The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1828-11-17
AGRICULTURE.

Dawn ap, chiefly, by Mr.. J,con, n gentle.
tlrman known TO European agricnItmi sis, as thu
authur OF a renor, TO The Blush House of Com.
mons, an The piice of crain IN the di1rrirnt
countries Of Europe, and inserted IN The Aneri-
eau Farmer pf lfh January, lS19, NJ the in.
stance Of Captain Basil Halt, Of the Rnyal,Navy.
then travelling TIN ough America.
By GAVIN loSEs. Of Worth Carolina.
/ Carr Basil Hall. X. N.
ST.-My answers 10 vour quel ics. contained
in the oh volume OF the American Farmer.
nnst he necessarily brief aud confined 70 few
objects for of many ofthr particular am en-.
tiiely ignorant, ard of others, my Information
is quite limited. So far as go | hope 10 he
found correct, il what say /. considered IN rrfar.
ence to our state, North Carolina J andthc par
tICnlar section OF II, near is centre, IN which |
reside. | shall follow the respectable example
% Dr.. Darlington, in the medium of communi-
catinn hrcause, ii il, ahtains general observation
among the many VIII m |, hope will appear ~
answer your inquiries, thctr will lie shown,
what | am very anxious 10 scr. the various con-
d;tions ard processes OF agriculture in the d,C.
iereni stairs one corrrspnadent will be ena
bled 10 supply the defects aud omissions Of ann.
lher, and \ mass of information will be brought
together, possibly curious 10 YOU. and certainly
useful q ourselves.
RHtfV . W Ilfn lfhil IS bItfNH0 mo fllltiFl-
lion FROM state ofuatnrr, how many times is it
necessary Ia turn over The SOL, either by digging
or u coughing, heio,e the seed IS daposlci IN
itf Our first crcp upon recently cleared iand
is Indian earn, or maIzr Twenty years ago, il
was tobacco. The preparation FOR the corn
croo is vsrlouS. The most common mode, |
think. after the bushes are grabbed IN, aud the
trunks OF such trees rs ARE wanted tor fence and
fuel removed, and the rest belted. IL 10 ran SUI
gle burrows y III a plough. sometimes followed
ard sometimes preceded by "a coulter, al four
fee, aud q halt distance from each other these
are crossed, ut the same distances. bV other
similar burrows. Two grains of corn in { m
mon soils. and three in good, Nith half a d,Han
peas, (bea1,, | think, they would he ctlled IN
England, ar-hepcsited AT earh Intersection, aud
two inches ofearth thrown over item by the
foot Of the hopper. This planting is commonly
done IN Nav, a month or SIX weeks alter tban ~
old land. L. ten OF twelve days IN" plants M /;
and in as many DAYS more II is sidei, by running
a uIouch w,thau, a mould board, or, which is
better. a narrow winged coulter, once on each
side ofthe row. In ten ''ayS more, the iltrime
diato -nac.s arc broken M by heavy lnfrow-
thrown % the corn. II is fhcn hand hoei. la
three or fngg weeks it is cross o~longhed ami
hand-hoel again ana this completes The lIlege.
In old land the ploushius aud hand horing is
commonly performed a third time. \fer the
first crop. the peas, N all future ones. ara l'nt"d
in the interval of the corn Al the time ri ihr first
hand-hneino. and In more liberal qnarti'y but
the cultivation of these is principally confined TO
the nat sandy part of the STATE n" first years
corn crnn is not so good as the second, annnt e.
quail to the third, ant, better than the iour b.
After the fourth crop, if all successfully wei
corn. the land vas formerly all WED 10 rest 80.
nv second or third year tat since tb> cor IN an,
wheat culture, introduced twcnt' years ago. tn
! second ard third crops arc Wnally cotton. an,
| the fourth wheat. But there is no umiinfnl,,
OF practice. for We hay" 40 system. and uni
latciy, nothing like a rotation Of, crnps. vi
! own practice. au',, tnar Of a few Others. DIFF
J essentially roy, any described alnve, Mine /
to break an nea mp new land as we'll as old
20 plough on orizontal Inns, ms inslrnc
ted by aandoiph, and 10 plart rorn an
every TING else in drills, as prescribed ~ lay
hr.
The c%outinus nee of the productive power u
the snil depends more on its surface form tlih
On the exliaustions produced by the crops Gu
%t;vnted. Our billy lands, as those hn"drc'
r,iles from the SQUADS mostly are, unless about
! ,,ine in vegetable fibre aud ploushe0 deepi
and horizontal Y, are liable TO have The 50
washed away by the heavy and precipi,ot
rains TO which our climate is subject and a
neither Of the preserva''vest have men,Ione
are common here, il 'ollaws that our old ieic
are mostly cut into deep r%avines, and the SD
face soil is .wrpt away.
To compare our agriculture in fey Of
particulars with that OF Pennsylvania, as d'
scrihej. by Dr. Darlington, Il may b. saia IA
bncku beat will not return the quantity sown
that barns are unusual, that the roller is nevc
used. and but rarely the harrow that we rHi'
ten fold more corn han small gain ; tint yer
few cultivate grasses or have meadows tn
nanures are seldom made or carried out. cote
seed only excepted; that rur cattle most
Irangc 10 the Wonds aud the chirf manured spa
ia the place where the COWS are penneb IL nig
for milking.
QuerB :. How many h1shcis nor acre n
commonly . Of the several kinds OF grai
viz wheat, rye, barley and OATS Cotton.
l%1ushc'S c1-n a peck, (makiog so,ne ailown
Fees Tor patlidses and blue bugs AMI "heat