The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1874-03-27
lFrom the Mobile Register.
CORN VS.. COTTON.

AS there is general awakening
among the farmers ut this time in re-
gard to diversiiying their crops and
reducing the amount of cotton raised, I
fear there arc many who will change
their old system, not so much from any
| clearly defined ideas as to the advan-
tages to be derived from the change, as
from compulsion, by want of means to
raise all cotton and pursue their former
policy. To such probably tho following
reflections may be of some service to
buoy them up and cause them to per-
severe. 1t is an admitted fact, believe,
by all that a small crop of cotton will
sell for as much money as Il large one.
That is to say, two and Il half millions
of bales of cotton would bring us as
much clear money as the present crop
Of four or four and n quarter millions.
Estimating it takes four acres upon an
! average to make a bale of cotton, then
ii will take six millions of acres of land
less to raise II crop of two and Il half
millions of bales than it would to raise
four million crop. We then have this
Six millions of acres to corn, oats, peas,
etc. Now il this be planted in corn,
and estimate it to-make twelve bushels
to the acre, wchavc cscvcnty-tWo million
bushels Of corn virtually given to us, Il
clear gain of that amount. This calcu-
lation is based upon the superstition
! that we only cultivate the same amount
of land that was cultivated to raise the
big crop of cotton. All know that it
requires less labor to raise corn than it
does cotton, consequently much time
would be saved to the farmer for i'm
provencnt of the farm houses, orchard,
etc, which, as II general thing, are in Il
n ;1n >iI lat
valuable and important consideration is
that the farmers (who arc now in debt)
can apply the whole proceeds Of their
cotton crop to the payment Of their
debts instead of rcserving Il portion of
it to buy corn and meat, and it will be
by this means only that we can expect
to pay tho outstanding debts. This
proposition is SO plain and self-evident
to me, 1t seems strange that every farm
er docs not adopt it. 1t will and does
hold good. In every case where any
one will raise his plantation supplies
at home, he is now prospering. In
every instance within my knowledge
where the farmer raises his supplies, he
is independent and if it holds good in
one instance, or one farmer alone adj
herring to it, how much better il would
be for the entire country to adopt it.
w
milk and honey in Il very short time.
Then the great cry for capital to be
brought into the country would cease.
And now let us go to work and raise
capital by raising all of the supplies
needed upon tho farm, and let our cot
ton crop bca surplus one to raise it.
Then We can use this capital to build
factories of every description, and there
by save an incalculablc amount OF
money among us. l do not believe
that we ought to have any capital
brought to us, for we have not yet
learned how to use it; and now let us
go to work and raise it by economy and
from the cotton crop, and by the time
We have accumulated it we will have
learned to use it. Let us work out our
own salvation. Let the lawyer, the
doctor, the preacher, the merchant, all
combine, by preccpt and example, to
encourage the farmer to pursue the pol
icy here recommended, and they, too,
will soon have wcii-fillcd purses.
IsSEN, Choctaw County, Ala. q.