Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-11-25

winch place they were no uonui imported from iioi-
land. About tins period an acre OF good land IN Cam
bridgashire was let at % cents per acre. IL thus re-
CURED the rent Of ten acres Of land TO purchase SIX
~cabbagcs and some carrot roots. Beefand pork, by sta.
tute OF Henry Sth, was ordered 10 be sold al less than
one cent. Mutton and veal nj one cent per pound, anu
The reason assigned was, that 1t was the food Of the
poorer sort.
The potatoe introduced into England in 1865 from
Santa Fe, by a Capt. Hawkins, and also by Sir Walter
Raleigh from Virginia, who stopping in Ireland, some
were planted there, in the commencement OF the l'ih
century was deemed 50 great a rarity, that it was only
served at The Queens table at > shilllngs (d6 cents) The
pound, treated as a fruit, baked in pies with spices and
wine, or eaten with sugar. The college Of learned ply.
sicians Of Paris pronounced il q deleterious food, ant
its use was prohibited by royal ordinance. Two hun
bred years elapsed from its first introduction into Eng.
land before il was cultivated as a field crop. II now
forms the sole food Of the laboring poor of England
and Ireland, and it may be well doubted whether its m
PRODUCTION has been q blessing or n curse; whether the
introduction of cheap and abundant food that will sus.
tain a dense population in the most debusfd scale Of hu-
man existence can be a blessing. Whether the existence
of man in a condition but little removed from the brute OF
the field, his moral and intellectual faculties eXtrnguish-
ed by the incessant struggle to maintain a mere animal
existence, can be desired by the philan,hropist or the
christian.
Near our own time, Mr.. Jefferson could recollect
when the tomato was cultivated as an ornament to the
flower garden; called love apples, and deemed poison
Gus; it was eaten by but one individual, q foreigner, u
resident of Williamsburg, and whose peculiar %constitn-
ti"n was Supposed TO resist its deleterious effects; It now
forms al article Of agreeable aud beautiful food for all
conditions of our population.
The OK, the mule and the ass appear to have been
the only animals used anciently for agricultural labor.
None other seems to have been used by the Romans.
BY one of the laws of the Anglo Sasons, they were pro-
hIbited from p%loughing with horses, mares and cows, and
restricted 10 oxen.
The OK appears, from the writings of Moses, 10 have
been, at a very early period, surdued to the uses Of
man, even before the flood, as well as the sheep-(see
Gen, Nv, 2-20) The ass and the camel later (Gen
XII, lG) The horse is not mentioned until about l.a0
years before C~hrist-(Gen, XLvlI, ~ lie was reared
at first, exclusively for war. In the time of the Ro'
mans, this appears to be the great object to which he
was devoted. AS late as 1o5, horse flesh seems TO have
been all article Of food with our ancestors, the Anglo.
Saxons. The Penitenticle Of Egbert says, 'Horse flesh
is not prohibited, although many families will not buy
it," But, in the council held in 7S5, in Northumbria,
before Alfwold, aud in Merciu, before Ofn, il was de-
nounced. "Many among you eat horses, which is not
done By any christian in the East. Avoid this.--(See
Turner'S Anglo-Saxons, Vol. Ii, 200.)
This recital, designed to amuse that portion OF our
audience who cannot be supposed to be interested IN
the dry detail of practical agriculture, may, neVerthe-
less, be useful 10 part, in showing how slow, and how
tardy has been the introduction Of useful implements
and the culture Of those plants, now SO necessary for
the comfort Of The poor, and the luxury OF the nch; ana
how desirable it is that the snail pace OF agricultural
improvement should be accelerated by all The appli-
ances which lie within our reach.
ttUeu WE JUN Iuto ~ tuiiJ
our own country, and particularly TO this portion oft
East Of the mountains, we trace causes operating with
a bliphting desolation over its beautiful and fertile sur
face, as received by the white man from the hand OF
Nature. II was settled about The year l73O, sixty years
Afterwards, the price of the best high lands scarcely
exceeded two dollar, per acre, the average price OF
the period was under 81 30. The consideration ex-
pressed in The deed Of sale, now in my possession, OF
two hundred acres Of land, on Which the ShadweIi Mil
and Factory are situated, was Henry Wetherbarn'~
~. ,Lo, Loopar If RolpI0h tnvaFn WILLIAMSBURG \
ubipgest bowl Of arrack Punch" THIS 10 some OF tLr
mos, valuable high land in the county, independent,
Of lis waier.power. The appraisements of deccdents
estates about 1860, Of record IN the Clerks ounce,
show The volue of negro men 10 have been one bundled
and fifty dollars and under. Among such inyentorles,
but one horse was rated as high as lorty dollars. Cows
and calves from So so to SO Oh. All other stock and
implements in proportion. An individual could theh
have purchased five hundred acres OF the best high
land for from $500 10 $3.50, supply 1t with ten working
hands, al from one thousand TO twelve hundred dol.
lara, procure his implements, stock, and a years sup.
ply of corn for $3.50. The implements consisted, al
most exclusively, Of axes and hoes; n few Pioughs Of u
construction so simple that the butt OF q shingie was
deemed q most appropriate piece OF timber Tor a mould
board. Cabins were constructed without a nail or BIT
of iron. nouses at a later period were %shingled, wood
en- pegs being used instead of nails. Few farms boast.
ed q pair Of cart wheels, the tobacco was rolled to mar
kel in The ~hogshead in which it was prised. Corn rose.
from The great drought OF 1855, 10 ten shillings the bar.
rel: a price so unexampled, that for years afterwards 1t
was known as the ten shilling year.
For 9,000, a farm Of the best high land could Is
purchased and stocked for culture. Tobacco was thu
sole crop for market, corn with its shucks, tops and
fodder SUPPLIED food for man and animals. Wheat was
cultivated in 4 'palcil,' and -four formed an article at
occas;onalluxury. The tobacco was raised exclusively
upon virgin soils, which produced It from two 10 three.
and even FIVE years in succession, according to theis
fertility, leaving the land in tho finest condition TO pro-
duce corn, with the least possible labor. 1t was con-
tinued annually in corn, until shallow culture ana
heavy rains had stripped it Of its soil, and marked The
gullses for future wear-now PORTIONS turned OIL an
nually from tobacco, supplied fresh helds 10 desola'e.--
A fair crop Of tobacco, with good management, upon
lands not picked or cnlled by previous clesrings, @aa
probably not under 1000 lbs. to the hand, ~ waa
sometimes doubled) 10000 lbs. 10 The iarin. This TO
bacco sold from 50 80 to 80 50 per hundred weight
The whole crop OF the State sold Tor the same Price;at
that passed The inspection was held of like qualify
The merchant purchased by the inspector certificate.
without seeing The tobacco. The gross sales Of surh u
farm Anctuated from 300 TO $G57 per annum, from
o. 10 III per cent. upon the capital vested. The
expenses were of the simplest kind, and OF the
smallest amount, and were fully balanced by The living
OF the family out of the other products Of the farm.
and this enormous per centase was made by bending
oil their energies to clearing the country of IFS forests.
and dcsoiaiing it in their progress. The products OHM
acre Of virgin land in tobacco was then worth from $Sl
to S27. The first crop paid 500 per cent upon the
cost of clearing. The ofal OF The crop for manure wss
as nought; the cattle lew and poorly led, the means OF
improvement scarcely existed. To have attempted
promised no compensation. Uncleared lands productive
in tobacco were cheap and abundant. Tins state OF
things operated as a high bounty upon desolaton, and
desoia,ion followed, as the natural consequence, in the
footsteps of our fathers. Many Of US can recollect tho
aspect Of the country, its fertile hills. converted into
barren wastes, abraded every whereof impossible gull
lies. The labor Of smoothing its surface and again co.
yering il with vegetation has been in many instances
accomplished. The facility with which it has been done
has given the most encouraging evidences ofthe natu-
raj fertility Of The soil. II has developed energies
which the most sanguine had not anticipated, and gives
an assurance that however fair and reinunerat'ng our
present productions may be, they certainly form but a
small portion Of that, which a judicious system Of hus-
handry would lead Us TO anticipate. Compare what
it was, with what ii now lie; and how cheering has
been our progress in Improvement. See what remsins
to be done on our best farms. Compare our present