Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-10-25
raE ALrAR or VANITY.

AlfEAh OE tAnAA
= d. Wyatt Aiken, an euterprising cotton
planter of South Carolina, urges bis class
Che holds high official position in the State
Grange) to withhold their cotton from
market with a view 10 bring gold into the
South to purchase this important staple.
The Memphis Appedi has the following
ccmmsnts on this policy: mes
SHOW are we to get money into the
South but through the medium of exchange
of cotton for gold. or gresnbaeks? Is It not
insanity to fancy that the holding Of cotton
in the ginhouse will bring money into the
country? We had hoped that this ex-
aggerated estimate CT the tre.nendous value
of cotton as above all other marketable COM
modities, was exploded by ths late
war. The theory once was that II
the South destroyed its cotton, the Confed-
eracy would absolutely compel the nations
Of Europe to recognize her independence,
and tens of thousands Of bales were sacri-
feed on this stupid altar of vanity to no
purpo:e. Is it not time that our people
should awake to proper estimate of the
relation which cotton bears to the other
articles of produce in the markets of the
world? Why, the hsy-crop Of tbs nerth is
worth more than the cotton crop Of the
South; and although the former is coDsum-
ed az home, its relative value is not thereby
diminishedn IS .sErfCfs I'll L
Not only is the hay crop Of the North
worth mora than our cotton, but the farm
ers Of the cotton States can raise one, two
or three hundred million dollars worth of
grass much easier and cheaper
thansthe same value of cotton. We do
not think that the interest of farmers will
be promoted by hurrying cotton, corn,
wheat or bacon early into market in the
next three or four months; although the
very short grain and provision crops of
Europe viii unquestiona5iy lessen the con-
sumption of cotton goods. Hungry people
in the face of scarcity and dear breadstuffs,
purchase less clothing, less bedding, less
cotton fabrics in every form, than they
would with full crops at home and &, ain 10
spare. Our cotton meets in part Europe's
want in shirts, sheets and calico dresses;
but experience tells Us that her three hun
dred million people Eneed something more
than they have to eat, and it is to meet this
great European necessity that our sgricul-
ture, sunshine and showers can be turned to
the most profitable account. Cotton must
hold secondary place in the sunny South.
Texas farmers wisely diversity their in
dustry and export more value in live stock
produced with little labor than in cotton, !
which is only raised with great deal Of
manual toll. Rain, solar light and heat
make grass grow with little labor, multiply
Indefinitely the germs of cattle, horses,
mules, sheep, goats, and swine, and bring
this invaluable, self-multiplying property
TO full maturity. Compared with the net
result, the labor of man is small, while the
injury to the soil is nothing, or next to
nothing. Way, then, bleed our Plantations
to death in cotton culture, and sacrifice the
planting States on sthe altar of vanity?"
Our lands are worth preserving; our white
population should not be driven out of the
communities where they were born, into
distant territories. Our system of tillage
and husbandry must be changed.
Europe has changed greatly in fifty years.
A vast amount of its soil has been i'm
proved. Only close agricultural students,
like Baron Liebig and Sir Humphrey Davy
appreciate this important fact. This is the
main reason why some thirty million peo-
pie in great Britain require nearly an aver
age of one hundred million bushels of i'm
ported wheat year, to make their daily |
bread. They annually manufacture tens
OF millions of bushels of our corn into beef |
and mutton, which ought to be done in this |
country that all the resulting manure might
keep up the fertility of the land that yields
this grain. American agriculture kills
the goose that lays golden eggs.
Nothing will help the growth and trade of
Southern Giles SO much as extending the
area of land in grass that will yield LARGE
income by its natural growth, and thereby
produce something to pay for the goods
either manufactured or imported into cities
'or sale. ALI good customers have some
hing to sell as the product of industry to
purchase what they need. Now, nearly
line- tenths of all the land in Tennessee is
lnproductive, and subject to tsxes-taking
money out of the owners pocket instead of
'utting cash into it. This is the vanity of
system of exclusive planting which has
ut lived its usefulness. Our soil must be
made more fruitful by raising stock and
.a