Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-01-27

dead COW or OK, Nth The hide upon IL,
on his way to the river, to give it wa
terry grave. The animal did not appear
to have died from poverty. Asa Yankee
would say it appeared to have been in
good keep" Did the drayman, or the
multitude Of those who saw it, reflect
that this carcass was valuable ? OF course
all knew the hide would make leather,
and that leather is brought from the
North and sold in Memphis, affording
the Northern tanner profit in its manu-
facture. Wehave tanneries in our midst,
needing hides and anxious to pay money
for them. Then why this waste2 II this
we're solitary instance, It would be bad
enough, but II is simply az illustration
of the general wasteiulness of our South
ern people. In riding through the coun-
try it is not unusual to see hides thrown
across the fences, there to become worth
less from exposure. Even in our pow
erty, we refuse TO learn economy. 1t we
would prosper, we must reform, in this
respect. But my object is not to write
an essay on economy. wish to make a
few inquiries, suggested to my mind by
the sight Of this carcass on its way to its
watery sepulture.
Cannot the tanning business be made
profitable in our midst2 1t is needless
to say that there are few trades more re-
munerative. Most certainly there is a
much greater demand for leather here
than can be supplied by the few small
establishments of the kind now in opera
ton. Indeed, do not know if there is
single tannery provided with the mod
ern improvements in the art and con-
Quoted on scale anything like adequate
to the wants of the local demand. If l
am mistaken, / will be glad to be cor
rected. Who, then, will embark in this
enterprise, so promising of handsome
per centage on the investment EN-
ployment can be given to those now
without it. The farmers will be glad to
furnish the bark, at least they should be
glad to do so.
Is there soap mandatory in the
place that would have bought the carcass
of that dead animal2 Or do we depend
upon our more enterprising Eastern and
Northern neighbors, for the very means
of cleansing our persons and apparel ?
Soap boilers and ta!low chambers usu-
ally grow rich in their avocations. Are
our people too proud to make money in
such employments2 | trust not. Am |
mistaken in my recollection that the
great Benjamin Franklin, in his youth,
worked at this business2 l hope Mem
phis will soon cease to import, and be-
come an exporter of soap. We need it
here, and the raw material is abundant.
Who will become the pioneers2
The horns and hoofs of that OK were
valuable for the manufacture of glue, but
/ suppose such an article is not manu-
factured here, although our mechanics
need it, and are forced to send abroad for
it. A very small capital of money and
skill is all that is necessary to enable
some Industrious man to make hand
some sup port, if nothing more, at this
business.
am not ready yet to bury the dead OK.
We have vast area of worn out lands
around. The labor to cultivate them as
heretofore cannot be commanded. We
must subdivide and improve them. We
must learn to make one acre yield what
we have been accustomed to gather from
five. 1t can easily be done. Chemistry
has become the hand-maiden of agricul-
ture. Concentrated manures are COM
plimenting the products of the barn.
yard and revolutionizing the science Of
agriculture. Some of the most efficient
of the concentrated manures are the pro-
duct in a large measure of animal mat
ter, such as bones and the residuum from
the pots of the soap boiler. These ma
nures are powerful agents and compare
lively expensive, but at the same time
very remunerative. They are bulky and
expensive in transportation. Then why
not manufacture them at homer They
are needed here. They are essential to
the restoration of our exhausted fields.
They will pay the manufacturer and the
farmer. The materials for their produc-
ton are abundant in our midst Is there
enterprise enough in some citizen, with
the necessary capital, to double his for
tune in this business2 Let US learn to
use without waste everything around US,
and in time we will recover from our
deep prostration; but so long as we de-
pend upon a more enterprising commu-
nifty to supply us with such articles
as we can and ought to make for our
selves, we need not expect, and do not
deserve to prosper as city. Let US be
producers, to some extent, and not alto
gether consumers. Let our farmers
raise their own supplies and provisions,
their own horses, their own sheep, and
make their own jeans, and then country
and town will prosper. We shall cease
to hear the anomalous complaint from
farmers Of the high price of meat, corn
aud -four. Who ever heard a teacher