The North-Carolina standard., 1850-09-04
GH CAROLINA, MORNING. SEPTEMBER 1850
CFrom the American Farmer.7

From the American Farmer1
RENOVATION OF WORKOUT LAND.
We copy with great pleasure the following excel.
Northampton County, North Carolina from the May
Number of the Southern Cultivator, in which paper
it has been published in anticipation of the Patent
Office Report" for which it was written. We agree
with the enlightened editor Of the Culvator, that, il
the Report contained nothing else than the essay
in question. the money which will be expended in
printing it, will probably be well laid out What Mr.
B. states is not theory, which may or may not be rue
but tie results y his o,cn practice and experience, and,
therefore, implicitly to be relied upon.
In reading Mr.. BIS excellent communication we
regret that lime and mari were not available in his
district, either, if used in connection with his pea
lays, would render his soil infinitely more produc-
tive. 1t is possible, however, that the stiff clays
which underlay the hands Of his neighborhood, and
which are brought to the surface by his deep plough.
salts Of iron in various stages Of oxidation, and may
thus afford healthful supplies of the two first named
substances but even in this case, benefit would re-
suit from the applications of lime in the quantity so
properly suggested by the discriminating mind of
Mr. b. or even less quantities. "Aquantity Of lime,
sandth part of the titled surface layer of the SOIL
like proportion of drawn ashes, or two hundredth
part or even less, of mari, sufficient to modify
the nature change the products, and increase by one
half the crops of soil destitute of the cacarious
principle" In another part of his valuable essay on
the properties and modes of applying lime. he speaks
most approvingy of the Practice Of the farmers of
La Sarthe, France, who apply, every third year,
bushels per acre, in compost made of one part lime,
and seven or eight parts of good mould or cath.
In those districts of country where both lime and
mari to be had, but where the soil has been
haused by mprovident culture, by adopting the deep
tth and pea lay system of Mr. B., and by lining or
marling, the Proprietors of such lands will greatly
add to their productive capacities.
We invite your attention to the following:
IMPROVEMENT OF WORKOUT LANDS BY THE USE OF
PEAS AND CLovER-By H. K. Burgwinn, North-
ampton County, North Carolina. Having heard from
various reliable sources of the great success of Mr.
Burgwinn in renovating worn out land in North Ca
roina. we were particularly anxious to obtain, from
his own pen, an account of his practice in this inn
Office Report. At our request Mr.. B. sent the fol-
lowing able and instructive essay, which we take
the liberty publish in the Cutivator, Simultaneous.
ly with its going through the press at Washington
There are large bodies of land lying in Eastern
and Middle Virginia and North Carolina, which have
been so much reduced by continued cropping, plant
ing tobacco cotton, and sowing oats, longer to
pay the cost of cultivation, and are turned out as
waste lands.' These really possess good share of
feltiiity and, by very moderate expenditure of la
Dor and attention to common sense principles of ag
riculture, may he reclaimed and have their produc-
tiveness increased from 100 to $50 per cent. They
can be made truly valuable and do not hesitate to
say, as the result Of my experience, that they will
give greater profit in the of five years. cu
tivation than be derived from any except rich
river lands.
''This is the method have adopted, and by which
have increased the products of such land from u
to barrels per acre. The increase of wheat is pro-
portionaly greater than that in My system of
culture is substantially as follows:
" If the broom straw, in which these waste lands
always grow up, retains any sap, by which, when
turned UNDER fermentation will ensue and cause the
straw to rot, let the land it u.s. be plowed with the
largest size pow drawn by three tour horses. run
ming deep possiblesay not less than ten inches
and turning everything under. If tbs straw has
no sap it will not rot in year and in that case burn
it off and plow before. If possible. follow each
plow with a subsol plow, and 60 or inches deep
er. This will make the stiff clay, which almost
everywhere underlies our land, more open the ge
nal influence of the and air, and enable it to get
rid of the surplus water of WINTER and heavy rains
in other periods of the year.
4" About the middle of June following, when the
weeds are about half grown, and before they have
formed their Seeds sow the land broadcast at the rate
of bushel per acre, of any of the numerous varie
ties Of peas among US, except the blackeyed which
have the most vine, and ri pen earliest. When the
land has much of weeds grass upon it, turn under
three inches deep. If the land is bare Of weeds, I
prefer covering the peas with large, heavy harrow,
running both ways-6rsl engthwise, and then across
the beds. AS it is important to give the peas start
over the weeds and grass, soak them six hours in
water, and rub them in plaster of Paris and, when
they begin to leaf and branch, say when IL inches
high, plaster at the rate of bushel per acre.
This stimulates their growth and they overpower the
weeds and grass.
When about half the peas are ripe not half
ripe'-hogs should be turned in to tramPle and cut
up the vines, otherwise it is extremely difficult to
turn them under. So soon this can be done, the
hogs should be taken off, for the peas useful for
shading the land from the summers sun-a most i'm
portant matter in all mprovement-and giving to the
thin soil large of vineleaves and other vegeta-
think peas not inferior to clover Ito which family,
ndeeds, it belongs.) as specific manure for wheat
s'After this mass of vine has been turned under,
you have pea laY,' over which sow a bushel and a
half of wheat per acre. and six quarts of clover seed
Harrow both in thoroughly, and let the work be fin
course, depend somewhat on the quality of the old
field ; but venture to affirm that it will amply re-
pay all labor and outlay, and astonish by the result
apparently from so trivial cause.
Il am familiar with the great increase Of crops
from the use of lime and clover, and do not mean
to compare the two methods of renovatng land as
equal but, where lime is not to be had, there is NO
application that can compare for moment, on well
drained land (if it need draining) with plaster. peas
and deep tlage. No gold mine is so valuable as a
mari pit. am, however, con6ning myself to inte'
rior districts, where neither lime nor mari can be had
.Atter the wheat comes off in June following, the
clover, if sown early in October will have grown SC
as to shade the land pretty we'll, the waste
lands speak Of. 1t should not be grazed the first
year at all in the February after, top dress it with
all the manure to be had, not forgetting to apply all
the old ashes within reach. This time of the yea'
(winter) is the best for applying manure in our coun
try. where the hot sun acts 80 injurousy on bare
surface The roots of the young clover being pro-
tected from hard frosts and sudden changes by the
manure, it shoots forward with the earliest warmth