The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-01-02
DAVID DICKSON.
Some Practical Views ELECTED from tn,
Great Farmer.


Chronicle and C5nstitufiondiist has lately
visited Mr.. David Dickson, of Hancock
county, Georgia, who has long been con.
sidered the first planter in the South.
The following published account of the
correspondents interview with Mr.. Dick
son will be read with interest:
! Thinking a brief respite from TIE
monotony of II dull town would be both
healthfut and pleasant, your corrcsnon-
dent planned and executed Il vsi, to
Mr.. David Dickson.
Mr.. Dickson has long been considered
the first planter in the South. lie has
won his way to that proud distinction,
not by long spun theories, pcdd!cd out
III journals aud reviews, but by the de-
monstraton of practical success, which
is, after all, the true test :, t merit.
Mr.. Dickson is remarkable man,
considered from almost any point Of
view. His physical organization is tex
turally fine. His appearance is striking
and commanding. He would arrest the
eye in any assemblage of men. lie has
the broad, honest. intellectual, face of
the genuine Anglo Saxon, of which race
he comes. His cast of mind is hardy
and practical, ms is evinced by the great
prominence of the pcrccptivo organs
lie Is, cmIncntly, q man of affairs, view
ing all questions in the light of reason
and common sense.
Mr.. Dickson is one OF the few planters
of the South who has kept up the large
farming operations of ante brllum davs ::
aud notwithstanding the stringcncy of
the times and recent seasons OF droutl
has managed to make money on every
crop he has ever grown, with the single
exception OF the present year. His en-
tire farm, covering an urea Of 10000
acres, presents everywhere the appear
ancc of thrift and enterprise, in striking
contrast to the dilapidated and efIete
plantations contiguous 10 il. His fences
appear in good repair; neat and colnmo-
dious cabins dot his place from centre to
circumference. Water gins and saw
mills of the most approved pattern are
whirled by every stream that waters his
domains. Ponds five in nnmber), with
fish in abundance, and constructed Mt q
total cost of $50, 900, uplurn their silverv
faccs from between the hills, and in the
expressive language of Byron, "Warm
up with their stiffness, 10 forsake cartli's
troubled waters for purer spring." All
of these objects, combining the useful
and beautiful, render ride through Mr..
Dckson's farm most delightful and in
teresting pastime. Your correspondent
had the pleasure Of this jaunt in compa-
ny with the proprietor and took advan-
tagc of the time and occasion to ply him
with the following interrogatorics
"Mr. Dickson, you are the only plan
ter in the State who has farmed on an
extensive scale that has managed 10 keep
up. What do you attribute your success
to?"
"Well, I don't know, unless it is to
financiering. l make calculations and
steer clear Cf what don't pay"
do you expect to make large gains
now rs you did years ago?"
ooh, no. 1t is out of the question for
a farmer 10 make money now on hired
labor and the price of the products of
that labor. The price Of labor and the
other necessary expenses aggregate, in
most instances, more than the entire pro
duct of that labor will bring. expect
to get my rents"
What is your plan of rcnting?'
"We!l, / furnish the land. the acri.
cultural implements, the horse and its
feed, together with two-thrds of the
guano. The renter furnishes the labor
and feeds it, and one-third of the guano.
At the end of the year take two.thirds
of all of the crops, and give the laborer
one-third. In other words, rate the
land at one-third, the horse and its feed
and the agricultural implements, black
smithing, &C., Mt one ethird. and the labor
nj one-iilird and rent upon this princi-
pie. think this is the fiirest system Of
renting that can be devised"
"Who gathers the crop?"
"Of course the laborer does the gath
ering. I calculate that in ~ part Of the
labor. One of my hands not long ago
gathered his third Of the corn and left
my two-thirds standing in the field. AT
the end Of the year, he came back t
rent again. told him no, he had dug
his own grave. Yes, sir, the laborer
must perform the whole of his contract,
which includes the making and gather
ing of the entire crop"
What is the plan you would advise
the farmers to pursue another year,"
''In the first place l would advise
them to increase tho capacity of their
lands. Rich land is the best labor
saving machine know of for.the pres
ent generation and for posterity. Sec
ond, pay the laborcr, if he hires foi
wages, in the products of the land, then
he shares with you the loss occasioned by
low prices"
"What is hand worth for another
year2"
"Thc wny to estimate that is TO calcu.
late what an average hand will make M
average year. | calculate it this way
One hand will make three bales of cot.
ton, fifty bushels Of corn and three thou.
sand pounds of oats. Now, take the
third Of that and yon have what al
average hand is worth"
"liow is it you can sc. so much work
out Of your hands? | notice you cult.
vnie more Land 20 .hc i:!"", and 10 il
better than anybody c!se?"
, "Wcll, in the first place, try to ge
willing but active hands. | then take
. especial pains to train them to be ex
pe:ts-to do everything in the shorest
!, the best, the easiest and the most ellica
cious way. Why, there is skill in farm
ing rs there is in everything else. Be
fore the war, when made n specialt,
! Of it, my hands cut with more facility
, plowed with more accuracy, hoed m0r
1 rapidly and picked more cotton than an,
5 hands ever saw i trained them TO ii,
j, everything the right way and on scien
, tlic principles. OF course can't man
, age free labor so efficiently, but you cal
still sec some signs of my old method"
e "How is it you make so much more t
: the plow than anybody else?"
r "Well, if that is so, attribute it t
l two causes: First, cultivate more Ian
: TO the plow my system of shallow cul
ture, with broad sweeps, allows tha
r Second, my methods of cultivation an