Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-11-06
hr Prestons Address

too exclu i've devotion of our labor to the staples
of tobacco aud cotton, constitute the principal
causes of the exhaustion of our soil and the en-
igrntion of our people. Thu experience of our
section assures us, that the labor Of ii man ON
fresh soil, under favorable circumstances, when
devoted to the cultivation of tobacco, cotton or
sugar, will at the usual market prices, produce
n larger annual return in money thnn when dl-
reoted under like circumstances, To the produc-
ton of the cereals or any general objects OF ag
ricultural pursuit. The prospects therefore held
out of immediate wealth, directed the cxertions
of our agriculturalists to those products, TO the
exclusion of others. The wheat, the corn, the
grn-s, the herds were all neglected for the rich
Hood that was annually poured into their lap
Ne time could be spared 10 erect valuable hou-
srs or barns-no ditching 10 add to the pcrma-
nent value If the and-no rotation of crops-no
time or labor expended in manuring or improy-
ing the sod. Rich lands were in abundance eve
rywhere around them, and they leave to future
generations the task of improving aud rcstor-
ing the soils they exhaust. The product of the
acre this year in cultivation enables them to buy
as good an one for the next, aud leave an amount
of income sufficient for present wants. What
need of care since the plant they cult
yate, and the labor they command, enable them
10 purchase all they desire.
The farm is not worked on the principle that
ought t. regulate agricultural pursults-or that
III III iUf flld FfCuIfS lilt niEhtsI hRll'ulthI-
al rewards and profits but IN that usual in work
ing n mine or furnace or n sal. well-wherc the
the labor is regarded as of too much ynlue-the
present reward too captivating and alluring to
permit any other object, however necessary and
proper, to be attended to. or cared for. This is
nnquestionably the tendency of things. when n
single staple product affords profits above and
beyond the usual profits on labor in other pur-
suits, and in the general agricultural products of
II country.
Under these Influences, the tobacco cultiya-
ton has contributed most to produce the ex-
haustion of soil which charactcrizes large por-
tions of our State. The injury thus atiectedis
not Justly attributable to the plant itself, or the
slave labor with which it Is cultivated. 1t is at
tributnblc TO the errors have just adverted to
the manner in which the cultivation has been
conducted, to excessive, negligent and long con
tlnued cultivation of the same crops-to want of
rest and proper rotntion-all having their source
IN the large annual profits derived from the cul-
tlsation of tobacco, on fresh soils, and the conse-
qnences IT produces on the habits of our plan
tiers aud agriculturali7 ts.
But the errors of the past are not irremedia-
bic. The injury they produced are not so per
manent or extensive, that INDUSTRY, economy
and n proper course of agriculture cannot reno
dy th"m-not so great as to deter or discourage
Us in the effort.
Observation and experience have shown us the
errors Of the system formerly pursued-the err
ror Of relying on II single product for our profits
OF pursuing that system that regards present
profits MS more advantageous than ultimate
wealth that experience TINT teaches US that an
nual profits from our land, however large, cannot
compensate for it's exhaustion and lmpoverlsh-
ment-thAt true economy Is promoted and ulti-
mate wealth more certainly attained by dcvoting
more time, labor and money in improving our soil,
our houses. quarters, stock, and to the health,
habits, and wants of our slaveS-that the reduc-
ton of our income thus produced, has more than
its compensation in the augmentation OF our per
manent cnpitnl-that the safest and most profta-
bic agricultural pursuits are those that yield their
profits, 50. that the increase Is not all received
in the form of an annual income in money, SO
liuble to be ~misspent under tn" temptations TINT
surround us-so often iniudiciously, re invested
OF left uninvcstrd from inattention or negligence
that experience assures us that amid the
dazzling prospects of wealth and fortune which
the staples of the South, the tceming prospects
of the West, the seductive gold of the Pacific.
holds mp to our view, -thore Is no better, or IN
the end, more profitable investment OF capital
than in agricultural pursuits IN the Commonwealth
OF Virginia.
In the variety and diversity of our crops, Sc
cnrity, and in "A series of years, profit, and wealth
will most probably be at aimed. This II obviously
the true system with the Virginia Agricultural
ist. With lnrEe demands upon him Tor suhsis-
tenee and supplies, he Is compelled 10 provide
them from hi, own farm and with his own labor,
or rely ON purchasing them from others.
Where a single crop, such ms tobacco or wheat
Is relied on, this dependence is greater than can
be borne from the casualties, losses, and uncer-
tainties in agricultural pursuits. 1t becomes,
when thus conducted, an adventure or specula
ton, dependent upon II frost, or storm, or drought,
instead of a well insured and regular system pro-
teeted from accident, casualty and loss, by all the
means in our power.
The soil and climate adapted to tobacco are
those in which wheat, corn, oats, and IN some
portions of the state grasses are produced IN
perfection and abundance. Where there is not
an undue proportion of labor devoted to tobac-
CO, it is moi difficult So 10 apportion the crops, as
Ia enable us 10 furnish regular labor throughout
the year, at the period proper for the cultivation
of each. When the quantity is 50 regulated as
to permit the planter and farmer to pursue II sys-
tenn of Improvement of his soils, with such varl-
ETY. of products as experience has shown advlsa-
BILE and proper, then the tobacco cultivation i. of
great Importance to a large portion of the State.
1t is not considered II great exhauster of the
soil it has "A superiority III valre over any pro-
duced on the continent it is less subject to de-
PROBATION from foreign competition than any OF
our productions, and constitutes in connection
with the other crops, with which it can be cult
waited, an important, and permanent advantage to
our agriculture in Virginia.
Whatever contributes TO retard emigration, to
increase the profits ON agricultural labor, to re-
duce The cost of Transportation to market, to null
tiply the productions of the soil, must be regar-
ded as important to our agricultural prosperity.
a larg" and fertile portion of the State, has
hitherto been SO situated, that its Importance has
been but impprfectly understood, and but slightly
appreciated. With agricultural, mineral, and
manufacturing resources that only require the