Agricultural, Geological, and Descriptive Sketches of Lower North Carolina, and the Similar Adjacent Lands
Raleigh, North Carolina: Printed at the Institution for the Deaf & Dumb and the Blind, 1861. 296 pp. Original printed wraps. Previous owner bookplate on inside front wrap. First edition. A nice copy of an important and scarce treatise. Nickles 898. Howes R492. Parrish 6140.
Ruffin (1794-1865) conducted early geological and agricultural surveys in North and South Carolina; he is sometimes called “the father of modern scientific agronomy”. This volume, embracing the eastern counties of North Carolina, is an important treatise on southern agriculture. The author describes the geological development of the Atlantic slope, with particular reference to the coastal plain and tidewater regions. Attention is devoted to coastal and river navigation, drainage, soil formation and character, crops and livestock, wild game, farming practices, and more. A lengthy section considers the origin and characteristics of peat swamps and other wetlands, including the Dismal Swamp, Mattamuskeet and Scuppernong swamp lands. Also described in some detail are the various pine trees of N.C. and Virginia lowland forests. Ruffin is best remembered today for his fervent successionist rhetoric. He was given the honor of firing the first cannon shot on Fort Sumter in 1861, and at the close of the war, he wrapped himself in the Confederate flag and took his own life.
Not Ex-Lib. Item #100280
Price: $750.00