The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-06-10

an area of about 1000 square miles.
Ii 1918 the Government bought this
rich body of land from the Chicks7saw
Indians, when it became. part Of the
State of tennessee. In 1919 the
white men commenced moving into
the District" as it was then called,
and since that time the population has
steadily increased in 1922 Carroll
county was organized, and Gibson the
next year,
IT,. population Of Gibson county in
1880 was 1901 /; in 1910, 1859; in
1850, 1858; in 1860, 21,717; iii
1870, 2h,666. In 1870 this county
had, out of her population of Is, 66S,
$685. negroes. In 1870, this county
had 1872, 669 acres of improved land,
and, although there were fourteen
counties in the State with larger guam
1T II s-fFhtl Az
titles, she ranked secohd iii value of
all farm productions, having $685.
523 worth, against 81, l69, 342 in Shell
BY. The value of our farms at that
time wass4, S9O,576. Thus it viii be
seen that our lands produce nearly two
81,
thirds of their value every year. not
withstanding the imperfect maniier of
cuItlyatIqnx y; TIE cchnty in 1870 pro-
dpced 1i6.8e9 bushels of wheat, l.
067, 775 Bushels of corn, 1918 BUSH
els Of oats, 81, 800 pounds of tobacco,
9,S15 bales of cotton, 1857 pounds
of wool and 60,275 bushels of sweet
potatoes thus ranking sixth in the
production of corn, fifth in cotton, and
second in sweet potatoes.
Carroll county, adjoining Us or the
east, has 127,5i5 acres of improved
land, worth So, O71,511, and the value
of her, FARM, products in 1870 was ST.
1915. Herpopulation that year was
19, All, of which 1899 were negroes.
The western and southern portions of
this county airs especially fertile, there
being some of the best farms in tie
State in these sections, all of which are
tributary to Milan. There are a nun
Der of large farms in this part of the
county witch the owners Ere willing
to cut up and sell to small farmers on
good terms. u =
Milan is about FIVE miles from the
Carroll county line, and the following
description embraces the eastern por
ton of Gibson and the western part
of Carroll counties; and in order that
our report of the lands lying around
Milan may be correct, we have con-
suited some of our M6st intelligent
and reliable faamers, and on tRdir
statement predicate the facts here fur
niished. The land is generally level
or gently undulating. Out west of
town there il some hilfy country, but
not too much SO to be good farming
land when well cared for. The
soil upon the surface is loam,. which
is of a color from mulatto to
black, and varies in depth from six
inches to two feet. fmmediateiy be-
low this loan is a reddish subsoil,
which is very retentive of moisture,
and below this in most places are
found strata of sand of different colors.
The soil is mellow and easily titled.
Our billy or rolling lands, in the
hands of careless and Indifferent farm
ers,, constantly decrease in value /;
while the very same kind of land. in
The r. hands Of intelligent and energetic
farmers, who understand nlil srue
iitching and drainage, will not only
retain its fertility, but will become
more productive, Fertilizers, which
are only beginning to be used here,
produce astonishing results. As to
the level land, i will remain good al
ways in the hands of intelligent farm
ers, without the use of any fertilizer,
BY proper rotation of crops and occa-
'iOnally seeding it down in. small
grains. AS evidence of its durability, !
here is a great deal of such land here, |
,wned by men who, not living on it, !
nave rented it from year to year to
men who, having no interest in it,
nave plOwed shallow and otherwise
abused it, that stiil produces good
,rops. Our land, when properly cul-
:ivated, stands a drouth better than
my land we have ever seen. You
-arely ever see a rock of any kind, ex-
'ept small gravel in :. running streams.
last year it was here, like in many
'ther states, very dry. 1t was said
o be the severest drouth ever known
lere. There was no rain to do any
pod from the middle of April to the
10Th of August. And while there
vas almost a total failure in crops on
arms in the hands of unskilled farm
rs, other farms, thoroughly cuItivat-
d, produced pretty fair crops of corn
md cotton, This country it, is NOT sub
ect to d. dsrOpths, last year being the
irst faiiYreiiq4 st crops Ye have witness
4. + Had fll tke farr !;,s here he e. in
he hards Of the RICH, right kind il Of farmers,
he present destitution among us would |