The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-04-22
Diref-sifN YOtfr Crops.

Moore's Rural New Yorker chimes in
with the rest of mankind, and advises
the south to diversity her crops, but does
not consider planting mere corn much of
diversity, because, forsooth, this would
glut the market. Well, for one we would
rejoice to experience that sort of glut.
1t would certainly sound as if the jubilee
had come in earnest, to hear it said that
there was no sale for corn in southern
markets, because every farmer grew more
than he could consume. The lien law
would then have to be repealed; wagons
would not have to be sent to the depots
in ploughing time; many creatures who
now sail under the nom de plume of mer-
chants would become Othellos; the
freedmen would feel saucier than ever,
and the tricky old mule would be young
again from kicking up his heels with de-
light that massa had corn in the crib.
Then, fellow farmers, suppose we try the
experiment of Quitting the southern
market with corn; it is not too late to do
30. You have your cotton land all
nicely prepared, but not yet planted.
Just appropriate one-third of it to corn
for experiment sake. Plant one row in
the cotton water furrow, and one row on
the bed; and this year you can test an
other experiment, to wit, will corn do
better on uplands planted in the water
furrow, or on the bed? But Moore's
Rnral says, corn is the poorest crop to
ton and harvesting is all done at the
same time. Well, this only shows what
the north knows about southern farming,
and how presumptous it is in them to
venture an opinion even. Every southern
farmer knows he can cultivate and gather
small corn crop on cotton plantation,
and never require any extra time and
but little extra labor. There are odd
times in the culture and harvesting of cot
ton, which cannot be more profitably
filled up than by cultivating small corn
crop. But let the Rural New Yorker
speak for itself: The oranges of the
southern states are moving quite gener-
ally to decrease the production of cotton
the coming year. So far as this means
the creation Of new industries it is
good movement. The south needs a
more diversified industry as the first step
towards prosperity. Undoubtedly the
attention of planters has been directed
too exclusively to cotton growing, and as
a result, the price is below a fair paying
rate. But we notice that the antitbesis
to cotton is almost always corn-if a
planter concludes to grow less cotton he
fills up the gap in production with corn,
rarely thinking of anything else. There
is just as likely to be glut of corn as
of cotton. In the west farmers always
have glut of corn, and the price there
is usually toe low for profit. Let the
southern planter, besides corn, grow
other grains, sheep, cattle, horses, and
fruits of all kinds suited to the climate.
In this way they will become really pros
porous and independent, as they cannot
hope to be on two crops more than upon
one. Corn, indeed, is the poorest crop
to grow in connection with cotton, as the
labor of cultivating and harvesting of
both comes at the same season of the
year. What is needed is an industry
which shall furnish employment in sea-
sons when, under the present system,
there is nothing to be done. This ought
to be more easy in the south than in our
more rigorous northern climate; but it
seems never to have teen done. Hence |
the general lack of prosperity of southern
planters.