Wilmington journal., 1875-09-24
VOL. 81.
PLA WING ON C"EpIE ER<.W gG
WoR kS IN GEOgs,sGA
LING. E.GURES


WoRkS IN GEOgst.G A-sTARr-
LING FIGURES
A recent report of the Georgia De
partment of Agricultnre makes an ox-
hibit of the bus ness methods and
prospects of the planters and farmers
of that State, embodying facts, which,
though they cannot be said to h. new
TO any Southern community, are ag-
gregatcd and formulated so to pre-
sent some s'artlirg and Instructive
statistics. We arr tod that the farm
ers have not bonght on credit to as
great al extent this year as last that
about twenty p"r cent. of heir num-
Der hpye been purchasing exclusively
TO- cash !; that hboHt forty-four per
c' mt. has been paid on the cost and
prices of goods wien bought on Il
credit, payable November lst that
slxty-sevcn counties report having paid
| s., ,O7S. 800 as annual interest, by buy
| ing on time that about thirty-eight
per cent of the cotton crop was pledg-
ed for supplies advanced to make it
ID other words, one-t third Of tie crop
" IS virtually sold before it was grOwu
that Of those who raise their own sup
plies, about eighty per cent. make a
profit by farming, and eight per cent.
lose. Again, it is found that about
seyenty-O one per cent. of the farmers
give daily personal supervision to their
farm labor, while twenty nine do not
also, that land is more rapidly ex-
hausted and gutted under the cropping
and renting system than when work, d
by wages labor. The report, accept
ing these returns rs rrfrcting tue ac-
tual situation, INDUCES the following
reflections:
We learn from the above that oniy
20 per cent o: the farmers buy entire
ly for cash, while those who buv on a
credit pay at the enormous rate Of II
per cent per annum interest on what |
they consume, amounting in the ag-
gregate, in the State Of Georgia, to the. |
astonishing sum of 81, 24D, ,O00-.tOur |
a1ld u p"ctI'tHl tliIiiO1t IDiitL.,s, paid by |
the farmers IN interest on what they |
consume. l. is remarkable that farm
I'M, is not prOtita ole umdt.r such sui
cidal policy? No leg innate business
can pay il per cent per auuum on the
capital nrcessaTY to conduct Is and live
Another instructive lesson taught bv
the above answers IL the fact that 80 !
per cent of those who raise their sup
plies make Il profit, while - per cent
of those who buy lose mOuey. L It us
I
lessons taught by them.
1st. Only 20 per cent OF the farmers
pay cash for what they buy.
ID. Those who buy on "A credit pay
al average of II per cent per annum
interest on the cash prices.
Sd. The farmers Of Georgia pay, in
interest of supplies nearly all of
which can be rai-e on their farms
the sum Of ! 1, $50 900, which is
2hlore than h0i Of the GOaldfd debt Of
Georgia, and is II per cent of the
value OF the entire cotton crop of the
State.
Among the remedial measures sug-
gested by the report, the farmers and
planters are recommended to cease
buying supplies that can be raised on
their farms, and at the same time to
reduce their planting down to a cash
basis to demand such tax upon Gogs
and such prot rction from their ravages
as will enable them to raise wool and
mutton, and thus at present utilize !
their at present waste or useless, lands;
also, to commence at once To provide
against the leaks which are sapping
their financial Ii e-biCod, by sowing
largely of grain, and especially of the
rust-fruot Oat, eatly Ill the fall, by
hu~banding all the lnallures
on the f,trm, undcr shelter, for Use in
comp''sting for the next season ; crops,
and 10y nkIng proper step towards in
crcpeIrg their fHc,lItIr,, for raising
stock. As to the "plugIIn of dogs.
the fnct i worth mentioning that with
only 80, l94 sheep in Georgia the an
nutl loss by THESE amin lis, vAIuIng tx"
he, y tt only 81 30 per head. Is i 3,
~. winch is IL mere trinn com pared
TO ttc amount lost to the State 10y til"
prevention of sheep raising.
IN" advice given to the Georgia
planters may be needed with advan-
t lg" by those of South Ctrolinl as
Well. Here, as indeed all over the
South, the reckless use of credit has
been tn" bane of the planting interest. |