Washington telegraph., 1845-01-22
From The Albany Cxltirasor.
AGRICULTURE AND HUSBANDRY
OF THE SOUTH

- OAkA AMI
OF THE SOUTH.
We are furnished by the last number of
me Southern Agriculfurist, with I most AZ.
ceiient address on the agriculture and bus.
bandry Of the South, delivered bv Cen.
James Hamilton, ai the formation OF an ~.
ricuitural society nj Fort Mitchell, Russell
county, Alabama We present our read,
ers below with several extracts from Gen.
Harnilton's address:
In many parts of South Carolina wberc
mari has been applied, the cotton cror,s
l'ase peen nearly II not entirely duplicated.
ana although our soils are less worn ,b,r
leis' n oehoores us at once to commence
resoH 20 this great mine Of agricultural
wealth. II ought, At once, to constitute an
o'9ect OF our society. to obtain detailed ip.
sruci cions tor It's use and application. 1t iy
not, however, alone by the use of nanures.
'nat our cotton crops are to be increased
the great elements Of solar light and heat
are no less essential. Hence, our cotton
rows ought invariably to run south md
north, that not only the least amount Of
shRne should be cast On the plant, but that
IL nrr winds prevail in The summar r,c,,,hs
tne nlgnest uIuuunr vi ssfIuur, !. - osasA'1s
lshment may be given to the plant. n Tne
necessity OF this will be manifest. vhsp !,
IS recollected how much sfu1ospherical mn.
triton the cotton derives from absorbent.
of its redundant foliage. Ibelieve. morn.
over, after the full moon in july, The pen.
dicular stem Of all cotton over four feet .nd
half high, should be topped, and the two
Or three ofthe long lateral branches on tbe
i'ili moon in August. I am satisfied. thar
~ rank and wet seasons, we should nake
aeieast one-third more to the acre by adop.
ting this process.
by this improved mode of culture. ,bro'
the instrumentality of a system of manuriuo.
iteiieve we may make one acre produce
as much as two by the old denuded process.
by which we take every thing frem the
soil and return nothing to il. The conse.
qnences 10 our operatives from this mode
" cultivation, by which we give TO enc
acre the productive energies Of two. are Of
inestimab.e consideration. First. one.ha,f
OF the horses and mules which we now u,e
10 go over an immense space of imperfect.
~ cultivated soil, may be dispensed with,
or used for tie garden cultivation Of a al.
minisked number of acres. Secondly. TO
our slaves how greatly will The burden be
hshiened, by tllling one half Of the quaint.
~ II land, yet, in the end, having a har.
vest equally or perhaps even more abun-
dant e gatherl To say nothing Of the in
creased facility Of the harvest ITSELF by pull
Ling two thousand pounds Of seed cotton on
one acre, instead Of one.
AT the Bend, have this year planted in
the check, twelve hundred acres of ceton.
SIX hundred have manured, the other six (
planted in the first rise of the swamp. in =
rich alluvium of untouched fertility. reuui.
ring nj present no manure. Two hundred
acres Of the former, on the second level Of
the swamp, are on a stiff clay fat. The
cotton planted was in this field on the first
OF May Ii did not receive drop Of rain
until the first week in June. The conse.
quence has been, that have encountered
incredible difficulty in obtaining a stand:
some of the land was re-planted tive times.
and none less than three. 1t was not until
the 10Th Of June, by unremiited efforts. that
succeeded in setting ffe crop in this field.
! advert to this miscarriage for the purpose
Of indicating it, remedy, to wit: Of giving
deep winter close furrow-ploughiDg TO all
the lands you design for the check culture.
and narrowing them early in the spring be.
lore you check of, after they have been
rendered friable by the winter rains and
frost, and another spring ploughing. be-
lieve might have thrown up and abandon
ed these two hundred acres, and still that al
the first level ofthe Bend, will make more
cotton, from present appearances. than NV
whole force can gather between the 18th
OF August and 9Th OF January, from manu-
ring and adopting the check, and discardfng
the drill culture. On my first level. have
checked five feet by four, and on the second
level four feet square. Ibelieve, however,
i've feet by three in the most fertile soils,
and four by three in those of less richness,
will be the right distance.
MY corn on Cantey's fraction, which /
think the richest piece Of high river bot
tom have seen this side Of the Brasos and
Colorado. i have planted in squares of three
feet, and thinned 10 a single stalk. 1t is
the best cared corn on my place, and will
average. il no disaster occurs, nearly two
ears 10 the stalk.
..ln naficinf the, ahost tsuUJessfuIfy direc-
ted the public attention to it, if did not
nay a ,wiiiin1 trihnie In the intellioepre and
philosophy on which It rests. You will
understand, gentlemen, that | can allude
To no one but Dr. Cloud, Of Macon county,
who, BY his careful analysis and induction
Of facts, has done much, believe, to di-
minish the labor and augment the product Of
the cotton crop of the United States. That
his theory rests on the true philosophy Of
the plant, entertain as little doubt, as l
do that its introduction will mark new
era in the culture of our benefcent staple
You will permit me 70 remark, that this
system Of manuring and planting in the
check takes off half the tar on our lands.