ves on the plantation above sixty years
old except Randal, a stone mason, who in spite of his sixty-six years was
valued at $300, and the following who had no appraisable value: Old Jim the
shepherd, Old Maria the dairy maid, and perhaps two of the spinners. The
highest appraisal, $800, was given to Payton, an ox driver, twenty-eight
years old. The $700 class comprised six plowmen, five field hands, the
three remaining ox drivers, both wagoners, both blacksmiths, the carriage
driver, four stone masons, a carpenter, and Ned the twenty-eight year old
invalid whose illness cannot have been chronic. The other working men
ranged between $250 and $500 except the two shoemakers whose rating was
only $200 each. None of the women were appraised above $400, which was the
rating also of the twelve and thirteen year old boys. The youngest children
were valued at $100 each. These ratings were all quite conservative for
that period. The fact that an ox driver overtopped all others in appraisal
suggests that the artisans were of little skill. The masons, the carpenters
and various other specialists were doubtless impressed as field hands on
occasion.

[Footnote 4: These records are in the possession of Wm. Bridges of
Richmond, Va. For copies of them, as well as for many other valuable items,
I am indebted to Alfred H. Stone of Dunleith, Miss.]

The livestock comprised twelve mules, nine work horses, a stallion, a brood
mare, four colts, six pleasure horses and "William's team" of five head;
sixteen work oxen, a beef ox, two bulls, twenty-three cows, and twenty-six
calves; 150 sheep and 115 swine. The implements included two reaping
machines, three horse rakes, two wheat drills, two straw cutters, three
wheat fans, and a corn sheller; one two-horse and four four-horse wagons,
two horse carts and four ox carts; nine one-horse and twelve two-horse
plows, six colters, six cultivators, eight harrows, two earth scoops, and
many scythes, cradles, hoes, pole-axes and miscellaneous farm implements as
well as a loom and six spinning wheels.

The bottom lands of Belmead appear to have been cultivated in a rotation
of tobacco and corn the first year, wheat the second and clover the third,
while the uplands had longer rotations with more frequent crops of clover
and occasional interspersions of oats. The work journal of 1854 shows
how the gang dovetailed the planting, cultivation, and harvesting of the
several crops and the general upkeep of the