The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1856-07-29
From The Charleston Mercury.
TIE DoURAH CORN.

opments in the Agricultural world, and III
every industrial pursuit. And it may a.
we'll be received as no small compensation
for the huge political abuses and complex
tiles so characteristic Of the times. Yea,
let US confess that We see in it much that
gives promise of better times political. 1t
j. true we need relief from sectional agita
tors and federal aggressions: but there are
other desiderata scarcely less important t"
our happiness. And among them none hold
higher place than the demand for some
ccral whose annual production will both i'm
prove the soil, and afford abundant provi
zion for the rearing and fattening of stock
Of every description. That such plant
has been discovered. and is already in our
possession, is my serious belief; it only re
mains to bring it to the notice of the agri-
culturalists and farmers of the country
The general and proper cultivation Of tie
grain known as Indian Millct, or Dourah,
will work Il revolution in Southern agricul-
ture. On small area, devoted to grain
crop, and therefore with an enlarged area
for the production of cotton, ample Provis-
ion will be made on every plantation for all
the necessities and claims of stock. The
grand result must be, an acceleration of
the wheels of Progress-lands will improve
more rapidly, homestcuds become pcrma-
nent and tasteful, and last, but not lea ST.
the insatiate Kentucky and Tennessee drO-
1;en,n+;n,,, aud Ion
for a better DISPOSAL, the thousands of dol
lars which he is annually abstracting from
our soil and pockets. The Dourah (IioL-
cas- !Sorgum) has long been the staple pro-
whose crowded populations nccessitate the
cultivation of those cerals only whose pro-
Efficacy is most abundant-in Asia Minor
Africa, China, Southern Europe and japan.
Nature has thus, it seems, fitted this useful
plant TO become a contented denizcn of al
most every cline and soil. In cur own
country it will flourish from Mexico to the
Southern border of Pennsylvania, and will,
e. no doubt, he speedily acclimated much far
Their north than that limit. This rcmarka-
BILE plant grows well on every variety of
soil, whether rich or poor, light or stiff. 1t
is not claimed for it, however, rs in the case
of the famous RESCUE" that it will grow
rs well on poor land as on rich. Like most
individuals of its kind, it delights in fertili-
ty, and its yield must ever be in a direct IA
ito with the attention it receives. 1t is
claimed for it, nevertheless, that there is
nothing fastidious or aristocratie in its ma
ture; it does not turn up its nose at poor
land, but only cocks its ears. 1t is not ne
cessary, in order to obtain respectable
crop of it, to dig eighteen inches deep, ex-
haust all the sources of fertility on the pre-
misses, and good large slice of one Of the
Chncha islands to boot. A thin soil will
yield a good crop-One that will astoni>h :;
that of a lightrich loam with sufficient mois-
turc, will send up towards heaven perfect
cancbrake of stalk and golden grain.
As to the best methods of planting the
Dourah, they are various as the soils GA
which it may grow. 1t is sometimes sown
broadcast; at others drilled, more or less
thLk, in rows two feet apart; and as often
planted, just VIC do common corn. i
have a small lot of it, at this time, planted
in the last method, which, although, only
half matured, already obstructs the view in
almost every direction through it. Another
planting in my garden, that was drilled in
rows three feet apart, and thinned to about
airrbf ipahoS = nj l., n IL,
average of lands, however. a medium dis
lance, | am satisfied, would be best-sav
three feet and half by one in the row. To
sustain crop sown broadcast, the soil
should be well stirred and MANFRED, though
if it is IRcrely to obtain fodder, it would do
well on any soil For the purpose of fat
tening hogs there is no crop under the sun
which, with the same amount of nutrition.
is as abundant i'll supply as the Dourah:
they not only eat the grain with aviditv.
but chew up every particle of the stalk to
extract its rich saccharine matter. And
here it becomes most valuable, too, Us an
imProrer of land; the hogs are turned in
upon 1t, and such Is the vast amount of
stalk, that when they have finished the field.
1T lies covered several inches deep over its
entire surface with the debris and offal of
their work. We have pennod this paper,
Mr.. Editor, in order to bring more effectu-
ally before the planters and farmers of the
State, at least one eff the most valuable of
the cerealia; not as new discovery, for the
DouTah has been long known even in this
country, but as plant possessing those
peculiar properties which eminently adapt
1T to meet one of the pressing wants of the
South. ARRFVJTJE
NASHlNG.-Mrs. l.. w. says: Il send
the following for your housekeepers' de-
4 i -. IL