Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1876-04-22
" HOLE no. 3Sl.

ges,ed. imperl-crIy as those suggestions have
been made, how many thousands If dollar.
do you suppose wnnid be- aidcd 10 tins neigh.
b"rh,ul hy its increased ptonurtiv-ness IN
the course ur even two ycutss Lc, him an.
s~er the question who can.
WhIe upon this branch of INV subject |
feel tempted ,u give You little nf IN, .Xpe>
ri"we in farming. II j., an old saying and a
very rruc one, that what Is worth doing al
all, II worth dong we'll and in no avocation
in life doe, this principle apply with more
"I"e than In farming. Among the ,nsnr
important things 10 be observed IN ia. piant-
iriI and cultivation OF crops, if there is any
one thing which kn0u, from personal ol,."r-
vat'o,, III be more essentially important than
anything else, il is ths.--ne,c to plant unrI
y"u are ready. in other words, the proper
preparation OF the soil tor the reception OF
seed, and the careful planting of those seed,
are the main things io he observed aud as n
general rule, neglect morc frequently prevails
in this respect than in any other and II is
often owing y ilIIs fatal error that failures
occur.
Manure well where i, is needed -,nl i, -
! fare iha, il is not re1niir'!lhcn plough deep.
puivrrIzc your ground Thoroughly, aud pisn,
your seed carefully, and in most instances, the
crop is more than h0if made. Again, the
sln,os, universal use Of the turning pluw in
the cultivation Of our lands VIC G-rn, an
I error There are, Of course, receptions n
general rules; and some SEASONS are 81 wet
That no other implement Will answer our
purposes. But in ordinary SEASONS, after the
, ,and has been III rouSh;y prepared, n,d 'he
crop carefully planted, We contend that, in
our lands, the urning plow is not only ur-
necessary but positive INJURY. Three years
GU, Of five. the grea, difficulty we have TO
encounter is the excessive drough, in July
and August. Now, What is the plan g-ner-
! ally pur.uodf The crop is planted Oh
ridge-and this is we'll enough, for in cVns.
+, quencc Of the heavy rams which We gener
ally have IN the spring We can plant success.
! fully in nu other way--but instead Of trying
! TO work that ridge down, so as To exclude the
heat Of The sun, 1t is kept banked up by the
! constant use Of this po~-,he morning sun
! pouring the full force OF us rays upon one side
! of 1t ami The evening sun upon the orhc',
until il is b,ked through and this plow NOT
, only tears to pieces the young and tender
rootiets of the plant, bu, mrn. them up to the
action vi the sun, that they may l,c. in their
turn. cooked also How much better to use
! the shovel aud scooter by which the ridge i.
worked down, the ground is made level. the
soil as il is broken, falls hack 10 its place, the
rov,s are not exposed 10 the sun, but 10y being
kept buried ia the earth, they take ires!,
hold and flourish.
Sweeps and barrows, two VI the best cnl
uvating implement. that have ever been pu,
into a field, are beginning To he discarded
and pronounced by many useless. Why
Simply because tie soii. IA the preparation
for crop, IS, in many instances, only hall
prepared ploughed sometimes one, and
generally only about TWO inches deep No
wonder they are useless. The most scientific
and successful farmers in the county, have
demonstrated the fact that tho best general
plan for successful cropping consists in deep
thorough preparation and surface culure.
Now. wha, shall we say shout cotton Il
has been the burthen OF nearly every grange
speech that has ever been made in this State
consequently. ] shall say but little abou, il
and fear that nothing which ] conld say
would have any effect, for it does seem that
our people are obduratc lin this thing
"Ephraun is joined 10 his IDOL" With the
fact staring them in the face that they are
yearly growing poorer by planning li,ilc else
than cotton, they still continIc the same ruin
ous course, working blind.y, in the vain hope
that something will eventually turn ur in the
world Of cotton 10 relieve them. They car
see noibing outside OF cotton. How many
members Of this grange have kept, during ih.
past year, an accurate account, and can tel
how mucl, per pound it has COS, them .o max,
cotton. We venture the assertion that yer,
large proportion OF the cotton made in The
l.il al, L..
cost the producer more than il has ne,tcd hin
in New Orleans.
Pursuing the same .nlicc we would inouir.
how many mcubrrs oI this grange keep
regular account with their farms. and can iei
what each individual crop has co., him
We will 60 further. Do not think that ",
wish 10 insult you. But how many OF yot
keep even a general cash account, and ca,
tell, at any time, how much money YOU ar,
spending, How else can you tell wha, yo,
are doing! No man, ! care no, what hi
business, can conduct tina; business vi lih prof
aud satisfaction without a regular system o
accounts. There is nothing which contribute
more to ecouolny in living; and withou
, economy, the planting community &c ,hi
country will never FREQ themselves from ih
incubus Of debt wbjcl. cru.hcs them 10 In
earth.
: In an address delivered al Midway Ia.
, summer, We took occasion to urge upon pa,
rons tho absolute necessity Of living free o
, debit anil We cannot cUnseni 70 let tn: oI
, poriun,y pass without urging the same thinS
, Had We 4 voice so sicntoran as 10 be hear,
! from >ne extremity of our State to III: other
we would. in one loud cry, which shout
arouse every farmer within its borders, spea
= TO them in thunder tones-as you value tn
welfare OF thOse dcpenden, up you, rs w
regard your own peace OF mind, in the nam
OF all that is good, we imPlore you to ol'e
y the scripture injunction 70 "owo 10 man m
. thing You complain Of the low price
:. cotton. Well. in debt as you are, how 81
YOU to avoid il! Your cotton is pledged ~
;, it i, spent before it is made. You fave 4
!. voice in fixing is price. Suppose evei
!, patron in the State of Louisiana were ont
:, debt, how long would it be before you cou
!, dictate the price Of your cropi Suppose ,h
!, what ws here recommend had been practice
!, ~ the farmers oil this region f,r the past Fl,
;. years, what might be the condition o! Del
:, nuwl Her population should be Today iul
;, two thousand. You have u si,ua,ion who
eligibility is surpassed by none in the Sout
West In the heart Of as fnc a region
" lands ., the sun ever shone upon, immediate
:. qp . railroad which is destined To become
a, grea, highway 10 the Pacific, aud possessi
a natural site as bcsu,iial as hear, could wish
70 what is 10 oprcven, Delhi from being, in I,
!. course OF ten years, city with 50Oo a. 60
!. inhabi,an,sl There should he to-day, in II
a, town = cotton factory, a shoe factory, a wag
II factory and Touring mill. Do you say II
, wo canno, raise wheat, We reply by sayi
Il tina, the first year Of the war, your hunt
:. speaker made. in small way, upon 10
>, bayou, a heavy crop Of excellcn. whe
.. One Of his neighbOrs did the same thing a
a, that same year, line heat was n,sto uI
~ the MACON Hills above Floyd.