Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-04-29
THE TENNESSEE VALLEY.
The Rains aud Flood in tie Tennessee
ValIey-The Crop Prospect a
Very Bad One. UaT 4
From an Occasional Corresponeeut.I

| From an Occasional Corresponcentl
DECATUR, ALA, April 25, 1S74.-Still
| it rains and rains. Will it never cease ?
| This Tennessee valley locks desolate.
| The farmers are month behind their
usual preparations. t is true, they will
not be quite month later than usual in
planting; but in preparations for plant
| ing they are even more than a month
behind time. The consee uence is, the
! planting win be badly done, and the
| crop will be very much injured for want
of proper preparation of ground. Even
| now they are planting corn without
breaking up the land st ell, and sup
pose many viii plant Gotten on the old
beds, by merely opening them and put
| ting in the cottOn-seeG. EOw can men
| expect to make good crops, when they
| cultivate land in this wayT How much
more sensible it would have been to
have plowed up the land very deep last
fall, and then it would, notwithstanding
| the floods of rain, have been in
comparatively good condition; the
deeply -plowed land, would have alb
sorDed the water and prevented the
washing away of the SOIL, Why will
they not now, like men of sense, dimin-
ish the area TO be planted. and cultivate
well what they can wei prepare? Viii
the mania for extensive c0tt0n-fields
ever prove the bane of the south? 1t is
this that prevents farmers from prepar-
ing their lands in the fall, because they
are then engaged in gathering cotton.
This would be one of the finest clover
countries in the south, but they can't
take time to sow it, on account of cotton.
There is labor enough here to cultivate
the land as It should be cultivated, be-
cause twO-thiTds or three-fourths of it
should be in grain, clover or grass, so
that it might improve. Does not
farmer know that by enriohing his land
he enriches himself, and that in impov
erishiDg his land by bad cultivation he
loses more than what he gets in rent?
The finest country in the world, almost,
is nearly ruined by bad management
and bad cultivation. This is nearly the
only town in this valley, on the line OF
the Memk his and Charleston railroad,
that shows signs of improvement. Most
of the houses here are new. Three hum
dred houses, it is said, have been built
here in eighteen months. There are
only four houses now here that were
here before the war-the on bank,
the Mccartney house that was,
the Rhea house, as it used
TO be called, now belonging
to Senator Hines and the Polk house,
which was built forty-fiye years ago by
Colonel Frank Daney, and which is
now very handsome and commodiOus
building. 1t is built out cs much better
materials and more highly finished than
houses that are now built. 1t has been
newly painted and rehtted by DR..
Thomas G.. Polk its present occupant,
and it now looks as well as it ever did,
il not better. 1t is far the oldest house
in the town, and is perhaps older than
any house in this valley on the south
side of the Tennessee river. 1t rs in
deed "reminiscences OF the past, and the
lady who now occupies it, Is the grand
daughter of the gentleman who had it
built. This is rather unusual IN our
southern country. The Tennessee river
commenced falling at this place to-day.
and has fallen three inches. 1t looks
about four feet Of being rs high as 1t
was in 1867, when Chattanooga was un-
der water. All the creeks, large and
small have been over their banks, but
they are now all running down. There
is no estimating the damage that the
| constant rains have done even In this
upland country. The only chance to
/ remedy the evils, viii be to plant leE s
/ ground and cultivate better. Will our
! people puroue this wise policy, or will
| they sacrifice everything 70 the desire TO
! have large cotton fields.