American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-08-23
Letter from Silver Creek.

MR.. EDITOR:-Your valuable pa
per reaches me regularly, and Is
read with much pleasure. particu
larly because it comes from Canton.
he local news from which is al
WAYS interesting.
From all 1 can learn, the crops
in fact, throughout Madison, as well
as in most of the hill lands in the
State, are anything bit flattering.
Excess of rains checked the growth
of cotton, increased the growth OF
grass, and kept the land almost con
tinuaily too wet to work to advan-
taee; which, | suppose, had much to
do with the present gloomy state of
affairs in the farming community.
We, too, have had too much rain,
though l canpot say the crops in
the swamp are particularly bad
Those on Deer Greek, according to
reports, are very fine. On Silver
Creek, they are not SO forward as at
the same time last year, though
most of the cotton crop promise an
abundant yield. The stalk is tall,
we'll formed, and bolls maturing
rapidly. Although the lands are
level and fiat. work can go on SOON
CT after rain than on the hills of
Madison, owing, 1 suppose, to the
loose character OF the land, which
permits the water to sink more
rapidly in the earth. Another rea
son may be that it submits more
readily to atmospheric influence
than does the stiff, clay lands in the
hills.
Corn is not as good as it prom
Used in June, yet some of it is ex-
ceeding fine. The average of corn
compared to that of cotton, is far
less than in the hills, the land be-
ing so fertile it requires less TO
yield a sufficiency. There is also
much less land, both of corn and
cotton, planted to the hand. In
Madison. where they plant sixteen
acres to the hand, equally divided
between corn and cotton, here they
plant but ten, six or seven in cot
ton and the remainder in corn.
have not heard of any worms in
this section, but learn you have them
in the hills to some extent. Should
they strip the cotton here by the
middle or last of August, the crops
will be alarmingly shortened.
With regard to health in the
swamp, most people in other sec
tons look upon it with absolute hor
ror; still, l venture the assertion,
that there is rs little, probably less,
sickness on Silver Greek than in
and around Canton. This, l be-
lieve, is the place for our young men
who wish to pursue the occupation
of farmers, that is if they desire to
make money, and which is, 1 think,
the acme of all pursuits. Silver
Creek lands are not, perhaps, so
fertile as other sections of the
swamp, but they will produce as
much as can be gathered, and what
more could we want! Besides we
can truly boast that our facilities
for market, combined with the
health and good society that we en-
joy, are far in advance Of any other
portion of swamp country. Silver
Creek is merely a passage between
the YazOO and SuntiOwer rivers,
and is, l think, not exceeding thir-
ty miles in length. Steamboats,
run all the year up the Yazoo to
the head of Silver Creek, and up
the Sunfiower to its mouth. About
half way between the mouth and
source, Is public road leading to
Yazoo City, some fifteen miles,
which is no distance for the swamp
people. The climate, as l before
remarked, is very healthy, and dur
ing the gay seasons, fall, winter
and spring, there is not a more
pleasant and agreeable place to be
found for the young of either sex.
A bright future, pecuniarily, is
nearer at hand for Silver Greek,
than for any other farming commu-
nifty in the State within my knOwl-
edge. The time is not far distant
when we will have town OH the
YaZoo, at the source of the Greek,
and, besides, we now have several
stores up and down its banks.
Hoping you will keep your read
ers posted as to the condition of the
crops in the hills, and the progress
of the cotton worm. ! remain
Truly Yours,
Aug. 8, '73. SILVER CREEK.