The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-06-01
a Virginia Farmer to a FeHlisStFanis
fFor the Dispatch.j


am so anxious that northern men like
your correspondent Mr. Howard Miller
should come to live among lis and by thrift
and good farming encourage Others to fol-
low him that undertake to give him and
those like him some information on one or
two points where he shows lack Of it. . Z.
|. He is entirely mistaken, or mlsiniorm-
cd. when lie speaks OF tobacco as Il "crop
utterly ruinous and eXhauSting to land
On the contrary, it is probably the least eX-
hausting crop that is grown. not counting
hay and grasses, and is the best preparatory
crop that we have to preccde small grain
and clover crops. Every man here knows
this perfectly well. and every wheat-tield
Tor "patch ~ in the tobacco counties will
prove it to-day. .... .... .
But will particularize: Among the very
many superb farmers of Virginia whom
.recollect the best were Randolph Harrison,
of Cumberland; John c. Page, OF the same
county; John r. Edmunds, OF Halifax;
Richard Sampson, Of Goochland; and VIII
liam Garth and William S. Dabney. OF Abe
marle-all now dead. OF these, all but Mr..
tried it. but thought he made more by other
crops, and abandoned it. His situation,
however, was peculiar. His plantation-one
of the Dover estates, on James river-Was
only about eighteen miles from Richmond.
The largest stage line in the State ran by
his door at one time, and gave him full
civ prices for all corn, oats, and hay,
and his transportation account was always
next 10 nothing. In addition to that, he
possessed very large proportion OF the
best Iow-grounds, and could afford, on the
above conditions as to sales of his crops, to
do without tobacco. The others-none so
we'll situated in market advantages-all
made tobacco, and made money and i'm
proved their land all their long lives.
Mr.. Harrison and Mr.. Garth in particular
begun life as poor men, each !: raised large
family, and each died wealthy, having lived
literally. Mr. Harrison gave 10 each OF his
children $4,000, and Mr.. Garth, besides
what he left to he divided, gave to bis, as
each one entered life, $4,000 in cash, and
be raised not less than ten, think twelve.
sons and daughters. =
Mr.. Garth, whose farm was all upland,
used large amounts OF guano both on his
tobacco and grain, was very large e-oWer
OF GLOVER three feet high" and was the
largest grazier and cattle-feeder in cismon-
tame Virginia; and his home farm OF 1000
acres has sold since the war for fifty dol
lars per acre to one Of his sons. His crop
of tobacco on several occasions amounted
TO one hundred hogsheads; which showed
A large percentage OF land in that crop.
and SO fully did it enter into his system
both OF revenue and improvement that his
rule, as he once told me, was when TOBACCO
bore a high price to put it on his best land
and go for revenue, and when 1t was low
to put it on his more inferior land ana take
the resulting Improvement as part OF the
profit Of the crop.
: Mfr. Edmuntls, making as much tobacco as
Mr.. Garth, relied mainly upon guano, cto-
yer. and the oi1al Of his crops fed to stock
for improvement; but his situation was
not SO favorable for profitable stock-raising.
could easily enlarge this list by the adj
dition Of numerous similar cases in all the
tobacco counties.
The ill effects OF the crop were seconda-
nv. 1t was the surest crop that could be
grown and the most profitable, and hence
it was often, but by no means universally,
tended to the exclusion OF other things,
and the neglect OF general Improvement,
just as has been more lately done by the
practical people who have successfully
grown seedleaf tobacco in the valley OF the
That so many OF our lands
present the run. down appearance observed
by Mir. Miller, is due to the war. That |
ruined our farmers, and they have ever
since been compelled to look to revenue
and neglect improvement, and in many
cases to turn their lands out for want Of
labor, and from inability to sell. But even
Is lately IS two years ago comparison,
made on census data, between two ceun-
lies Of Middle yirginia- Southside-on the
one hand, and the best county in Pennsyl-
yania and the best in New Jersey on the
other, showed that, equating oil products
<lnoS
ahead. IL Mr. Miller is incredulous herein
|! can convince him, for be seems to be
man. 1ss, 1850 - 's.i
Fam the more: willing TO undertake his
because the sort Of farmers he
would introduce would be the very class
bat would make money by tobacco and i'm
,roye their lands ct tic sanie time. They
would SUIT the altered condition Of the
lines. an
apally iaesseaible nay, Il appear 70 hin.
II .sStisss t...gp sf 81 iIttkl ~ n ii