The Cecil Whig., 1882-05-06
THE Blu L RIDGE.
HIGHLANDS. n. {.

}o..nE and Flovers Dairy Prodac's-1!Ass and
Irct Farms, Orchards The Nurser-r.en'
The winter is past, and the - flowers
ppear again upon the earth, and th'
inc ofthe singing oftbe birds has come.
he wnIdS which cover these mountains
le daily filing with bloom. The Siryice
rec has been opening it's white blossoms
- he sun iuT nearly Il month: the trail
ng arbutus is creeping eVeryw here. The
taples rear their crimson heads along
.e valleys. and the grand mIgnalils ar,
rnf"lding their milky petals, while tf'
..'m wood : star-iiae blossoms occupy :.
;nIs r!cunus place in the fora panorama.
Which VIII be constantly unfolding new
beauties thi ough the spring and summer
ill the asters and golden rods crown the
.iHty days u autumn.
Thu, southwestern end ot the Blue Ridge
ran~e lIcing Jhe extreme ontiN wing elevated
and of snc Atlantic slope whose highest
peaks tower 5000 iect above the ocean.
the east and southeast currents watt the
SIttfl iIt't!i tlit ttii.Itst tiNi euli- "Hltli
caught in the cool embrace of these
mountains. lhat are The lrst contact with
fsrrH fyHst% after rising from the heated
'tnso,n nl the gulf stream. cupi"us show
ere are I,T=cipilated here through the en-
tr" season. while the red cotton lands AT
la. fnut of the mountains are scurchcd
with TIM teryaut heat OF the Southern
,ttn. Hence vegct;,tion is always fresh
aud green through the long summer. and
the eoantlcss !i0Va ever unfolding fresh
bloom. II truth we have q supera bund-
ancr uf rain. especially in the winter sea-
son, and during the winter just passed all
agree that there has been fifty per cent.
above the average | believe that rainy,
mild. winter weather is 4 characteristic
feature of the mcteor"logF OF the South
Atlantic States.
On account of the never failing supply
of moisture vouchsafed 10 these southern
mountains and their exemption from long
hard freezes. they ara specially adapted
to the growth OF
which is never III danger OF beng killed
by the. severe trcsts which so 0iton de-
stloy the roots further north, OF Scorch-
cd and dried to tintler by the droughts
that occur during the summer and .all
months. No country where ! have been
is SO well equipped 10y nature for pr"duc-
Ing 4; never failing supply of grass.
through the season Of vegetation, as this:
and 10y the proper management winter
pastures could he provided that would
keep stock in the best condition. and cows
in full flow of milk, if properly com
bined with the customary dry fodder and
grain.
The state of New York has been long
famous for its fine fruit {especially APP
ples) and
DAIRY PRODUCE,
Dat feel satisfied that when the forests
of TINS country have been subdued, the
Wild growth superseded by tame grasses
and orchards: when the hurkirberrN, the
Wild vines aud fern have made room for
clover, orchard grass and timothy, and
the oak. hemlncll and chestnut are sue
cec'led by the apple, the pear ana plum;
and the pc tch. grape and other tender,
aud beat loving fruits occupy the warm
CoyeS and isothermal belts overhung by
lofty mountain peaks and protecting
ridges, as fruit growing and dairy
country no other portion of the land will
equal the Blue Ridge of North Carolina
Nor V i'll il be the herculcan task to
prepare I.
GRAS, AND FRUIT FARM
here, as III denselv wooded lower regions.
The timber - small, comparatively, eSpe-
cialiy on the slopes ana more elevated
ridges: the fires which the mouutaineer>
have always been in the habit of start
inc as soon as the leaves fall have checked
the growth Of timber and 80 injured much
of 1t that It very soon becomes hollow,
and falls. The young growth. too, has
been Kept dopu by these fall fires. and
the stock has constantly increased as
population n"> worked its way up from
the valleys s&nd taken possession of the
it,,... 1n"ttiltiin pI4t"anS. In cons qucnce
ul fLc>c 1,'l,,;a: Tires tlrt the number ri
stock the naifrbra@!. l., comparatively
thin and easily cleared cat. The muuu-
t,iil.S are bur@vd over E.r the purpose of
keeping the :.s,a.ser 4r1v IL 10 check. al
.n1lna tt,a tiurr .-rass,.a aud plants to
-rnw au,l rl... sic = better pasture for
the! stock A'trT carefully stiI.t y ,Hg tie
t'iiarat, t;;, ti the "D!h;trN. my plan Tor
making L grass ur grazing farm is TO GIl-
CLOSE Il tract nt this forest ldnd with 4
chestnut rail teucC. which for an area of
,s,t, handled acres ur more will cost about
ole ,!el.;ir Der acre. The smaller the ell
cln,HrG. al course, lhe greater the cN-
E,el.Se AT fencing per acre. When the
tract j. once fenced. # care is taken t.
keep oil tie fires, a chestnut fence will
lust 4 quarter vi 4 century. The next s;al
after enclosing the Land Viii ne 10 grdle
the timber on those parts that are smooth
enough for cultivation. This will not
>
the work is hired. Where there is anv
amount OF coarse underground, i s.,s,.tti
be cut down with :, ,,rusli scythe. and
flock CT 1ileep and other stock kept on
the enclosed ground. The timber will
die the first season and the stock will
trim and kill out the brush, and by seat
tcring some orchard grass sepa. ur any
other grass The r0...ie.Cd' I.?ay desire to
grow Oh tie land, ur parts OF it, in the
wet spring months, when the stock will
tramp it in. in Two or three years the
grass will spread. the leadened mber
will fall. and with little expense the
owner will find himself in possession OF
a fine grazing farm. TO follow out this
plan successfully it will be necessary 70
have sufficient land under al,l.ivss.Gl. 30
raise iurG.,, iGi White, q, the sheep that
q
protitahiy disposed of III the fall as NUT
ton. When the land has been brought
into tane grass, the most favorable loca
tionS for
ORCHARDS
can be fenced off and trees l3lantei, with
but little preparation. lac !s.4,tE4 may
be Nt"Wed I'D ....i,ltt la POTATOES, which
rru,t,.Gp aU.,ndautly here and of . supe-
rior @Gaiity, The ground, after cultiva
ton, should be seeded down to grass to
prevent washing and the trees planted.
and in place of cultivation as usually
practiCed, mulching substituted as e.: ..s
the limbs extend. The soil = very loose.
loamy, and fine. .a.oh plowing must
be :..u,l,,s,t III this country, and to raise
grass and fruit it is not necessary. BY
lew years Of systematic, well-dirac,a,i
management. fine fruit and .,a..y farms
could be made, t...S product of which
cGHlt. t.o, he eNceiled III any other por-
ton of the country and equaied by few.
W hlle the newspapers report the fruit
crop killed in the northern middle, and
western States. peaches and othe: s.ait
here are uniuiured. The ss..s.A,..,s here for
preserving tr,... .fu dairy products i'll
ti.J ...-t manner are all that could be