The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1877-05-18
ran sa1AD suPrIH AND THE RUSSIAN

European war panic is something remark
,h!e.i ,If the report ofths United States ag-
ricultural bureau is to be credited the stock
of This country is not half of that in the cor
responding period IN the last calendar year.
1t is not agreeable 70 reflect that among the
( natural causes to which much of this must
DO attributed are the grasshopper devasta-
tions in the wheat growing States OF the
northwest. The problem Of the possible Ca
pacity of the grasshopper for destructiveness
is serious one, especially at this season of
the year, and emphatically, in view of the
demands which may be made upon us from
abroad. At the same time the culture of
wheat has not made such progress here as
other grains, such as corn, oats, barley,
buckwheat, rice, and rye. Perhaps, on the
whole, this may be smstter Of congrftqlar
,,tion, SO far as tho consumption In our own
country is concerned, and after all that is
the main matter to be looked after. This
subject is of practical interest everywhere
in the United States, and especially in the
South. Almost everybody in that region
buys bread.
The Petersburg (Va.) nder expresses
the belief that great deal OF the Hour con-
sumed even in Petersburg, surrounded as it
is with grist mills and water falls, is brought
from the West and North. A correspou-
dent of that journal suggests that the ada
cent country, which was once famous for the
grain it raised, should once more turn its
attention to that cultivation. The North
west, which will furnish Europe with bread
stuffs, may be made rich by the European
war, and the North and Fast gain from the
demand for arms, clothing and supplies, but
the cotton and tobacco of the South must
suffer, and the South will have to pay war
prices for meat aud breadstuffs unless she
devotes her fertile soil to the supply of her
own wants in these respects. While the
South may not be able to compete with the
great grain areas of the West and North
west, it ought to raise enough for its own
consumption, aud thus avoid paying the in
creased rates which breadstuffs of all kinds
will command ia the North till the war is
over. The Mdec revives the tradition that
when Commissioner Blair, of Virginia, and
his associates, went to England in 1890 in
the interests Of William aud Mary College
of that State. Attorney General Seymour re-
ceived them with the ungracious counsel:
"D-n your souls, raise tobacco" 1t Is
good deal better and more Christian advice
now to the planters of the South-bless your
souls, raise corn and meat and whatever else
is necessary for the support of your house
holds
All wars, as We have already shown,
bring want and ruin in their train, except
to the speculatirg buzzards, who fatten up
on the corruption and decay. What should
be our first object is to supply food for our
own population. So far as the wheat culture
cac accomplish this object and leave SUI
plus to supply the foreign demand, it should
be raised, although it has deadly enemies
in the Hcssian fly, the wcvil and other de-
structivc insects Maryland is we'll adapted
to the permanent culture of wheat, and, in
stead of rcceding westward, it might be
centralized upon the Atlantic seaboard so as
to enable:the country to command the wheat
markets of the world. At the same time
we do not accept the assertion that the uni
vcrsal demand of civilized men is for wheat
bread, or, if it is So, his civilization perverts
his taste so as to make him look upon that
which is merely pleasing to the eye and
luxurv as more important than other food
portion or the human family 1t supports to
wheat. 1t is in some parts of India the
chief agricultural produce, and is the prin-
cipal support of the vast population of China.
tits extensively cultivated in parts of Africa,
in Southern Europe, in the tropical coun-
tries of fNorth'and.S South America, and while
it has fourished especially in the Carolinas,
has been found as far north as Virginia, and
sometimes Maryland.
Maize, or Indian corn, is of American
origin, and was not introduced in the old
world until after the discovery of the new.
1t is estimated that maize is eaten by a
greater number of human beings than any
other grain except rice its analysis shows
it to be admirably adapted to sustain life
and to furnish material for the growth of
both human beings and domestic animals.
1t furnishes large share of the brcadstuffs
Of our farming populations, and although
bat little consumed in cities, it largely con.
tributes to the support of city populations in
the way Of meats, poultry, butter, &c. Ac-
cordng to the federal census the United
States produced more than 76O,944,549
bushels Of Indian corn in 1870. Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio
and Tennessee are the chief corn producing
States, though the Southern States are more
remarkable for the superior quality of their
corn. In those States it is more general
article of diet than elsewhere, and is so pre-
pared as to make it as palatable as wheat.
We, therefore, invoke our fellow citizens
of the South to diversity their agriculture
and place the production of corn, wheat
and rice among their leading industries
The Philadelphia North An,crican, one of
the leading Republican papers of the North,
says: "Unless some change shall occur in
the agriculture of the country, the prospect
now seems to be that the South, which, be-
fore the war, was dependent upon the North
for its necessary articles Of food will hncnme