase his manure beds to any 
desirable extent, by a combination of vegetable 
matters with the muck and marl on his premises. - 
The latter is found in great abundance on the bank 
washed by the Savannah, and is brought up in flat 
boats to his landing, and thence distributed wherever 
required. This is rich in lime, yielding by a 
recent analysis from 50 to 70 per cent, of car¬ 
bonate of lime. Of course, with these materials 
in the hands of an intelligent and enterprising plant¬ 
er, there is little apprehension of exhaustion upon 
his lands—the great bane of southern agriculture. 
So far from this, there is evidence of rapid improve¬ 
ment in those fields subject to tillage, and Gov. H. 
is satisfied that his crops fully come up to the ave¬ 
rage yield of the Alabama and Mississippi planta¬ 
tions. Their greatest products go far beyond his ; 
but they are subject to many casualties not here 
known, or felt only in a mitigated degree; and he 
is fully satisfied to cultivate his long tilled acres, 
and leave the clearing of new and remote lands to 
those who prefer excessive manual toil and priva- 
