The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-03-07

York growing in Ashe AMI Allegheny.
and the semi-tropical fruit Of Florida
and Georgia fiourishing in the vicinity
of Wilmington.
Tidewater may be further subdi-
vided into the Swamp Lands and Cot
tor Sections.
The swamp Lands sections embraces,
besides the banks the counties OF
Currituck and Camden. a continuation
Of the Norfolk Peninsula. between
Currituck sound and Pasquotank river;
Pasquotank, Perquimans and Chowan,
between the Pasquotank and Chowan
rivers, and all five OF which are washed
on the south BIZ Albemarle sound
Washington. Tyrrell, Dare and Hyde,
between Albemarle and Pamlico
sounds Beaufort, Oh Q sides OF h
Pamlico river Craven. on both sides
of the .Neuse Carteret, Jones and
Onslow and New Hanover and Bruins
wick in the extreme south. watercd by
the Cape Fear river and its branches.
This Is all a low lying country, III
times with river bluffs 80 feet high.
and always with an elevation of % to
40 feet between the rivers, but proba-
bly, three-tifths are swamp or pocosin
lands. These are not always nor gen
orally overlooked by tides or freshets,
DoI o1lNt DtbS SAll'I / oSNL
ally gentle swells of dry land sur
rounded by a narrow strip Of swamp.
The dense growth prevents the dis
charge of the water, and the enlarge
ment of the natural drains is necessary
both for culture and health. The soil
is of sand, clay and humus, generally
underlaid by shells or mari. When
well drained it is of great and endur-
fertility, fields in Hyde county which
have been cultivated for a century.
without rest and without manure still
producing fifty bushels of corn per
acre. The intervening ridges vary
from light sand to stiff clay, and are
worth less than the swamp lands,
though preferable for cotton when
married. The climate is mild and is
warmer in winter and cooler in sum
mer on the coast. Nowhere save at
Hatteras does the Palmetto grow north
of Charleston. These sixteen coun-
ties produced in 1870. 1881 bales of
cotton, 1,4S1, 25S pounds of rice. 500, 006
bushels of sweet potatoes. 9. 62. COZ
bushels OF corn, and 1913, 2i9 bushels OF
wheat. Every part is adapted to
market gardens for the supply of
northern markets, and to the raising
of apples, pears, peaches, figs, pOme-
granates, ounces and small fruits and
berries. 1t is also the chosen home of
the scuppernong grape which grows
in the widest luxurlance and produces
an excellent wine. Cypress and pop
lars are found more than five feet in
diameter, four feet above the ground,
and a single cypress will sometimes
make shingles worth ahundred dollars.
There are also the white cedar or juni-
per, swamp or l~ong-leafed pine, vari-
Gus kinds of oaks, gum, maple, etc.
This Is a fine region for the sport
man, deer and smaller game being
very plentiful, besides wild ducks,
geese and swans in almost inconceiy-
able numbers, while the waters swarm
with fine fish, terrapin and turtle. OF
the water birds on Currltuck sound,
Edmund Rutfin, the venerable agricul-
turist wrote, They are often SO
numerous as entirely to cover acres of
the surface of the water, so that OBJ
servers from the beach would only see
ducks and no water between them.
These great collections are termed
RATS The shooting season COM
in autumn and continues
through the winter; - and Mr.. Ruffin
described in detail the operations of
n proprietor who employed thirty
gunners, paying them forthe game and
SIiSt lIS tuCIIl " UilllllUIiIllOI, dHu
who expended in one winter on his
own premises, more than four tons of
shot and one of gunpowder and used
40, 900 percussion caps.
The shad and herring fisheries in
these inlets are already sources of great
profit. The future export of pine and
cypress tlmbe taken from the mighty
forests, Will yield an immense
The swampy or dry tracts along the
coast are all capable of producing a
bale of cotton to the acre. They give
the most astonishing returns for the
culture Of the sweet potato. the classic
peanut or 'guber, the grape, and many
kinds OF vegetables.
The cotton section as distinguished
from the swamp lands, which are them
selves very fine for that staple, consists
of the more elevated and drier portion
of the Tidewater region. 1t embraces
the counties of Gates, east of Chowan:
Hartford, northampton and BERTHE,
between the Chowan and Roanoke:
Halifax and Martin, south of the Roam
oke; Edgecombe, Nash and Pitt,
drained by the Tar river and its tribu-
tarieS; Wilson, Greene, Johnston,
Wayne and Lenoir, drained by the
Neuse: Dupiin, drained by the North
East Cape Fear; Sampson, lying east of
South river and drained by it and the
Black; Harnett, Cumberland and Bla-
den, lying on both sides of the Cape
Fear: and Robson and Columbus,
drained by the Lumber and Waccamaw
rivers respectively, both of which run
southwark and find their way into
Winyah bay, S. {.
OF the 144,935 bales of cotton pro-
duced in 1870, these twenty-one coun-
ties raised 93, 633, besides 1901 bush
els of wheat. sec, 291 bushels of oats.
1882, Oh bushels of corn, 1893. 94S
bushels of sweet potatoes. and 56S, 4S2
pounds of rice. Edgecombe alone pro-
duced IS, 361 bales OF cotton and ass, 800
bushels of corn. while Pitt produced
49S, $50 bushels of corn. II, 391 bushels
of wheat, 1855 bushels of oats, and