RACE BETWEEN ECLIPSE AND SIR HENRY. 
123 
the defence of New Orleans, both the country and 
the service looked upon the result of the combat as 
a triumph. On the latter, in particular, the re¬ 
sistance made by Lieut. Jones and the officers and 
men under his orders, reflected great honor, for it 
was known to have been made almost without 
hope.” The enemy’s loss was 400 men in this 
single engagement. The subsequent services of 
Commodore Jones are well known to the country, 
and need not be recapitulated. 
It is in his capacity as an agriculturist, that I 
design more particularly to speak of at this time. His 
farm consists of some six or seven hundred acres, 
favorably located, comprising a fertile soil, ren¬ 
dered so, chiefly by his unwearied and systematic 
exertions. When he first came into possession of 
it, twenty years since, it was utterly barren and un¬ 
productive ; but by a judicious and continued pro¬ 
cess of scientific husbandry, by the free application 
of lime and other manures, and by the successive 
adoption of all the varied improvements of the day, 
it has become the pattern farm of the entire region 
—yielding fifteen to twenty bushels of wheat per 
acre—one hundred of corn [we presume this quan¬ 
tity means corn in the ear. Ed.] and other crops 
in proportion. In some seasons, three, and even 
four crops of excellent clover, averaging nearly 
two tons to the acre, have been secured; and 
in short, no pains for cultivation are spared to ren¬ 
der every acre highly productive. Nearly oppo¬ 
site, the Commodore’s brother, Adj. Gen. Jones, of 
Washington, has a farm of nearly equal extent, 
lying on the Potomac ; and both gentlemen may be 
regarded as model farmers ; personally supervis¬ 
ing, so far as their official duties will permit, the 
operations of their plantations—ready to adopt every 
suggestion which promises improvement—and 
leaving nothing undone which may conduce to the 
renovation and fertility of their lands. 
There are several excellent farms, as well as 
judicious and enlightened farmers, in this neighbor¬ 
hood, nearly all of whom attach great importance 
to the influence of lime in the amelioration and fer¬ 
tilization of their land. From twenty to fifty and 
even a hundred bushels per acre are frequently ap¬ 
plied, and with the most marked and beneficial re¬ 
sults. Except, when applied as a top dressing for 
clover or any of the grasses, plaster does not seem 
to produce any very decided effect; lime, however, 
when freely applied, seldom fails of securing abun¬ 
dant and remunerating crops. The liberal use 
of the ordinary barn-yard manures, is, of course, 
presupposed, as without this indispensable ingre¬ 
dient no farmer expects to secure a crop. The use 
of charcoal is gradually obtaining favor; and as the 
subject of scientific agriculture becomes better 
known, it will, in my judgment, prevail far more 
generally than it has hitherto done. The extensive 
ine forests in this region cannot, as it seems tome, 
e put to a better use than in furnishing this 
admirable absorbent of the nutritious gases of the 
atmosphere. 
Since I have been here, I have visited great 
numbers of our northern farmers who have emi¬ 
grated and settled in this neighborhood; and I 
find them all, without a solitary exception, in 
prosperous and favorable circumstances—delighted 
with the climate—satisfied with the fertility and 
productiveness of the land—pleasantly situated— 
and pleased with the prospects before them. Capt, 
Hatch, formerly of Chenango, A. Lawrence Foster, 
of Madison; Mr. Coe, Mr. Childs, of Ontario ; 
I Mr. Barrett, Mr. Hull, formerly of Oneida; Mr. 
Taylor, of Duchess; Mr. Sherman, of Connecticut; 
Mr. Loomis, Mr, Crocker, and several others, 
whom I have seen, and most of whom I had for¬ 
merly known in New York, are in the “full 
tide of successful experiment,” here in Fairfax : 
and it needs only a glance at their fertile fields and 
broad acres, their commodious farm buildings and 
well-filled granaries, their cheerful and contented 
faces, and healthy, happy families, to be satisfied 
that in exchanging your rugged clime for that of 
the “ sunny south,” they have not merely consulted 
their pecuniary well-being, but secured for them¬ 
selves pleasant and agreeable homes, with all 
needed facilities for permanent comfort and enjoy¬ 
ment. In addition to this, they have been the means 
of introducing numerous valuable improvements into 
the agriculture of this region; they have brought 
with them northern implements, northern usages, 
habits, and customs ; northern schools and churches ; 
northern industry and economy; northern enter¬ 
prise and energy; and ten years will not elapse 
before, in all probability, the infusion thus commu¬ 
nicated, ’ of northern restlessness and progressive 
improvement, will change the aspect of this portion 
of the Old Dominion, and render it, in fact, that 
earthly Paradise, which the Father of his country 
predicted it would ultimately become. 
A New-Yorker. 
MATCH BETWEEN ECLIPSE AND SIR HENRY. 
I was much interested by the brief details in the 
last number of the Agriculturist, of your visit to 
Dosoris, the natal spot of Eclipse. I was also 
highly pleased to see Mr. Colden’s account of his 
famous race with Sir Henry, recorded in your 
pages; but as there are some inaccuracies in that 
account, will you allow one who was intimate with 
all the actors in the exciting event, to make such 
additions and emendations as he believes are strictly 
correct. 
First Heat. —When the horses had gone three 
and a half miles in the first heat, Eclipse com¬ 
menced his run. He gradually gained on Sir Hen¬ 
ry all the way around the turn. Crafts did not use 
his whip until three fourths of the distance round 
the turn ; but had spurred Eclipse freely. As the 
horses were sweeping off the turn to the straight 
stretch home (Eclipse, with his nose at Henry’s 
tail), Crafts disengaged his right hand from the 
bridle and commenced whipping Eclipse. Not 
being strong enough to hold him with one hand and 
whip with the other, he lost his balance, slipped 
back nearly upon the cantle of the saddle, and 
broke up the stride of Eclipse. At once Henry 
opened away from him, a length in the clear. At 
this crisis, Buckley, the trainer, shouted to Crafts, 
to drop his whip; doing so, he gained the bridle 
with his right hand, brought himself to the seat in 
the saddle, braced Eclipse up with a good stiff 
pull, touched him with his spurs, and on went his 
horse, gaining at every stride until he caught Henry 
at the stand, and was only beaten a neck out for 
the heat. Had Crafts not taken his hand from the 
