Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1877-09-15

We Yesterday conver,ed with several
nlan,e,s from different portions Of this and
Bo,,ier parishes, and they all give the most
accounts of the cotton crop.
MANY of them say they will not make a thir"
u( n crop IA consequence Of the fearful raVases
NJ ,tp worms and the late destructive rams.
We are accustomed to hearing the cry oil short
crops every year, and particularly al this
SEASON. bat we never before saw men look so
vty,u,y aud utterly respondent as those wlti
whom We have conver>ed. One planter salu
,ba, ten DAYS ago he was confident he wouiu
make one hundred and fifty bales, bnt no"
lie did not expect 10 make more Than se'eh'y
five. The prospects four weeks ago Tor one vi
the largest crops ever grown were never
better, but now all those brilliant prospects, ~
far as this immediate section is concerned, are
blasted.-SherpoH Tunes
This is the universal cry all over the cotton
belt, and if the price of The staple remains as
i, is at presen, bu, few planters will realize on
their crop the cos, of making 1t. The pros
pee, Tor good crop was very promising unhi
about the first of August, when the co''on
commenced shedding, the rust broke out ana
the worms made their appearance, and men
the cry went up all over the land, The crop
is ruined there will not be hall crop maue'
etc, etc. All of which it appears 10 us
should teach our people that the cotton crop
i ,oo uncertain 10 be made the main DEEPEN
Jence of the planters; but they will never
heed the lesson Disaster may follow disas-
ter. year after year, but they will continue 10
folow the same old bea,er track, surrounded
H., ,..,s of fortunes. that stand out as monu-
men,s of the folly of depending entirely upon
one article of agricultural product anu COM
pl,;n n, Providence for the result oil their
own folly.
In one of the most productive countries on
Gods green earth, surrounded by all the con-
yenienccs Of easy, cheap and rapid 'ranspor'
,a,on. the people are growing poorer and
poorer every year. Ask them the cause anu
nine on, of ten will reply, "The overflow
taxation and planting cotton. 1t is true the
overflow is great disadvantage, but even
when we are overlooked we make about ''
GOOD crops as they do in most OF the S'a'e'
east of us, and much better than many OF
Them our taxes are bnrthensome, but moi as
heavy as those borne by people who cnI'i'a'e
soil not half so productive as ours. Inc
trouble is not in planting cotton as one OF the
principal crops, bu, in planting it to the excl"
sion of other sur.r and more profitable crops
that can be made in less time and with les
labor. Diversified farming is what TIL
country needs. Nearly every in'el'igen
planter we converse with agrees with US, ant
yet they pursue the same old course. WI
we cannot say, unless it is that the old tut
* worn so deep that it requires greater etfo'
to pull on, of it than they are willing to n
forth.
Under the present system of the employ
,us ment of labor-or any other, as to that
crop cali lie made remunerative that does NJ
Weld more than gross average OF $50 p'
"A acre on the land cultivated; and 1t does n
REQUIRE a very close calculation to prove tn
il is not safe to count any greater yield thu
This from co,,on-indeed we are not sure
'" tia, il is too large an estimate-but there a
bin crops that can be produced here which won
Weld mere than twice the money.
When we take into consideration the fac
''eI ,ha, i, requires the entire year to make
icy, gather the cotton crop, that the capital re1u'r
vel. to produce i, is mostly borrowed at the rate
ing 25 per cent interest and upward, and Il
'o' the yield is at las, so small, the wonder
=" no, that our planters are gradually grow
,on. poorer and poorer every year, but that M
ped of them have not been reduced to actual w
as long since; and they would have beer
.", any country less productiue, where Il
the would have to feed their stock at least !
rms the year.