New-York tribune., 1872-10-12
SOUTHERN INDUSTRY.
pIcE Culture IN NORTH CAROLINA.

rROM THR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT or THB TRIBUNEl
WLMINGToN, Sept. 22.-The North Carolina
rico fields comprising the richest LANDS In the State ana
capable Of producing from 5cOC) TO 100000 bushels OF
grain year, are oil covered with reeds and Dishes'
their ditches filed with mud their dykes roted away
and rice longer staple product or an article OF eA
port Thirty years ago the rico fields OF the
| Cape Fear River produced crop OF 100000 busheis
| tho most Of which was shipped to Northern clNes
| where 1t was cleaned and prepared for market
| Fifteen years later, just before tho breaking
ont of the war; the yield OF the same region had In
creased to 100000 bushels Gnd at that time thcro were
several mills In Wilmington in which tho rico was
cleaned before 10 was sent coastwise to Ncwfork or
Baltimore, shipped directly to foreign ports IN loh
rice was planted only one or two farins' anu tno
entire crop only bushesless than tho amount
consumed in the state-and this year threo planters
only have ycntured to put in crop OF rice and ahousn
the yield the will be the greatest remembered Dy
the oldest planter around Wilmington the crop VIII
| not exceed 1900 or $1,000 bushels.
| THE RICE FIELDS ABANDONED.
| In no part OF North Carolina have seen so many
painful evidences OF the poverty and ruin brought upon
the Southern people by the war as along the banks OF
the Cape Fear River from this city to and including
Fayetteville Here and there brave man, whose spirit
has not been entirely crushed y the reyerses no mas
experienced makes faint but noble stand to prevent
his once valuable plantation from relapsng into VII
derness OF weeds, and. amid the ruin and decay hat
entirely surround him. s works on hoping Tor Deter
time to come. 1 formed the acquaintance OF ono such
man. Col McIlhenny tho other day and he invited me
TO rlde over 10 his plantation In Brunswick County,
about four miles from tho city.
81 can show you little but ruins" no said, "but II
you interested in them you VIII SEQ the traces oI
| some VI our departed glory"
Crossing tho river in rowboat the first two miles OF
the road lay over o causeway built across an Island
Near the river the workshops OF tho Wilmington,
Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad and some extensive
turpentne dserics and beyond them lie $500 acres OF
| abandoned riccheds.
| at makes mo heart-sick" said my friend, "when l
look upon this scene OF dcsolaon and contrast 1t with
what this island was before tho war. This land, formed
from the rich deposits made by tho river is as fertile as
any in the United States Every acre OF it was capable
of producing this year. from 40 to co bushels OF rce
worth from 50 to 81 bushel You can at once SEQ what
an impetus such q crop would give to business; how
much labor would bo employed and how much capital
| would be brought here"
| did rot understand why It that such rich land
should DO lying Idle who poorer uplands were culti
| vated
"In the first place." ho replied this country has be-
come nearly depOpuated. The planters on this river
were before the war, in aluent circumstances. They
owned large plantations, capable OF producing immense
crops and they generally worked from 100 to 200 hands
in the field. They lived in ease with every comfort and
every luxury 1he destroyed all this; the blacks
freed and their entire system OF labor overturned
duced to poverty. they could not adapt themselves to
the new order OF things and nearly all Of the older men
who were leaders here before the war have died. In
the second place IL requires capital work these panta
tions These lands cannot be farmed out In small
patches like uplands but must be worked In plantations
OF greater less extent You see that the heds have
to be dtched and the dykes must be kept up to keep
the water in, the crop require Soon after
tho war prominent General asked what proposed
| TO do told him that thought Of renting out my
plantation in small parcels to the negroes for portion
OF the crop thought that might establish sort OF
English tenantry system, which would be profitable ana
pleasant ali and to the negroes. But very soon
became convinced that nothing OF the kind was pos
sibe. Finally had the capital we could not get the
| labor.
| MICRO TIELD-LABoR UNCERTAIN.
"There never was a time when agricultural labor
scarce this part OF the country 1t IS to-day Emn
cipatOn deprived us Of great portion or our working
force The negroes left c plantations and went to the
cities where they still unless they have been
tempted away by the promise Of high wages to work on
railroads in the turpentine forests Those who do re-
main cannot be relied upon easily controlled Take
the cultivation OF rice for instance there certain
seasons when to neglect It for day or two endan
gers the crop. The negroes know this perfectly WELL but
II they conclude go OFF and register certain day
or to attend public speaking. they are sure to CO. no
how critical condition the crop may be in even
though the registration books open for month and
political meetings every week. RemOnstrance Is
OF no avail and you threaten to discharge them you
are likely be indicted under the Enforcement act for
obstructng the negroes in the exercise Of the elective
franchise or OF intmidatng them. You see we can't
afford 10 stake crops the whlms OF the former
| slaves"
| "Are the negroes naturally indoenti' asked.
ayes, most of them Here and there you will find
one who Is industrious and thrifty. He very soon gets
homestead and is respected by tho white people. But
the majority OF them extremely improyident and
only II they have enough to eat to-day They hang
about the wharves in the city, and by working few
hours day at odd Jobs they enough to buy what
and bacon they need. II they get sick out OF
work you will them coming about the plantations
| begging for help"
"Do the negroes object to working the rice fields Z"
| was my next question.
"wel, yes they prefer other kinds OF agricultural
| labor. 1t Is wet and dsagreeable."
"Is Il particularly unhealthy"
"Not for acclimated persons II you were to como
here to live you would very have the fever espec-
tally II did not avoid the night air. But the negroes
rarely suffer. In Slavery times 1 worked hundred
hands, and my Doctors bill less than 500 year.
Now and then has ehs and fever-not very often"
The Colonel also told that the land through which
riding was adapted to the production OF cotton
and some other "dry" crops well to rice 1t is
only necessary to close the gates and keep out the water
and excellent crops be raised. Although some agr-
cultural writer's have said that northern grasses cannot
be successfully raised south Of Richmond owing the
absence OF protect the roots he believed that
immense crops OF clover Iredop and timothy might
produced these abandoned rice lands Indeed the
experiment has already been tried on small scale and
has been very successful The gates opened n the
Winter and the water allowed to flow the fields long
enough to afford tho needed protection to the
roots. My friend believed that the entire island
over which passing might be converted
for the rearing Of blooded stock and that II
some Northern capitalists would take hold Of it, great
deal OF money might be made. 1t did really too
bad to much valuable land lying idle. Having
crossed the island the stream the further side was
passed on q raftlke ferry-boat, which q negro pulled