Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1865-10-03
DIVERSITY OF CROPS.

former numbers OF our paper OF the ADAPT
ability of our soil and climate to the
culture of mixed crops, and have urged
the subject upon the attention Of eur agri-
cultural friends, believing it to be. i'll
consonance with sound views and sus-
ceptible of practicable and advantage
GUS results. The very questionable ex-
pediency Of circumscribing the labor
| and skill Of the sgriculturalist to any one
particular species of product is becoming
every day more apparent. The venerable
one ideaism which absorbs itself year in
and year out in doing service to 'Ktng
| Cotton regardless of minor details IN the
vast arcans Of vegetation, is giving way
before the lights of experience and tho
| circumstances of the times which necessl-
| tate a change in the old routine Of things.
| independent of the uncertainty of labor,
! there are so many contingencies hazardIng
tho safety Of cotton in the various stages OF
| its growth, in this latitude, that planters
| have to consider more seriously than ever
the importance OF devoting their attention
to more promiscuous range of culture.
There are many products Of the field, the
| nursery, and the garden, which can be
! raised in this region with comparatively
| little labor and with much greater sssur-
ancc Of success than cotton, and from the
demand and ready sale which they meet
| with in our own aud neighboring mar
kets, there could be no fear of an adequate
return of profits for the labor and capital
they would require.
Were it possible to overcome the many
natural draw backs which attend the Guilt
walton of cotton, we should by no means
attempt to dissuade planters from bestow-
ing upon it that care and attention which
hos been so unreservedly extended it. Nor
would we, under any circumstance, save
that of total loss, advise a practical sban-
donment of the staple. Our aim liz now'
| as heretofore, to encourage the adoption
among planters OF system Of culture
not limited to any one single product an
the naajt but to variety, whereby they
can reap surer profits, live more within
themselves, and contribute more largely
| to the home wants and necessities of the
people.
But for the large outlay required for
m achinsry, and the absence Of proper
! system of hand labor. sugar planting,
would DO, from its greater security against
the casualties of the seasons. more desra-
BILE than cotton, and, at prevailing market
prices, equally profitable. A clubbing to
gether on the part of ncighborho0ds 10
purchase the requisite machinery and to
| establish mills in common, would obviate
the necessity of any serious expenditure
| on that score. The control of labor, how
ever, would be an Indispensable pre-
requisite in tho effectusl cultivation Of
sugar, as of cotton.
Tobacco, which needs no machinery
whatever IN its manufacture, might be
| raised in this latitude to great advantage,
| IS much 80, certainly, az i'll the New Eng
| land States, where, ia Connecticut particu
larry, it is made to yield immense profits
to the producer. We SEQ il stated that
the saving in the matter Of revenue in ia
vor of cigars made in this country as com
pared with those manufactured abroad, is
fully five per cent Freight on leaf to-
baeco, is 81 49 per one hundred pounds,
while on cigars, it is 81 6S. In view of
these facts, jobhers can save very largely
by making their purchases at home. Fac
| tories of cigar boxes would also prove pro-
| ftable investments, to meet the demands
| for such articles, which would be created
| by the cultivation Of tobacco on a large
scale.
The above hints are thrown ont in the
hope that they may lead to such expert
rnsnts and trials among eultivators, as will
enable them more etfacLually to reap ndvan-
| tages, which they cannot hope securely to
realize so long as they bend their energies
! solely TO the production Of any one pre-
carious staple, under the existing draw
| backs Of the season, the labor system and
the ''caterpillErn
STATEMENT OF THE PUBLIC DEBT.-Sscre-
tsry AcCulloch, on tho I'd instant, pub
lished statement Of the public debt, as it
| appears from the books of the Treasury:
the returns and acquisitions in the depart
| manh ON Tho Rlat Of AnnRat 1919 TIA