Borrowing from this hint, I had the field covered with about 400 cartloads of alluvial gravel (from the bed of the river) to the acre, and the land was then ploughed two furrows deep, one plough following the other.  Previous to this gravelling, the land was a stiff, obdurate clay nearly to the surface.  The subsequent effect was the doubling, or more probably trebling the value of the land, which has now become a nice friable soil.

I was much amused with the criticisms of some of the neighbouring farmers (men of the old school), one of whom remarked that he had seen land tilled (manured) in various ways before my time, but until now he had never seen a field tilled with cobble-stones.  I said, “What is your objection to it, John?” “Why, ye see, it makes th’ land so poor.”  I replied, “Making anything or anybody poor, means robbing them of something.  If you had twenty shillings in your pocket, and I filled it up with these cobble-stones, how much poorer would you be?  Of what have I robbed this field by putting gravel into it?” “Why, of nothing; but it looks so queer.”  I said, “John, did you never hear of a man gathering the stones off his field, and then having to lead them back again?” “Yes, I have; but then they were natural to the soil.”  I said, “What does manuring land mean, but putting something into it of which it is deficient?  You don’t till a muck-midden.  If in stony land stones are essential for the vigorous growth of the crop, is it not exceedingly probable that they will be still more beneficial on stiff land which has no stones in it?”

This is a doctrine I tried many years since to inculcate upon our friend Mechi, and some of his land (I speak of its condition twenty years since) needed such a gravelling as much as any land I ever saw.  Whether he adopted my suggestion, or his land remains in the same condition now as then, I don’t know; but if it does, I would just suggest to him and to all landed proprietors who own stiff clay lands, if they are near to gravel-pits, to try a small portion by gravelling it freely, and let us hear the results.

December 2nd, 1871.

* * * * *

COTTON.

June 1st, 1842.

J. KINDERMANN, ESQ.

I have for some time intended to call your attention to the importance of attempting to grow fine cotton in Peru, but my inability to do justice to the subject, both from my being practically unacquainted with any mode of growing cotton and my general want of information, has hitherto prevented me; but as I made you a promise to that effect yesterday, I have endeavoured to put a few suggestions on paper, and hope that if they be carefully acted upon, some benefit may be derived from the experiments.