The Hickman courier., 1872-11-02

Never has there been n
Yorable season for agricultnrsi N
erations than this one. op-
and sunshine, tempered breezas 80 -
the heavy dews, have done the;r
work beneficently. The orchards ars
laden with fruit, the corn crons
heavy and out of danger, cotton and
cane alike look fourishing, and aa
for gardens, all varieties Of veoeta-
bles are at their best and finest. The
suall fruits have been abundant. and
and in a greater variety than we
have ever known them before.
Apart from large cotton paintings,
We see nothing which does not offer
a fair margin for an unprecedented
year of prosperous agriculture. Howl
they arc to be manipulated so as TO
balance the prices of cotton to the
advantage of the planter would need
different arithmetic from any we
have learned. There is a deal Of talk
over the stubbornness of figures, but
crop blindness seems to look beyond
them, at some unknown quantities
which we have held in reserve aud +
which viii change the debt and
credit s.desin an astonishing manner.
We have been watching the course F
of two individuals with much
curiosity and interest. To our mind
it seems that they are the repre-
sentative men of two opposing sys-
tens. One is a planter who
mas planted several hundred acres
in cotton, and, in fact, taken up his
garden with the adored
staple The other, with the same +
quantity of land, has planted two
thirds IN corn the l0alanca divided
among cotton, rice, potatoes and
small fruits His orchard and
garden ere in excellent or
der ; his pasture blossoms white
and thick in clover, his hogs are reg
ularly and plentifully fed.
These two men were of equal
fortune before the war Both were
left with nothing but their land in
that bare and desolate condition
which belong to fields of the great
staples when the crops are not grow
ing. Both, too, are men of intellli-
gence and energy. The one could
think Of nothing but cotton to re-
trieve his losses and grow rich sud
denly the other recognized that 1t
was necessary to live and keep out
Of debt before growing rich, and 50
he planted breadstuffs alone, which
supplied the wants of his family and
left little surplus to dispose OF
For several yeqrs he did this, in
the meantime setting out an orchard
Of choice fruit, which needed little
outlay and not much cultivation,
To day this farmer, if not nom
inally as wealthy as before the
war, is surrounded by more com
foris, and has at his disposal more
ready money This year he has ex
Iende j his operations, and planted
on larger scale, always, however
keep ing N view the marketable
nature Of his produce, and knowing
-ig'l 1T we'll that every ear Of corn he
raises viii meet with a ready sale TO
us neighbors who adhere to the
great staples.
The cotton planter, however, has
spent his crop before it comes To
market Where his neighbor en-
ployes one hand he has four. Wherd
the one lays by his surplus cash tho
other increases the debt he contract1
cd from his first planting operations
and which has grown steadily with
each season. In all probability hid
heavily mortgaged lands will pass
into other hands before another sea
son. All this comes from that ter
rible crop blindness, which has Sd
lsseOnIied sais good Jlldessi,oist.f .flaat n.
refused TO take hold of the small
means by which his neighbor has re
trieved his fortunes.
Look on these two and tell us
which one is the surest builder-up
not only of his own fortunes, but
the fortunes of his native State P
Neig Orleans Times.