The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-08-25

Ia further illustration of the value Of cot
ton seed, we give i few important facts, re
ported to Us by a practical planter and
valued correspondent. He says An old
negro man. soon after the war ended, rented
land, hired mules Mt bale of cotton each
To cultivate il, aud in the usual manner got
a merchant to furnish him with supplies to
enable him to make a crop. The old man
concluded it was best 10 be governed by his
old masters ways, and instead of selling his
seed, put them back upon his land, and has
continued to do 50 ever since and If he has
not sufficient quantity of has Ggn raising
he buys of others, and now he has leased a
riact Of land for term of years, for which
sac pays annually twenty -three bales of cot
ton, owns all the mules and horses he uses
has plenty Of cattle and hogs, and money
enough to buy anything he wants and does
not owe any man cent. There IS another
tract of land (school iand) in his vicinity
which three years ago rented for 1928. This
wear il i rented for $500 or $3.50, and it Is
doubtful Whether the lessee will be able to
save himself ut that. This Is fat level
Sand snd few years ago was rich; but all
the seed has been sold OFT of it, aud now one
half oft is too poor to raise anything, and
Is not planted at ali.
A few years ago, | had 9 piece Of red clay
land, which | intended putting in cotton.
Ii had been cultivated the wear before by a
good worker, but the stalks standing upon
il were only from one to two feet high, and
/ doubt if it made rs much rs 200 pounds
of seed cotton per acre. \ friend of mine
advised me 10 run Il center-furrow and scat
fer about five times as much sound seed in
1t the usual quantity planted and bed
upon it; this | did early IL the spring, and
planted about the usual time OF planting. /
worked it we'll, the cotton grew six or seven
feet high, and made between 200 and ], POO
pounds seed cotton per acre.
One other case Before the war there was
a wealthy planter in the Nazoo valley, in
this county, who owned several hundred
acres of rich bottom land, above overflow.
He had all his surplus seed put on his land,
and had his cotton rows from eight to ten
feet apart. The cotton grew from seven TO
nine feet high and locked in the middle
lie gathered from one bale TO one bale and
n half per acre. Since the war the planta-
ton has been rented and principally to ne
groes who sold all their seed except what
shey wanted to plant. ] was on the place
in the fall of 1870, and frequently up TO
1873. In 1870 the cotton rows were three
or three and half feet apart, and the cot
ton about three feet high and made about
one-fourth of a bale per acre. ] saw an old
negro man last fall who has been on the
place since 1870, who told me that for the
last three years he has refused to sell his
Se6Q. but put II upon MS Ianu, anu LldI he
now mat.e very near a bale TO the acre. Now
these are facts within the knowledge of hun
dreds of people ii. this county, and still we
march on to certain ruin, with a full knowl-
edge of the inevitable results in the end.
Now l ask, will we continue in our suicidal
policy, or viii we at once commence 10 take
steps to remedy the evils under which we
labor, and pursue course that will lead us
TO prosperity aud happiness? do not wish
70 min ~ hr.s
| regard the oil mills as the prime cause of
our poverty in the South. And it does seem
to me that the planters ought to refuse to
permit the seed TO be sold to the oil men, or
force them to pay fair value for them, to
enable rs to buy other fertilizers for our
land. And no man will doubt for a moment /
that this can be accomplished by a united
effort of the planters of this country. What
say you, shall we try it IL. B., in Planters
Journal.