The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-03-09

Ia .xvsH
49, -, ssInrd TO cuitfvate poor land u WIN
-. ,',,, A. rsebt every year. Inc aNerase
49,. $50, IF wheat IN Virginia has been estiiha-
.. a rour or Ave bushels to the acre ms,
W. ss,,axe. il under themark; but suppose the
q .,,ro. arc doubled, and say eight bushels one
r..r with another. Now, II all the expenses OF
..ed. culture, harvesting, and sending 10 mar
ket--,o say nothing Of taxes and interest on
c,pital-are accurately summed up, the proht
aceruiug to the farmer will be found 10 DC
very inconsiderable. Take product OF SIX
bushels, and IL will bring him In debt IL Is
obvious, therefore, that the tillage OF an
extended surface, with no better results Is q
costly business.
Now. IL takes but little more labor ana
oxnorsa "a cultivate an acre of rich than OF
moor land. The minimum product OF any
1e,d IN no remuneratiye, should not be less
,h,, from twelve TO fifteen bushels OF wheat,
aud from twenty TO twenty-five OF corn OF
cots No farmer ought TO be satisfied win
,..s than this, and system of Improvement
.hon,d he adopted and adhered TO which VIII
,ns,re these results and progressively aug
ment them. For this purpose, increased at
,ention should be paid to the accumulation OF
farm ward manure, and the preservation OF
these, ashes hold 4 conspicuous place. ihey
are composed of inorganic ingredients derived
from the soil, and the benefit arising from
their restoration 10 ii is acknowledged oy
all. BY diligently guarding against the waste
of whatever contributes TO the production Oh
grain, an amount Of enriching materiai may
be gathered sufficient 10 impart ferthty 10
wide surface, and to lay the foundation Oh an
improyement which, when once begun, may
be carried on by a proper system OF rotation
and the intervention of amcliorating crops,
until the utmost productive capacity OF the
land is attained.
An indispensable adjunct to any course OF
Improvement is the keeping Of stock. Not
only are they valuable in themselves by afford
ing food and raiment 10 the family of the
owner, but by furnishing the means OF In
creasing the productive energies of the soil
Under skilful management, they will also
prove a source Of considerable benefit in the
aggregate revenue of the farm.
II will doubtless he next TO impossible, Tor
MANY wears to come, to wean the Virginia
planter from the culture of tobacco. In the
course of time, however, intelligent cultiVa-
tors will become convinced that it ought to be
abandoned that farming, strictly speaking, is
a more profitable business than planting. Let
any careful observer compare the rural dis
! tricts of the State with the planting, ana he
cannot fail to be convinced that the former are
by far, the most prosperous. Under the one
system there is a progressive Improvement from
year to year while under the other, new lands
are annually opened for this greedy crop lhe
culture of tobacco should, by rights, be limited
to the virgin soil, of which there is yet iafse
propcrtion in some of the planting districts :
for the practice of keeping up tobacco lots me-
cessitates the appropriation of nearly all the
available manure of the premises, and is there
fore wholly inimical TO any system OF genera
improvement. Doubtless many planters nave
accumulated large fortunes by this crop but
il was when labor was abundant. The liberia
ton of the servile population involves radi'
cal change in the husbandry Of the country.