270 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
ing. Every miller that passes that way will be found in 
the liquid. By persevering in this course during the 
months in which the moth lays her eggs, all loss from 
er ravages may be prevented. Barclay White. 
Pemberton, JV. J., 6 mo. 13, 1845, 
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE. 
L. Tucker, Esq—Our new postage bill, will, I hope, 
enable you to receive even more communications than 
heretofore, though we cannot complain of you in that 
respect. Hereafter many will pay their ten cents who 
have never written you, because unwilling to meet the 
heavier tax. 
I am always gratified to read the articles from your 
southern correspondents, and hope your paper, though 
located so far north, will prove as much a southern as a 
northern conveyance of information. The benefit it has 
already conferred on the agricullural community, is now 
duly appreciated, but we hope ere long, in addition to 
such matters as are common to all who are engaged in 
agriculture, to find valuable information adapted to our 
own soil and climate. 
The agriculture of the south and north, must, under 
present circumstances, be essentially different. At the 
north, you hold for instance, a certain quantity of land, 
and having to hire the labor necessary to cultivate it, and 
to conduct all proceedings by regular calculation of cost 
and probable return, you can thus ascertain what amount 
of land you can work to profit. With us it is different. 
Land is much cheaper. We have a certain number of 
negroes, and by this we regulate our animal force. Now 
we wish to employ these laborers and horses or mules to 
the best advantage, and at this time it is a question of 
some difficulty and doubt. If, for instance, we plant 
only such a quantity of land as we can manure, we must 
turn some of this force into other channels, and it is a 
matter of but little doubt, that until some of this labor 
can be profitably abstracted and applied to manufactures, 
the improvement in the yield of our cleared lands will 
necessarily be slow, and the bad system of continual 
clearing land and waste of timber for fencing, will prob¬ 
ably continue. The attention given to collecting ma¬ 
nure, is certainly becoming more extensive, and some 
force is now applied to this purpose which heretofore 
has been given to working the crops; but this is neces¬ 
sarily limited, and it is not possible to manure any large 
proportion of our land as it should be. A little sketch of 
our method may not be amiss. 
We keep then, as large a slock of cattle as we suppose 
we can w inter on the offal of our crops, viz: The shucks, 
straw', &c. (The blades or fodder as we call it being 
necessary for our horses, and where near a market for 
sale,) and in the fall, wffien our corn is gathered in, they 
glean the fields of the tassels, bits of blades, late and un¬ 
ripe stalks, &c., and the little grass and pea vines, that 
may be found. These cattle are generally penned at 
night and given access to the corn shucks and straw, and 
supplied (by good farmers) with plenty of oak leaves, 
pine straw, corn stalks, and any litter they may find. 
The stables are cleared out now and then, and the ma¬ 
nure spread in the cow pen, and fresh leaves given to 
cover it. It is piled up some time in January, and in 
March hauled out to our cotton and corn crops; to the 
latter applied at the rate of about three loads (two horse 
loads) to the acre, which admits of a good double hand¬ 
ful to the hill, the corn being planted 4 by 4, or 5 by 3, or 
some such distance. This, after being' applied to the 
land every year, will in the course of a few years im¬ 
prove it somewffiat. My own practice is to put what 
manure I have in the spring as mentioned above, and 
all that I can collect in the fall is given to the same field 
for wheat. After the wheat is cut, a considerable growth 
of weeds and grass takes place, and is left to decay upon 
the ground, to be turned in, if opportunity offers in the 
fall, though but rarely before spring. I plant no cotton, 
(but little made in this district,) and the land again has 
to be put in corn; sometimes in oats. We plant the 
cow pea between the hills of corn; generally at the second 
plowing, and this I think a very important, addition to 
our crop. The peas are picked, and the leaves and; 
vines, I think, if not eaten down by cattle, tend to im¬ 
prove the land. The cow' pea is a dangerous article of 
food to all stock when fed in too great a quantity in a 
raw state; but after the field has been picked over, and 
only such quantity left as the stock must travel a good 
deal to obtain a meal of, it is very fattening; and helps to 
put our hogs in fine condition before putting up to fatten. 
Those that we are able to gather in by hand are used 
for feeding our milch cows. They are boiled and eaten 
very greedily by most, increase the quantity of milk 
very much, but (what is not generally known.) ruin the 
butter. For hogs, boiled, they are unsurpassed even by 
corn itself. 
I always devote a piece of good ground on which I 
drill the cow pea—often after rye or wheat has been ta¬ 
ken, and when the pod begins to mature, have the vines 
cut or pulled up and cured as the finest food for our milch 
cows that can possibly be obtained by us; but they must 
be properly cured so as to save the leaves, which like 
clover and lucerne are extremely likely to be lost. 
We find that we are so limited in our articles of cul¬ 
ture, not being able to cultivate clover or any of the 
grasses, that a system of rotation for more than three 
years, cannot well be carried into effect. The quantity 
of land planted in cotton or corn at the south being ne¬ 
cessarily so much larger than small grain, roots, &c., will 
always interfere in this respect. We find it difficult then, 
to arrange any regular scheme on paper, but must alter¬ 
nate as convenient. Corn, cotton, wheat, rye, oats, 
and rest, must be managed as judiciously as we can. 
The last year I sowed a piece of ground broadcast in cow 
peas intending it to be turned in for the benefit of the 
land; but upon reflection, in the fall, when ready to 
plow it in—reflection caused by casting an eye upon my 
cows, who would have said, if they could speak—“ Ah 
why not pull these, we would thank you much, and re¬ 
turn them to you again in the stable yard, besides getting 
the benefit of them ourselves.” As you may suppose, 
they were pulled, and my cattle benefited much by the 
!exchange. Whether it would have been more judi¬ 
cious to turn them in, or use them as I did, I think ex¬ 
ceedingly questionable. Now sir, if we are disposed 
to devote a little labor and seed peas towards improving 
our lands by sowing them on our fields in the year of 
rest, or after wheat, would it be better to gather the 
produce to feed to our stock, and even increase our stock 
to consume it, or plow it in? It would hardly require 
an increase of stock on even our best plantations, as we 
all keep more than we can well feed in winter. In sum¬ 
mer they do well in old fields and swamps. 
There are many other considerations that I w ould sug¬ 
gest, as going to show the essential difference between 
the north and south, as incidental to our peculiar institu¬ 
tion, in contrast with the hired labor of the north, the 
merits and demerits of which institution, I hope will 
never be discussed in your paper. 
I have extended this to an unwarrantable length, but 
if you think it worth an insertion I may address you 
jagain; if not, it is but a spare moment wasted, of which 
;my health throws many upon my hands within doors. 
Greenville Dist ., £. C., July, 1845. J. W. G. 
Cure for scours in sheep. —First take your sheep- 
shears and tag them, as the filth that adheres to them in 
such cases, seems to augment the disease. Secondly, 
pick up a piece of straw or hay, and pick open the issues, 
as you will find one on the front of each foot, imme¬ 
diately above the division of the hoof, which is general. 
]y if not always closed when the animal is thus diseased. 
Be very careful not to break the skin. It may in some 
cases be necessary to open them twice a day for tw r o or 
three days, but once will generally effect a cure. Should 
it be necessary to administer medicine internally, take 
good rennet prepared just as the cheese-makers use it to 
set their curd for cheese, and give from four to six 
table spoonsful, according to the size or age of the 
sheep. To a lamb eight or ten months old, I give four 
spoonsful, and if it is not well in twenty-four hours, I 
repeat if, and I always cure. I keep the article on hand 
|in a bottle at all times. Reed Burritt. 
I Burdelt, Tompkins Co., N. July, 1845. 
