Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1857-06-03
and winter. You can thus easily see in this one
particular the superior economy practiced on this

Most of the managers and planters OF this section
are constantly talking Of the number Of bags Of
cotton they make and the amount they sell 1t for,
but forget to remember" the immense drawback
involved by purchase of food and clothing for
their negroes and of stock of horses and mules for
the plantation, IN many instances when the bal
ance IS struck at the expiration Of the year, but
little clear gain is left. / have said that Mr.. @:
raises his own mules and horses, and such stock !
have never before seen in any country. They are
now in the midst of the working season, and his
mules and horses as fat and sleek as carriage
horses. He informs me, too, that they nave ocne
all the hauling for the plantation OF every aescip
ton during the past winter and fall AFFORDED 'ne
draft for operating his sawmil grist m''i' ana GOV
ton machine, and not one is allowed ever 10 gro"
poor or to be abused or maltreated in any way.
They plentifuly fed, we'll rubbed and regularly
rested. The result is they are always III gooo co"'
diton. But the gem of attraction IN 'h,s nhe 10 my
eye is the magnificent stock of hogs winch l nave
found on this plantation, the like of which never
met my vision before. l have not seen hog on
the place that is not fat enough to kill the season
were the proper one. I beheld some eight or ten
Yesterday, some fifteen or sixteen months DID, that
think would weigh to-day 300 lbs. nett; and saw
two of the most prodigious fellows in small pen
that ever beheld read of in my life in proper
ton to their age. They are the offspring of the
same litter and two years old last February. They
are enormous beyond any former conception OF
mine, nor do believe their like has ever been seen
in this country of the same age and size curiosity
led us to measure them, and the following are the
dimensions in exact measurement, viz: around the
body six feet six inches around the neck four feet
three inches from the end of the nose to the root
of the tail, seven feet five inches. l contend that
this beats Kentucky all hollow, and yet you may
rely upon the statement here given as strictly true
They are fat and growing, would weigh now,
think, 600 lbs each nett and by the time they are
three years old there is no telling what mark they
will not reach. They Of precisely the same d.
mansions and very similar in other respects.
Mr.. Cooper pays especial regard to all the i'm.
provements of the age which tend to diminish man
ual labor to facilitate agricultural operations.
was struck with an examination OF gin house
which he has constructed on plan of his own in.
vention The house has three stories, and there is
slopng wagon-way by which the second story is APP
preached to the centre of the room by wagon from
either side. The cotton picked out on each day is
deposited in two very large and deep wagon bodies,
which driven up this bridge-like platform at
night, and thence thrown into soping hopper
room, from which, without further handling, it is
transferred to the gins and picked. This arrange
ment obvates the necessity of packing the seed cot
ton in baskets upon the backs of the negroes, which
costs an immense deal of labor and time. lie has a
conrivance for taking off the seed they fall from
the gin, depositing them in car which is situated
very near, and which. by railway erected for the
purpose, carries them some hundred yards from the
Clubhouse His Clubhouse is exceedingly spacious
and well ventilated by doors and windows There
is also scafod, ninety feet square, connected with
the upper rooms of the house, which enables him to
sun his cotton whenever occasion requires The
comfort and conveni> nee of his lands are greatly
promoted by the entire arrangement, the particulars
of which have not time here fully to record. The
model is much sought after, and has already been
adopted by several planters in this parish Time
would fail me to enumerate the many improvements,
as see them exhibited in the grist and mills,
no oh no hr;1 md no
looms, &C., &C., which characterize the model farm.
cannot, however, omit casual notice of the com
Portable quarters for the negroes. They extend in
three rows for about half mile in length, and no
two on adjoining rows are allowed to be immediate
ly opposite. They framed buildings, with brick
chimneys, and situated on high ridge covered
thick with bermuda grass. The yards are all kept
clean, as are their bedding and rniture, which are,
on stated days, exposed to the sun. Great atten-
ton is paid to their proper ventilation, which has
hitherto tended to secure the inmates against cpl
demc or endemic diseases One of these large quar-
tiers is devoted as nursery of the children the
plantation, and two careful women are appointed,
whose duty it is to take of the little while
their parents are out at work. No epidemic, either
cholera or yellow fever has visited this place,
while the plantations adjoining, either side, have
been sadly decmated. On this place, no physician
has been called to patient this year, while, from
long experience, Mr.. c. is himself no unskilful man.
fed, we'll clad, comfortably housed, and humanely
treated, the negroes here are comparatively very
healthy, while the population Of the place has in
creased, without any additional purchases, from
ninetyfour, in 1S45, to hundred and thirty five in
1857. Herein consists the distinguishing excellen-
cy, the characteristic superiority of the manager
Firmness tempered with mildness, strict discipline
combined with humanity, paramount regard for
the interest of the estate shown by prudent
gard for the comfort and welfare of the negroes that
constitute an essential element in itspro sperity
these qualifications and such these all combine
we'll as practical economist in the highest sense of
that term. His management is calculated not only
to produce the finest crops for which he has been
long noted, but also to promote the permanent in
terests and solid prosperity of the estate. Nothing
seems to escape his vigilant eye He is ever on the
alert to discover some improvement which tends to
the comfort and welfare Of those around him. and of
whom he very justly deems himself the earthly pro-
tector and guardian; while system ard order, rule
and method, mark all his operations. have not
heard him utter the first cross word to a servant
since have been here. His demeanor is gentle and
quiet, while he is at once greatly feared and greatly
loved. He seems "born to command" His ad-
ministrative talent is of the highest order.
forgot to mention that he is now putting up a
beautiful Mansion House in the yard, built in the
model cottage style, and promising comforts and
convenlences scarcely ever presented in houses to
be found in this country. This improvement, like
the others about the farm, is made of timber cut
from the plantation, sawed at the saw mill of the
plantation, and constructed by carpenters of the
plantation. According to Mr.. C's ideas of economy,
everything must be done without the expenditure of
money, and from the resources of the farm. This is
not only economy, but independence also. This
gentleman, am informed universally, has done more
to promote the interests of the planting section of
this region, by his example of economy and inn
provement, than every other man that has ever re-
moved to the country. Planters and managers from
all parts of the State, hearing Ct his success, have
visited the place for the purpose of examining his
stock witnessing the order of his arrangements test
ing his management and of profiting thereby. Many