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444 of vegetable matter of the best quality for turn ing under. Under such a system as the one proposed the soil would never be deficient in vegetable mat ter, which deficiency has been the great curse of the cotton farms, resulting in a -washing away of the soil, in the loss of its friability, and with that its ability to absorb and retain moisture and the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere; moreover the rotation proposed would keep the soil well supplied with nitrogenous matter and do away with, in large part or in whole, the ne cessity of purchasing nitrogenous manures, which are the most expensive of all the commercial fer tilizers. Under such a system we should expect to hear no more of rust in cotton, or total failure of crops from drouth. The deep clover roots would penetrate and loosen the subsoil better than the best inventions of Brinly, or Murfee or others, for they would not only riddle the subsoil with numberless perforations, but till it with veg etable matter, so that the hard rains of spring could not run it together again. And finally, to crown all, it would forever do away with liens on the crops for western corn and bacon. j£jgr The South, previous to the w:r , was ex ceedingly prosperous—so much so as to excite 'he we fear, of many of our “Northern brethren.” Since the w r ar, she has shown a re cuperative energy and power which has chal lenged the admiration of her bitterest enemies. Recently invitations have been extended to strangers, to attend her industrial exhibitions, and see what she is doing. Among others, Gen’l Capron, Commissioner of Agriculture, has been present on some'of these occasions, and has un dertaken to enlighten the Southern people as to what the}- should do. Inasmuch as he presuma bly did his best, as one of Sherman’s Brigadiers, to lay waste the South—to make it “a wilder ness, almost a solitude,” it is but fair that he should make amends, by giving us seeds and good advice, when the latter is asked; but we must beg to be excused from listening to a reci tal of the errors of our past lives, as recently given by said Commissioner, at the Augusta Fair. Even admitting all tire charges brought against the South t.o have been true- —which we are very far from doing—it -strikes us that a se ise of propriety should have limited the re marks of the gentleman to words of cheer -and encouragement. SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. AGRIMLTtRAL FAIRS. We have had the pleasure recently of attend ing some of the Agricultural Fairs in this State. Aside from the jostling of the crowds, Ac., these gatherings are exceedingly pleasant, and serve an excellent purpose in diffusing knowl edge, especially in regard to improved im plements and machines, but to one who is deeply in earnest in promoting the advance of agriculture, there is a painful feeling that they fall far short of accomplishing what is desired, or what is legitimately within their reach. In the State of Georgia alone, for in stance, over $50,000 have been expended in form of “ premiums,” within the last two months.— $50,000 !!—just think of that! What might not 50,000, annually expended, do? What splendid experimental farms it could support —what a splendid Laboratory it could establish for anal ysing articles the farmer wishes to know about —what museums it could erect, in the chief centres of trade, where every kind of machine ry and every variety of seeds, models of fruits, Ac., Ac,, could be kept constantly on exhibition. The people are anxious to improve their condi tion. This is shown by their full attendance upon all gatherings where there is a prospect of learning, and by the readiness with which they pour their money into the treasuries of the Fair Associations. All that seems to be needed, are organizing heads, to give direction to effort and investigation. These the managers and direc tors of our Agricultural Societies should furnish. We have no sympathy with the cry for State aid —State Experimental Farms —State departments of Agriculture. The chances are, 09 in 100, that under State management, incompetent or inefficient persons would be placed at The head of them, and nothing really valuable be accom plished. Agricultural Societies properly organ ized and managed, can do infinitely more for ag riculture than anything attached to the “ State.” We return thanks to L. Froelieh of Ke nansville, N. C., for a copy of the Proceedings, Award of Premiums, Ac., of the First Annual Fair of the Cape Fear Agricultural Association. It is very gratifying to see the indications of pro gress it furnishes. Our North Carolina friends are not a volatile, excitable people, but when they do take hold of anything, the Scotch blood unmistakably shows itself. There are some val uable essays published in this report, from which we propose to make some extracts hereafter.