The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-04-30
From the Rural Ne,c Yorker.
sUNEL0WER CULTURE As PREVENTIVE OF
THE AGUE AND FEVER.
BY LIEUT.. n. F. MACRY.

'
Every experiment that has for its object
the solution of any question in the affairs
: of man is Instructive. Whether the exper-
iment .be successful or not, it is not the less
4 instructive, for experience is acquired by the
sfaiIufa as we'll as the success Of experiments.
Every 'tiller of the earth, from Adam down
TO the whistliug rlow-boy that saw his first
fnrsew rot, longer than last autumn, has
been given more or less to the making of
. experiments. Asarmer "tries"' this crop,
or that'plan,, and his experiments are the
groundwork Of tile experience which gives
intelligent direction to his l'usbandry.
None of the great industrial pursuits is
j moro fruitful of experiments than that of
agriculture; and if all tile experiments that
havesbeen and now are making in this
branch of industry had been Systematically
conducted, , and if proper accounts of them
had all been collected and published, what
a valuable and instructive work should we
have had! Take the Chinese sugar-rane
ae an example for illustration. How many
thousands Of farmers intend to make n
''trial" Of it this year ?-and among this
great number, how many. think You, will
give. for the benefit of agriculture, any ac-
count of their. experiment and its results |?
Perhaps dozen or :wo. The aggregate
experience of all the rest will lie lost t" the
agricultural community-and yet. if collec-
ted and embodied together, it would be Of
incalculable value.
have been led into this train of remarks
in Consequence Of an experiment that
made last year with the cultivation of sun
flowers as preventive or protection against
ague and fever, and if you will publish an
account of this experiment, with an expla-
nation of what WIS sought TO be accom-
plished by it, and the results obtained, per-
haps some Of your many thousand readers
will join and assist in carrying it OUT for
with such assistance sanitary question
of great importance may be satisfactorily
settled, one way or the other, in little
while.
The dwelling Of the Superintendent: il
adjoining the Observatory, which is situated
ON hill on the left hank Of the Potomac.
;H!a.. as de-. go :n;:s. So see. 1t is o.
feet above the low water OF c!,b title, ami
about 400 yards from the riv'r. Tire
grounds pertaining t" it contain alton, II
acres, inclosed by II hrick wall "n the. East,
South and West sides, with picket fence.
on the North. The Soult, wall runs along
nearly parallel with the river. and so does
the West. Til. Chesapcape aud Ohio Ca
nal, fringed by II single row of sycamorrs
Of some twenty years. growth, separates
the wall from the river. In fact, the river,
with its marshes at the foot Of the hill, en-
circles the grounds Of the Observatory half
way round, viz: from S. E. 10y way of s. IT,
N. ". Thus. you perceive. we are in :.
.Hort Of .t,enf in the river. Most Of the
marshes are just ~ wash" at low water,
parts of tl.em are bare when the tide is out,
and all Of them, i'll the early summer. are
covered with n rank growth Of grass and
weeds,ashich begin to decay in August
This IS the commencement, too, of the
sickly season, and a few minutes walk
sat,out the grounds Of the Observatory after
suKset has i'een found sufficient to bring on
upon strangers IN attack Of ,ague and e.
yer. The place is 80 unhealthy that my
family. are compelled TO desert 1t for four or
five months every year. Last year they
broke up early in May, and did not return
till November.
Now, am not going into dissertation
,soncerning malaria or miasm, for, I've the
= tseSds Of the pestilencs what they NAV. those
Of these intermittents are supposed to lie
dusf.in a great measure to .il,e. marsl,es Al
the Potomac. The decay Of ,bs vegetable
:: Mal.er npon them .i,lfscts the ar. with in,
putities of: some kind. which, 'predispose ia
sebiils and yfevers- -sueb Is The popular be.
,lissst anysrate. ri .ss:. -. -
This 6rtngs me to the history Of the sun:
foyer eIRtriment A process Of reasoning
3 jiEA lowing led me 10, try, Il.
sss s,s If:it be the decayof life vegetable mat
gat ,ths- -n,arshes a,st produce. the :: sick.
s an sths;iily. then the sickness, mus. b.
sSsiSaa a the dsjstes;o fRsnsof, some gas
Ms6ss eaiuSslss shat Il ss free during at
M The sdec9npesu ssnd ifksp, poisonou,
N Sc! Basis n 81 #baeyer it be