Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1873-02-17

anu 10 luis TACT. tDal l0c CDleI pro
duceTs of cotton are those who are alon,
familiar with the slave system, is doubt
/ less attributable thelimited use of labor
saving implements and machinery il
its culture. During a recent visit t
/ Alabama, was both panied and amused
10 hear nothing but universal complaint
of the deterioration and decay o
farms, unaccompanied by one single
suggestion of improvement in farm
management and economy to rene
! dy the evils complained of
1t would amuse without instructins
4 your readers, to recount my experience
/ in introducing several labOr-saving i'm.
plements, of my own invention, upoT
! the farm of a distinguished citizen O.
North Alabama. The statement thai
! the cotton crop Of the South can be pro.
duced with one-fourth Of the man force
now employed for that purpose, viii,
doubt not, appear incredible TO yOul
readers. And yet il only requires the
Introduction of the gang-plow, spacing
1 planter, hOrse-hOes for thinning, tC
stand in lieu of hand-hoes, cultivatOrs,
harrOws, etc, etc, to demonstrate the
truth Of the assertion. Under the.infiu-
enee of this system the prairie lands
and plantations free of stumps might
become sources of boundless revenue.
One man would prepare and cultivate
forty acres of land planted for cotton
with the same labor now bestowed upon
ten to twelve. Next in magnitude
among the evils which are depressing
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE
is the method Of employing and paying
the laborer. Having employed negroes
at wages and on shares for four years
succeeding the war, it is idle to say to
me that any theories are inapplicable 10
itnegro labor The share system is a
perniciOus system-Tuinous to every in
terest Of the farmer. He should control.
absolutely, the time of his hired man.
Intelligence should direct ignorance.
Employ the labOrers upon your farms
for stipulated wages and pay them week
". Abandon the credit system in all
things as far as possible. Truly said
John Randolph, that he had found the
philosophers stonen embedded in the
maxim, "pay as you 60" The wants
Of the labOring mau are multiform, and
he should not be driven by the terms of
his employment to the necessity and the
habit Of contracting debts to satisfy
them.
The want of system of farm manage
ment is painfully characteristic of the
Southern planter. 1t is one of the evils
handed down to him from generation to
generation; but he should never trans
NIT it to his successors. OF special i'm
portance to him is a well regulated sys-
tenn OF farm accounts, the contraction
of a habit Of counting the cost of every
thing. The satisfaction of knowing at
any moment the exact condition of
your business, is Of inestimable import
ance, and is equally possible to the farm
er as the merchant. l believe that these
radical changes in your farm manage
ment viii revive your languishing ag-
ricultural interests and Undue them with
new life and vigor. l am convinced,
from careful observation, that in these
changes lie progress and prosperity for
your people. / do not believe that YOU
will ever impress them upon your agri-
culture through the efforts of the older
men of the South. They are indispOsed
TO adopt any change that antagOnizes
the method TO which they have been
1t is to
THE YOUNG MEN OF THE COUNTRY
that you must look for progress and i'm
provement. If you can arouse their in
terests and enlist their energies in the
resuscitatioD of your decaying agricul-
tural interests, you will entitle yourself
to the lasting gratitude of your section. |
The task is difficult In conversation |
with a distinguished divine of
your State, urged upon him the views 4
in this letter, and the i'm |
DOrtance of stimulating the young men 1
Of the South to energetic effort, for her /
through the pulpit. 81
have worn the subject threadbare, sir, " |
be said, "and apparently without re-
suit" With a friend from Arkansas, |
who visited me in Los Angeles county |
last year, l discussed the condition of
Southern agriculture, and the possibil- |
ity of any beneficial changes through |
the influence of the older planters was a |
mutual opinion. We agreed that the |
radical changes demanded must be Ell /
fected through the young brains and /
energies of the South "But,n said he, |
i'it is an Herculean task to arouse our /
young men from the apathy and indif- |
ference to the downhil progress of our
people in the development of the ma
.erial resources of their country. Who |
snail convince them that it is not dis |
grace to soil their hands by labor? |
Who shall prevent their ostracism, So /
Tally, If they lay their hands to
THE PLOUGH, THE FORGE, OR THE
LOOM?
My observation and experience since l /
rave been up n this Coast, convinces
ne that we are rather to expect to see
,ur people lin thirty years from to-day /
the same relation to the har- |
iier people of the North and South as
hat now occupied by the Mexican TO |
he American population of California" " |
4 sad conclusion, and one In which / |
rust to find my friend mistaken. l !
ollowed your journey, Mr.. Editor, |
across the plains of the Great West, |
Turing the past summer, with peculiar /
interest. Te you the fact became ap-
parent, in a sense never before real |
zed, that beyond our cotton |
,elt, walled in with Unprogressive
where effort seems |
'aralyzsd and energy stagnant, lies a |
wilderness world rapidly filing uD with /
busy, progressive people. A Territory
q this wilderness on yesterday, to-day |
las become State. Scarcely a week /
lapsee in its growth, till every material /
is in process of development. |
{ is an embodiment of modern life,
igor, progress. 1t is to such regi ons
bat capital looks for investment, emil
ration a resting place, broken fortune
To impart these charac-
eristics to the Southern States is your
ask, aided and encouraged by those
Tho would see them again prosperous,
nd their people cOntented and happy
lnder the influence of plenty and peace.
hat YOU may succeed, is the sincere
wish of your Obedient servant,
JOHN /. STRONG.