{Albemarl Sound And Rivers.}
The Sound Of Albemarl, With The Rivers And Creeks Of That Country,
Afford A Very Rich And Durable Soil.
The Land, in most Places,
lies indifferent low, (except in Chuwon, and high up the Rivers)
but bears an incredible Burden of Timber; the Low-Grounds being
cover'd with Beech; and the High-Land yielding lofty Oaks, Walnut-Trees,
and other useful Timber.
The Country, in some Plantations,
has yearly produc'd Indian Corn, or some other Grain, ever since
this Country was first seated, without the Trouble of Manuring or Dressing;
and yet (to all appearance) it seems not to be, in the least,
impoverish'd, neither do the Planters ever miss of a good Crop,
unless a very unnatural Season visits them, which seldom happens.
Of the Corn of Carolina.
{Wheat.}
The Wheat of this Place is very good, seldom yielding less than thirty fold,
provided the Land is good where it is sown; Not but that there has been
Sixty-six Increase for one measure sown in Piny-Land, which we account
the meanest Sort. And I have been inform'd, by People of Credit,
that Wheat which was planted in a very rich Piece of Land,
brought a hundred and odd Pecks, for one. If our Planters,
when they found such great Increase, would be so curious as to make
nice Observations of the Soil, and other remarkable Accidents,
they would soon be acquainted with the Nature of the Earth and Climate,
and be better qualified to manage their Agriculture
to more Certainty, and greater Advantage; whereby they might arrive
to the Crops and Harvests of Babylon, and those other fruitful Countries
so much talk'd of. For I must confess, I never saw one Acre of Land
manag'd as it ought to be in Carolina, since I knew it;
and were they as negligent in their Husbandry in Europe,
as they are in Carolina, their Land would produce nothing
but Weeds and Straw.
{Rye.}
They have try'd Rye, and it thrives very well; but having
such Plenty of Maiz, they do not regard it, because it makes black Bread,
unless very curiously handled.
{Barley.}
Barley has been sowed in small quantities, and does better
than can be expected; because that Grain requires the Ground
to be very well work'd with repeated Ploughings, which our general Way
of breaking the Earth with Hoes, can, by no means, perform,
tho' in several Places we have a light, rich, deep, black Mould,
which is the particular Soil in which Barley best thrives.
{Oats.}
The naked Oats thrive extraordinary well; and the other would prove
a very bold Grain; but the Plenty of other Grains makes them not much coveted.
{Maiz.}
The Indian Corn, or Maiz, proves the most useful Grain in the World;
and had it not been for the Fruitfulness of this Species,
it would have proved very difficult to have settled some of the Plantations
in America. It is very nourishing, whether in Bread, sodden, or otherwise;
And those poor Christian Servants in Virginia, Maryland,
and the other northerly Plantations, that have been forced to live
wholly upon it, do manifestly prove, that it is the most nourishing Grain,
for a Man to subsist on, without any other Victuals.
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