New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-03-04
OLD VIRGINIA.,

The GreeleD Iribune-a gazette with which
we like to be in accord when we can-in its
eagerness to commend Colorado and the Great
West to immigrants, does injustice to the Old
Dominion. 1t says:
Immigrants will settle in Virginia, they do
in the West and build up the country for there is moth
ing to build With the exception of the Piedmont region
and the Valley, the soil is wretchedy poor. Two
hundred years ago, they had thin virgin soil but they
exhausted it In less than twenty years growing tobacco
Washington found this out fifteen years before he died,
aud jefferson knew it, The soil was naturally poor, be-
cause it was formed from sandstone and fnty rocks
and speeches, nor newspaper paragraphs, nor I'm
migration Societies. make IL otherwise. 1t Is true
that there good land in Old Virginia in the river
bottoms and the mesOn and shae formations; but
immigrants will not get it, unless they pay from go TO
500 an acre. We know what stating 20 be true.
for we have there and studied the country and
say in conclusion, that land can be had In Colorado
under ditch for $40 acre, of which ten-acre field will
yield profit than the largest plantation in the tide
water-rcgiOn."
Comments by this Tribune.
Our observations in Virginia may not have
been so extensive or so careful as Mr.. Meekers,
but part of them are more recent; and they
have led us to different conclusions from those
quoted above. We hold
/. That so far from the soil Of Virginia
having been "exhaustedn by improvident cul-
tivation, twO-thirds of it has never yet
been cultivated at all. Subtract all you can
for mOuntain-sides too steep for cultivation,
and there will remain several millions of
arabic acres which have never yet been
cleared of timber, and of course are as fertile
as they ever were.
H. The lands which seem to have been ex-
hausted, as Mr.. NJ. asserts, have never yet
been plowed to greater depth than six
inches usually but four to five inches. Turn
these up in the Fall to depth of twelve
inches, then subsoil them six inches deeper,
and large portion of them would grow fair
Corn the next season, even without manure.
Chat they would do much better wh fer
tilizers-Lime, Mari, Bones, or almost any
other-we need not say) In short, so far from
having exhausted" Virginia, her cultivators
have hardly yet dug down to her.
ILL., With no other fertilizer than 81 worth
of Gypsum per acre, backing such blowing as
we have recommended, we are confident that
half the arabic acres of Virginia would pro-
duce good crop of small grain followed by
Clover these judicDusly fed out on the soil,
with one or two more applications of Gypsum,
would enable the skillfu farmer to raise fair
and steadily increasing crops of Wheat, Corn,
or almost any other food-staple
w. Sheep and Cattle may be raised at
smaller cost in Colorado than in Virginia but
then their value, when ready to be turned off
the farm, will be FAR less. And this difference
is likely to increase. One hundred thousand
Virginia farms of 100 to 500 acres judiciousy
devoted to growing lambs for the Washing
ton Roll Xnr
markets, could be made more profitable than
it seems to us possible to render 30 many
acres in Colorado. ft'h I
v. Mr.. Meeker speaks Of land under ditch"
in Colorado at $40 per acre, OF course there