Farming In The Last Centary

A cotemporary of tho uurly colonista, oí uuquestionable authority, says the early coluiiists of Virginia " neither hous(id nor milkud their oows in winter, haring an idea that it would kill f. hem." A bundred yuars, uo doubt, made tome progresa in the praotioal ideas oí' fanuing und in the methodi of keuping stock, mirl yet a scienliño Swedish travaler, Kalm, nfter whom our beautiful uiouuttüin laurel, the Kaliuia, wa ñamad, in speaking of tho James River colonista in 1749, says " tbi-y iiiuke sottrce iiny manure tur thir oornñulds. Iheir oattle are allowed i rnnder tlirough the woods and unouitiyated gruunds, wheretlicy arehiilf Btarved, liavnig long agu extirpated uil the aimual gias-e.s bj' cropping them tooöaily in tho B])iing, before they hud time to form thoir floweia or shed tlic-ir Reeds." Thtit this gives us u true and tok1 ably correct idea of the farmin ot that 11113' in tbat Rection of the oountry, ia clear nough frora thu statenitmt iï tb! Hou J. M. Garnett, ot' Virginia, who in 1842 toid : " Previoua tu uur Bevolutioutry wui, us I havo buen told by tho fai uiers of t li ,t day, no littt-mpts worth ruontionuig wcre made to collect man ure fur geuernj putpose, all that was needful bemg Baved for the gardeni and tobáceo lots, by auRuner cov - pens. ïheso were ñlled with cattlc aucb as our modern broedere would hardly rtoognize as bolonging to the bovine species In those days thoy were o utturly neglected that it wan quite ooiniuuu for the multitudes starved to death every winter to suppiy Index euough. for shoeing the negroes on every farm. This was a matter so generally and constantly anticipated, tbat niy own grandfather, as I have board from unquestionable authority, was once very near turning off a good averseer because cattie enough had not iied on the farm of which he had the su pervision to furniah leather for the above purrjbse." This is a most instructivo and 8trikiug pioture of the methods and the ideas preirailing in the middle of the last century. -Mastaehutettl Ploughman.