S58 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
soil. The lower part is curved from a hori¬ 
zontal root-stalk, the lower joints with roots 
triking out above the ground, the upper part 
of the stalk erect, surmounted by several 
(generally three to five) slender spikes of 
flowers, all starting from the summit of the 
stalk, spreading, two or three inches long, 
with little spikelets containing the seeds 
growing upon them, alternating on the two 
sides. Leaves broader but not as long as 
those of the cultivated grasses, flat, some¬ 
what hairy on the upper side. The plant 
multiplies very rapidly, and from its tenacity 
of life is a vile nuisance. The roots live 
several years. 
I have avoided technical botanical terms, 
so that any one may understand the descrip¬ 
tion, and recognize the plant from it. 
(ms, N, Y. WM. H. BREWER. 
For ike American Agriculturist. 
VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE. 
My farm lies on Buckeyeland creek, Alber- 
male County, Va. This creek heads or rises 
on the eastern side of the Southwest Moun¬ 
tains, running a north-eastern direction 
through a beautiful valley varying in width 
from 300 yards to three-quarters of a mile, 
and extending about nine or ten miles to the 
Rivanna river. The low grounds generally 
are very level; in some so much so as to 
tax the energies of the most skillful drainer 
to effect his purpose. The soil varies, some 
being very productive red clay, some black, 
and much of it cold, stiff, white, crawfish 
lands, with the different shades between. 
The hills vary quite as much, both in color 
and productiveness, being a mixture of white 
rock and gravel, black rock, blue slate, and 
the pale yellowish slate—which is always 
thin land—hard to improve, and as hard to 
keep so; all sloping gently to the low- 
grounds—in many places so much so as to 
render it quite difficult to tell precisely where 
the lowgrounds commence. 
These lands have varied quite as much in 
value, at different periods. When first set¬ 
tled they were the highest-taxed lands of the 
County, but from bad management they de 
dined to about the lowest; and they had a 
poor set of farmers, I assure you, if they 
were entitled to the name of farmer at all. 
When I settled here, about twenty years ago, 
there was not a single acre of land drained. 
There were many ditches, but not one to 
answer the purpo-e intended. For instance, 
in one field which I purchased, the many 
ditches were so arranged as to convey the 
water to the center of the field, from which 
it had to leak out as best it could, forming a 
kind of lake, from which the neighbors pro¬ 
cured their ice. This tract of 154 acres I 
purchased for $3 20 per acre, which, years 
before, had sold for $15 per acre. This de¬ 
cline was owing to its being thought impos¬ 
sible to be drained. I thoroughly drained it 
in three days with a farm-hand, greatly to 
the astonishment of my neighbors ; and 1 
have drained my farm, of about 300 acres of 
flat-land, so as to entirely alter the charac¬ 
ter and appearance of the soil, and its pro¬ 
ductiveness. 
When I came here it was more subject to 
frost than any place 1 knew in the county. 
My crops were often destroyed, both spring 
and fall, by frosts—my wheat never weigh¬ 
ing more than 55 lb. per bushel. Now that 
it is thoroughly drained, my crops escape 
the frosts that frequently destroy those of 
my neighbors. My last crops of wheat 
weighed from 61 to 63 lbs ; and for years 
my mountain neighbors would finish their 
harvest eight or ten days before 1 could com¬ 
mence; and I would often hire hands from 
the mountains, after their harvest was over, 
to cut mine. For the last several years I 
have commenced before my mountain neigh¬ 
bors, and in two seasons I finished before 
some of them had commenced. This I at¬ 
tribute to draining, and deep plowing with 
three or four-horse plow's. 
These lands are better adapted to grass 
than any lands I know east of the Blue 
Ridge. It produces good crops of corn, oats, 
tobacco, and wheat where sufficiently drain¬ 
ed. There is a vein of limestone running 
through its entire length, and where it has 
been used has invariably answered well. On 
such lands, well limed, I was told by an old 
u’heat-buyer, that he had purchased wheat 
weighing 69 lbs. per bushel. I know of no 
lands more easily improved. These lands 
are now worth from $10 to $30, when well 
drained and put m nice order. They will 
stand in grass for many years ; while the 
mountain-lands require a great deal of labor 
to keep them clean of the tall briar, sassa¬ 
fras, locust and persimmon. 
The mountain-lands will require a third, if 
not a half, more labor than ours ; and yet 
they command from $25 to $50 per acre, 
which, 1 am well satisfied, is to be attributed 
entirely to the tilling, and not to the soil. 
Now 1 am convinced that if a few good prac¬ 
tical farmers were to settle on this creek, 
these lands would rapidly regain their for¬ 
mer high prices—and we would welcome 
any such, let them hail from any portion of 
the globe they might. 
As to laborers, we work chiefly slaves ; 
not because they are cheaper, but rather be¬ 
cause they are the only reliable labor we can 
get. The whites here engage to work for 
less price than the blacks can be got for; 
yet they will not work well, and rarely work 
out the time specified. If any of your friends 
come here, and wish to work whites, I would 
advise them by all means to bring them with 
them ; for our white laborers are far inferior 
to our blacks, and our black labor is far infe¬ 
rior to what we read and hear of your la¬ 
borers. 
This is, I think, one of the very best graz¬ 
ing portions of eastern Virginia. Send over 
a few pioneers and let them report. 
You ask us to write of what we are doing. 
From this you will please excuse us for a 
year; during which time we look to you to 
tell us what our brothers of the North are 
about, for which we hope to repay them the 
next year, by writing how we excel them, 
[f we can so write, it will be gratifying to 
you, and to them , as it will be chiefly due to 
our improvements upon their present good 
management. 
And now, can you, or any of the numer¬ 
ous readers of your paper, give any mode by 
which the pyralanthia, holly and cedar seed 
can be vegetated ? I tried a plan, given in 
the American Farmer of last year, and did 
not sprout a single seed out of half a bushel. 
What is the quickest mode of procuring a 
hedge 1 What will make the best hedge? 
What is the best time to set out the roots 
and slips 1 How would a thin piece of new 
ground do for pumpkins and cymlins, ma¬ 
nured in the hill with guano ? C. G. G. 
The Country Gentleman states that the 
following remedy for the foot-rot in sheep, 
has been used with great success by H. 
Howland, of Aurora, Cayuga Co., for the 
last thirty years ; 
“ Mix flour of sulphur with the salt given 
to the sheep, in a proportion just sufficient 
to discolor perceptibly the salt, or about onc- 
eight part. Sulphur may be had at a whole¬ 
sale price at a cost of not over two cents. 
Where local applications are necessary, we 
should much prefer a solution of chloride of 
lime, to any other application. 
TREATMENT OF THE LEGS AND FEET OF COLTS 
Considering the important functions as¬ 
signed to the legs and feet, upon which a 
great portion of the horse’s value depends, 
it is a matter of some surprise that more 
attention is not bestowed on the subject. 
There are many breeders who never think 
of inspecting them till the animals are about 
to be broken, or, if they observe any imper¬ 
fections, they leave the remedy to its fate. 
The legs of young horses may be justly 
compared to willow twigs ; you may train 
them to almost what form you please. By 
careful and judicious treatment many de¬ 
fects may be relieved or corrected, if at¬ 
tacked in the earliest stage, before the parts 
have assumed an unyielding texture. Many 
of the imperfections to which the form of the 
leg is susceptible, may be traced to a portion 
of the hoof having been broken, worn away, 
or chipped off. In the event of such an ac¬ 
cident, the opposite side of the foot grows 
more luxuriantly, and the weakest portion, 
or lower side, having to sustain an increased 
weight, an uneven bearing for the foot is 
established. This will assuredly cause the 
leg to grow crooked, and very probably oc¬ 
casion to a turning in or out of the toe. The 
irregularity of shape is often seen in one 
leg, while the other is well formed. The 
pastern joints, in many cases, evince a dis¬ 
position to grow too upright, or on the other 
hand to assume too mnch obliquity. The 
same principle which accidentally causes a 
limb to take an unfavorable growth or form 
may be adopted to restore it to its proper 
shape, providing it is attended to in time. 
Thus, if the inside of the near forefoot of a 
colt or young horse be broken off or worn 
down, it will cause the animal to tread more 
heavily on the inside than on the out, and the 
leg will become bent in consequence. To 
correct this it is only necessary to reduce 
the superabundant portion of the foot with a 
drawing knife or carp, so that the limb may 
have an even bearing. When the pasterns 
grow too upright, the heels require to be 
lowered; and the toes of those which are 
too oblique must be shortened. The texture 
of the hoof varies considerably in different 
animals. In some measure it is Constitu¬ 
tional ; and it is likewise affected by the 
state or condition of the land upon which 
the animal is reared. Before shoes are ap¬ 
plied, if the land be dry, the hoof is very 
liable to be broken off at the edges ; and if 
neglected they will shell off, and frequently 
occasion soreness—sometimes even inflam¬ 
mation. To obviate this, the part should be 
rounded a little with the rasp, and the foot 
dressed with ointment composed of tallow, 
fat, or lard two parts, tar one part, and trea¬ 
cle half an equivalent of the latter. These 
being melted together and applied warm on 
the soles and hoofs of horses at any age, 
will be found to promote the growth and 
toughen the parts effectively. If the land be 
very dry, it is advisable to throw water on 
some particular spot, where the animals 
may be induced io stand occasionally in 
order to keep their feet in a healthy state. 
By adopting a regular system, and exam¬ 
ining the legs and feet of every horse, young 
or old, once a month, attention to these little 
matters becomes habitual. When the vast 
importance of healthy feet is considered, 
the trifling item of trouble must necessarily 
vanish. Incipient lameness is very frequent¬ 
ly established at an early period ; although it 
may not be detected till the animal is shod 
and put to work, when the unfortunate 
blacksmith, shoes, and all such devices, are 
summarily condemned. Thrushes are not 
unfrequently a predisposing cause of lame¬ 
ness ; but they are commonly thought light¬ 
ly of, unless they give palpable evidence of 
inconvenience. Exposure to wet and filth 
