The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1876-02-24
Produce Your Own Supplies.

- ~ hNpohO1 pNthiAbOtJ aus
adapted to agricultural pursuits. The
soil and the climate arc such as to
make the South emphatically farm
ing crountry. Tho former is either
rich and productive, or capable of
being made so. The latter is favora-
bic to the maturing of all fruits and
cereals found in the temperate zones,
and many of those found in tho torrid
zonc. Glover, and an almost endless
variety of grasses, suited both for pas
turage and long forage, grow and
flourish in most sections of the South.
Wheat, rye, barley, oats, peas, beans
and Indian corn do well; and in the
same region, cotton, hemp, flax, to-
bacco and indigo yield abundant crops.
With regard to fruits, the South can
boast of apples, peaches. figs, plums,
cherries, strawberries, raspberries and
grapes. No country in the world is
better adapted to the, production of
sweet potatoes than the South, and
the Irish potato yields, with little oul-
ture, enormous crops.
Wore these unvarnished facts stat
ed to one who had never been in the
Southern country, and were he told
in addition to these things that the
South abounds in magnificent rlvers
and beautiful lakes, he would con-
cludo that the Southern section of the
United States is the best portion of
the globe. He would conclude that
The people were surrounded by all the
comforts of life and enjoyed all the
luxuries of the world. He would i'm
agine that the cribs of Southern farm
ers were filed with corn, their gran
aries we'll stored with wheat, rye, bar
ley and oats; that their barns were
filled with the choicest hay, and that
their stables were filled with the finest
horses and mules, and their fields
with the finest cattle. He would
imagine that to every farm there was
attached an orchard filled with a vast
variety OF the choicest fruit. He
would also conclude that the table of
Southern farmer was loaded daily,
not only with the necesssties of life,
but was covered With tho choicest lux
uries. He would imagine that upon
it were placed dishes of the richest
butter and bowls of the purest milk,
and fruits of the most delicious flavor
and the sweetest taste.
Were such one to visit the South,
he would find things very different
from what he expected. On many
farms ho would find no rye, no oats,
no wheat, no hay, no corn, no bacon,
no butter, no milk, no orchard and no
meadow. He would find o few lean
mules and horses, and possibly poor
COW; but not a hog nor sheep. If in
what is called the cotton belt of the
South, he would SEQ cotton gin and
q few bales Of cotton. This and moths
ing moro. In this region he would
hoar them complaining Of bad crops,
the low price of cotton, the unreliable.
ness of labor, the high taxes, tho high
price of corn and bacon, and hard
timos generally. Notwithstanding all
that has been said in books and news
papers about the excolloncy Of tho
South as q farming country, he would
conclude that the South, in fact, judg~
ing from the practice of the farmers,
was we'll adapted to the cultivation of
but very few things. He would con-
clude that where cotton will grow
nothing else will grow. Such con-
clusion would be readily reached by q
stranger from the fact that in the re-
gion were he saw cotton growing he
saw nothing else cultivated. If ho
were told that the country is well
adapted to many other things, he
would bo prompted, by instinct, to
ask why then are these things not
cultivated2
This would bo sensible question;
and one which every farmer should
ask himself. If tho South can raise
corn, why does she have it sont to hor
from other sections of the country? If
the South can produce hor own sup
,,I;oa xui,, Jooo Oh - 80 IL $40