The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-08-12
Observation-Disclosures u, 1858.
SPECIALTIES IN AGRICU -TURE
TEN ACRES ENOUGH"

and oats. The exceptional cases in thi
State are tobacco, and in Norfolk and il
neighborhood fruit and vegeta bles the re
naming crop is corn, and Of this a larg
portion must be retained for use. Of tn
truck and fruit growers the experience
and fortunate have done better than well
and will manure heavier and double thei
planting another year. 1t is now fxe
fact that the great northern markets, wit
demand illimitable, must regularly dray
their supplies from the South for the frs
three weeks that every sort Of fruit an,
vegetable, and also poultry, are in season
and this is the cream Of the market, afte
which, when the same commodities come il
from their own neighborhoods, they realiz
only half their former price; and thes
crops, in constant succession, will keep tn
southern marke gardener busy in shippin;
his produce during the whole season, from
strawberries to watermeons and grapes.
1t is another fixed fact that to that dis
trict which comprises central and southern
Virginia and northern North Carolina, by
such an exact combination of facilities fol
reaching Boston and New York, nature has
given the absolute monopoly Of this early
vegetable and fruit trade, and the lands ad.
iacent 10 the rivers and railroads all through
this district will soon team with settled
population whose energies will be devoted
| to this enterprise, and these lands will in
evitably rise Indefinitely in value.
Of the tobacco crop, though it bring q
| high price in market, so much Of its value
must previously be disbursed in the need
ful manipulations that in these localities
it must soon give place to crops which pay
better, and tobacco will become staple in
northern and western States.
The market returns for cereals are now
rs high as what in former times were call
ed famine prices; and yet if the expenses
of production have been carefully noted
cost of seed, rotation of crops, tillage, fer
tilizers, harvesting, threshing, marketing
and incidental expenses-the farmer finds
that out of every hundred dollars he re-
! ceives for his cereals less than one-half cal
be regarded as profit. Suppose, then, the
aggregate rcceiptr for all his money-crops
to amount tn 81 900, b. '"a been at the cosl
of at least 81 800 to proU ii, and he has
only this amount (the other Il ,5GO) to draw
upon for the years expenses taxes, dry
goods, hardware, groceries, interest, and the
various other sluices whose gaping moutl
will have drained off the whole before ht
has supplied half his needs; and on the
same system this will be his expericnc,
in all years to come. ....
But suppose that three years ago ne had
begun a strawberry plantation which hao
HOW spread TO two acres; that he had
HOBS, half an acre each in dwarf pears and
co1sebcrrics, and few hundred cultivated
peaches, and in spring had put three OF his
best acres of corn ground into broom-corn
he would, with about the same certainty
and the same hazard that he has raised hls
cereals, have increased his receipts this
harvest by about the following sums
Strawberries, 500; grapes, $500; hops
$500; pears, $500; peaches, sl00; goose
berries, $3.50; and broom corn, 5000; ant
from these special crops, covering only tel
acres of ground, would haverealizedthe same
sum ($3 ,000) as he has done from cereals
covering l2O acres-the latter requiring TIT
average labor for the year of six men ant
six mules az cost OF 81 800, the forme
the average labor of one man and tw
mules ut cost of $500, including th
labor of children at picking time. Ant
there is this further difference: his special
ties arc chiefly perennlals, and his crop
are already planted for next and all com
ing wears, and no tillage is needed bu
keeping clean and dressing. The expens
Of raising his staple crops has been fft.
per cent, and of his specialties but fifteeI
per cent, and if this year his peaches an
nears have failed, he mas failed also IN som
of his cereals to like extent, and the los
in neither case is felt in the general ave
rage. But he has obtained from his stapl
i tillage o. maximum that he can neVe
exceed, while his perennials, yet only l
their third year, are at minimum, an
{ will all 90 on increasing, and some OF then
: even next year, will double the return
, this. An intelligent field-hand would b
, , able to carry on the operations OF the on
class of crops; the other requires the PEI
sonal direction of the master, and the spher
of his whole specialties occupies so small
portion of ground that he has the Who'll
detail under view at every hour, and find
at once profitable and esthetic occupatlo
for every member Of his family, requirin
only SO much negro aid as is needful to
mere drudgery.
But as he had not the means or the fore
sight to commence plantation Of any on
of these specialties at that time, of cours
he has not yet such lucrative crops to brln
in large sums thus cheaply earned, and j
now irving to sell off portions Of his ne
reditary acres, which strangers will bu
and Immediately appropriate to this Yer
purpose. ,... =.
Then will he not now, when he is castin
about as to his next seasons tillage, d
something as o commencement, and over
come the greatest difficulty he has to cor
tend with, which is taking the first steI
Now is the time, when the labor for mex
years crops is beginning, that the difficult
can be most easily overcome; and it will
the object of this and few following pa
pers to give such information as the write
, has derived from experience to those wh
NAV need it Oh the easiest mode OF takln
4 this final step in planting the lucrative spt
cialties heretofore untried.
The preliminary movement is the sele'
ton and preparation of the ground an
since the same treatment that is needed fC
one is needed for all, the plat should b
. large enough for moderate plantation
the whole, contiguous to each other. In
heavy labor on them may then be general
performed in one and the same operation
and is thereby so simpliiied that when Tn
first furrow is struck the first step is take
) in commencing plantation of each.
1 In quality, almost any land may be mad
available, except clay or clay suosoi
and through these there are no drainage !:
I water, and no sort Of roots will flourish
soil that cannot be made friable, on
through which water will never percolate bl
remain till it goes off by evaporation. In