Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-05-01
CORRESPONDENCE
JACKSON, Co., FLORIDA,
Ar,ri1 god 1874

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE
JACKSON, Co., FLORIDA,
April 22d, 1874,
Dear journal There is something |
to interest every visitor to the "Land
of Flowers but in addressing myself
toyour readers, must Gull those things
which will most interest them. Ana
from this stand point I know of no
subject which will do SO better than
my observations of the
FARMING OPERATIONS,
which, at this season, is the engrosslng
subject of thought and action. Inc
cotton and corn fields look beautiful
having Just been worked over with the
hoes. The cotton plant has beeh
brought to stand, and the corn Is
about foot high and very promising
Jackson is one of the most populonS
and fertile counties in the State. Like
all the other sections lying between
here and Wilmington, cotton Is the
chief, I may say the only, article o.
production. Yet | was surprised to
learn that this county raises more
than it's own corn and nearly ~ kes
its meat. Farmers have corn for sale
now, which only commands about sixty
cents on the plantation, and but
eighty cents delivered at the river
landings on the eastern border OF .he
county.
THE CATERPILLAR.
The cotton crops for two years Lave
been almost total failures, oWing to
the razages OF the caterpillar. Ihls
worm has proved much more destrHct
i've since, than before the war It's
yisitations there were seldom, and Its
ravages limited. Now, its visits are
yearly and its ravages nearly rumous.
Several reasons are given for this, but
the doctors differ. So I find here that
the farmers say that Paris Green Las
failed to relieve them of these pests,
and their costly poison lies unused IN
their storerooms. Yet the planters OF
Middle Florida and some portions OF
Georgia and Alabama, are satisfied
that they experienced much relief from
its use.
Failing to kill the worm attention Is
now being turned to the fly. A trap
has been patented, and will soon be III
operation on many plantations III this
section to destroy the fly before the
eggs are laid. These traps are lliumln-
ated and set at night in certain por-
tons of the fields where the flies are to
be found. In this way it is hoped to
get rid of the worm in a great degree
at least. Unless something is done to
circumvent the ravages of the caterpll-
lar, the culture of cotton must be
abandoned in this latitude.
SYSTEM OF FARMING.
I find labor abundant and as good
as could be expected There are
no elections during the planting season
to take the negroes off from their
work, and except =, funeral, for Which
the colored people hero, as where,
have a wonderful We'd a"ss, there are
no meetings and no proce4@;ons to IN
terfere with and distract them.
Farming is carried on under three
systems by Contract, on Wages /" d
Tenantry. 1t is safe to say that al
the farmers conduct their operations
under the first two systems, and many
of them under all three. Under the
Contract System, a laborer cultlvates
ten acres In cotton and ten IN corn.
He is to supply all the labor. 4 mule
is furnished him, and he is allowed
forty pounds of meat per month for
ten months. OF course he is furnished
with d house and a reasonable amount
of land for garden, potato patch, &c.
He receives one third OF the crop for
his labor. The farmer is called upon
to make advances during the year for
necessary clothing, tobacco, &c. which
are deducted from the proceeds of the
crop.
There every one cultivates certain
portions of his land Ivy hands hired by
the year. The wages paid range from
seven to twelve dollars per month and
rations With these hands are also
raised the oats, potatoes and peanuts
for the stock, and most farmers raise
enough sugar cane to make syrup for
their own use.
Under the Tenantry System GER
tain amount of land, with house, is
rented. The price generally preva-
lent is bale of cotton of five hundred
pounds for every forty acres of land.
Frequently mule or mules are hired,
and half bale Of cotton is paid for
each mule, the tenant feeding the ami
NAL.
All of these systems have their ad-
vanSages and disadvantages, but nm
der the operations of all [ find the
negroes more contented and labor
more abundant and more satisfactory
than in the cotton sections of our
State
ORANGE GROVES.
Just south of this county, in Cal
houn, is what is known as the Dead
Lakes being, in fact, nothing more
than the Chipola River, which rises in
South Alabama, and like the North
East branch of the Cape Fear, run
ming through a fat country, is a slug
gish deep stream, and just before it
empties into the Appalachicola, widens
out into an irregularly shaped lake,
some eighteen miles long and seven or
eight wide. On the banks of this lake,
or Dead Lakes as it is called, for it
IS rather chain of lakes, separated |
nv ir,penSa forests Of o1rro., 49,.