The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent. (Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., Miss.) 1848-18??, 1851-06-27
From he sou Of tle S0llth.
The One idea.
In THE BAcKWoops. MARcH. 1851,

In THE BAcKWooDs, MARCH, 1851.
In my first communication, promised you an
occasional dissection Of the follies OF the craft,
in which have the honor of being a working
member. then attempted to expose the lncon-
sistency and absurdity of all the noise which is
made about shook farming" shall now say a
few things about another evil, not less common,
and FAR more dangerous, than the outcry against
improved agriculture. mean the one idea sys-
TEN ofplanting, or, in other language, the exclu-
sive cultute Of cotton.
The cotton crop has been at once, the greatest
glory and the greatest curse of Southern agri-
culture. 1t has secured to the States producing
it, prominence in the commercial relations Of
the world, unrigaled by any other products of
agriculture. 1t clothes the world, and furnishes
employment to more labor than any other subject
Of industry. II has been the source Of unnum-
bered fortunes, and at all times since its culture
has come into general use, has furnished the
means Of a sale, and generally, profitable invest
ment. So much for the bright aspect Of the
question; but we have said that it has been
curse to Southern agriculture, and it is such that
we now propose to view it.
The cotton plant, by reason Of the large a.
mount of shade which it affords to land, and the
quantity OF vegetable matter which its stalks,
leaves, bos and seed return to the soil, mpover
ishes our hells less than any of the other crops
among our common culture among US, and is
this feature alone which has protected our soils
from the barrenness long before they did fail.
| II cotton culture had exhausted our lands as
rapidly as the grain crops. with the mode OF
| planting which has been pursued throughout
| the Southern. States, they would long since
have presented the melancholy aspect of an
utterly ruined and worn out country. But even
with the advantages which nature afforded we
have succeeded in destroying our soils; and for
the reason, that of all crops this IS the most en-
crossing of the planters, attention. He must
commence in January the work of preparation
in the spring he plants, all summer be cultivates
and all winter he gathers. From Christmas to
1 Christmas again, is he constantly, actively and
laboriously employed with this crop. One is
not made, before another must be commenced
and indeed, not an unfrequent thing is it. to fine
4 planter engaged with one part of his force il
/ picking, while with the other be is preparing t.
q plant his crop Of cotton. What time has ne fol
/ the work Of improvement? None whatever, AM
!. what has been the consequence? He has beer
all the while extracting from, while he has beer
giving nothing to, his lands, and as natura
consequence, after a long and uninterrupted ser
vice, they are exhausted. He has not onl,
not improved his fields, but bis home has beel
neglected. He has had no time to build houses
no time to plant orchards; no time to set ou
/, shade trees;sno time to buiie fences; no time I
, do anything, but make cotton. To this he ha
directed all hisattention, all his time, all his ener
pies and all his means; and to this, he has sacrl
! feed all his own comfort Of his family, and c
course, the comfort of his negroes. | saw
country lady once buying dried fruit from
), Tennessee wagon. MADAME" said ], "Wh
don't you raise your own fruit! MILF
: has not had any time to plant any trees yet
We have lived here ten years, and there ls no
! a fruit tree on the premises" ] stopped at th
!, house of friend who worked some twenty-five
:. or thirty hands, gentleman of education an
: refinement, with nice and accomplished wifi
. ! and when bed time came, they put me to slee
6 in room that was half filled with cotton, an
: without FIRE place, "Mr.--llad not ha
! time to build gin house large enough to ho
j his cotton"
!. Zone of my neighbors who owns large piar
tation, plants cotton to the doors Of his log cab
!, He can't spare the land for rose bushes and sbaC
trees. He has come absolutely to think that
cotton patch is the prettiest Of all flower ga
dens. Another bnys all his corn, sometimes
high as one dollar bushel and all his mea
sometimes as high as ten dollars hundre
IS Another never provides his family with whei
: -four, because he scanot spare the land to so
the wheat, and is too stingy to buy it. Anoth'
never permits roasting ear to be pulled on y
: place, because he oaly plants just enough
u make corn for his mules and bread for bis fam
e ". Another only has garden enough to plal
J. collards, because he wants all his land to put
n cotton. Another keeps no servant about Y
; house but the cook, and a little girl not mue
nj TOO large to be out fthe nurses arms herself
; ; a nurse for his child, because he'cant afford
: spare any others out Of the cotton patch..
= Imight 90 on, multiplying similar cases, Z
20 filed yoHr paper, but these will be sufficient
t, illustrate the truth that the first step n ImPfov
d uent. not only in our fields, bur in rural and
e mestic economy generally, must be the restrai
% inc this cotton monopoly spirit among our pla
~ ters. We must bring our planters to eultlva
:. fewer acres in cotton, and more II gram thi
ltsf tbev have been accustomed to do. Know
r. some men who put in fifteen and seventeen acF
le] of cotton to the hand. What sort of inprov
Ie oenf can we hope Tor, SO long as this is the cas-
ID II is in vain then, for you TO give men sysee
p OF enlightened agriculture or point them % 7
true interests of the planting community, an
:, Won can effect revolution 10 this particul'
NJ We'll. if it be demonstrabe proposition, U
~ we can plant fewer acres and at the same tlf
I'd make as MANY bales Of cotton, it strikes me q
be we can bring men at least, to use your own 10
: - .sston sisD, and tbink.,' BLACKJACK.
5. comrTu1Ne PITHY. -Four clergym