Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1852-03-24

improvement. and Cdpd6titlesot OF Produc-
1ion-aciM some Suggestions as to the
Means and Advantages within our reach.
SOME SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE MEANS TO
BE USED TO RESTORE THE EXHAUST
ED FERTILITY OF OUR LANDS.
Why is il, ,ha, the Atlantic scabosrd, and
particularly tha. part Of i. lying in Mary
population? Why have our people gone
to the west and southwest, abandoning the
homes of their childhood, The graves of their
ancestors, and all the associations which
cluster in profusion around mans holest
feelings and bind him with such power to
the spot Of his nativity? Why have those
associations been broken up-,hose links
been severed, and man driven out from the
cradle of his infancy 10 find another home
1t is not because the climate Of other lands
was more inviting-it is not because the
sun shines with more genial warmth else
where, or that other breezes are more iDvi-
goraing end beautiful, than those which are
waited across this beautiful peninsula from
the broad Chesapeake 10 the mountains. II
Is because our lands have become exhaust
ed by improvident .illage and no longer
yield an adequate return for the labor en-
ployed upon them. Our forelslhers gave
bu, lille attention to The improvement of
the soil, and but lillle care was bestowed
upon them to preserve their pristine (erlilI-
ty-bul lillle thought was given To the kind
of manure 10 be used, and no means were
applied 10 prevent the washing away of the
soil and the rapid deterioration of field
once rich. They consumed no. only the
inleres, Of their rich capital in the crops
drawn from the lands to their utmost caPa-
city Of production, both by cullivaling them
two years ou, Of three and bv grazing every
sprig Of herbsge the third but they con-
sumed the capital itself by permitting it to
wash away-and dried up the sources OF its
produc.iveness until it became an inert mass.
q mere caput mortuum. Purescen, manuIes
alone, such as the barn yards and cow pens
cen afford, are not sufficient TO resusci,ale
them. We must find out other means. The
system is too much exhausted To be restor-
ed BY s,imulsnls alone. Guano may serve
for awhile 10 excite; but diffusible stImu-
lsnts give only temporary strength to ihe
patient, and after their immediate effects
shall have been expended, The system Is
left in a more feeble and debilia,ed state
than before. Tonics are required-s,rengih
-cnng applications mus. be used New ca
?aeiies must be produced-a constitutional
change brought about by which The organs
will acquire renewed powers Of digeslon,
and capacity of sssimila,ing and converting
the stimulating efltrvescenl msnures int"
healthy pahulum to nourish the exhausted
system. What will answer this purpose
Lime, potash, casb"nales. .ph"sphs'es They
have had the effect else where. They will
produce the same results here. They en-
ter into the organization of all the plants
which grow. Our lands are deficient in
those ingredients. They must be supplied.
An old Scotch farmer, upon being asked
how some parts Of Scotland had been sol
greatly improved within few years, an
swered, that il was all done by the use of
lime and good roads.
Scotland was, some fifty years ego, re-
markabIe for its slerilty. Blu. now many
parts are described as being in high state
Of cultivation and in agricultural prosperi-
iy and improvement, and in the h'gh rate al
which lands rent, it stands in the foremost
rank of all countries Of the world. II is
attributed by all writer's on the suhjec! to
the free use Of calcareous manures-prIn-
cipalIy Of lime. Let US now inquire what
ingredients are contained in the most pro-
duclive soils, and by comparing ours see
wha. it is deficient in, that we may supply
that which is essential TO produc,iveness
and fertility.
We hear much said Of the rich soils Of
the West, and particularly Of the prairies.
Il is no doubt all meri,ed. They contain
every necessary ingredient for productive
ness and are as yet uninjured by the des-
,roying process to which this portion oi the
Atlantic seaboard has been subjected In
one Of The first essays it was said, that the
crust Of the earth had undergone various
changes since its formation. The surface,
also strictly denomina'ed its soil, that por-