The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-08-19
Value Of Cotton Seed.

cotton seed, we give a few important
facts, reported to US by practical plant
cr and valued correspondent. He says:
An old negro man, soon after the war
ended, rented land, hired mules at bale
of cotton each to cultivate it, and in the
usual manner got merchant to furnish
him with supplies to enable him to make
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 con-
tinued to do so ever since; and if he
has not sufficient quantity of his own
raising, he buys of others, and now he
has leased o tract of land for q term of
years, for which he pays annually twenty
three bales of cotton, owns all the mules
and horses lie uses, has plenty of cattle
and hogs, and money enough to buy
anything he wants, and does not owe any
man o cent. There is another tract of
land (school land in his vicinity, which
three years ago rented for $625. This
year it is rented for 5000 OF $3.50, and it
is doubtful whether the lessee will be
able to save himself at that. This is
fiat, level land, aud few years ago was
rich; but all the seed has been sold of.
of it, and now one-half of it is too poor
to raise anything, and is not planted at
all.
A few years ago I had piece OF red
clay land, Which / intended putting in
cotton. 1t had been cultivated the year
before by good worker, but the stalks
standing upon it were only from one to
two feet high, and l doubt if it made as
much as 200 pounds Of seed cotton per
acre. A friend Of mine advised me TO
run center-furrow and scatter about fiye
times as much sound seed in it as the
usual quantity planted and bed upon it;
this I did early in the spring, and planted
about the usual time of planting. 1
worked it well, the cotton grew six or
seven feet high, and made between 1000
and 1900 pounds of seed cotton per
acre.
One other case: Before the war there
was wealthy planter in the Yazoo
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. He gathered from
one baleto one bale and q half per acre.
Since the war the plantation has been
rented, and principally to negroes, who
sold all their seed except what they
wanted to plant. I was on the place in
the Fall of 1870, and frequently up to
1875. In 1870 the cotton rows were three
or three and half feet apart, and the
cotton about three feet high, and made
about one fourth of bale per acre. 1
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 te sell his seed, but put it upon
his land, and that be now made very near
bale to the acre. Now these are facts
within the knowledge of hundreds of
people in this county, and still we march
on to certain ruin, with full nowledge
of the inevitable results in the end.
Now I ask, will we continue in our
suicidal policy, or will we at once com
mence to take steps to remedy the evils
under which we labor, and pursue n
course that will lead us to prosperity and
happiness? l do not wish to injure any
persons in their business, but I 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 lis to buy other
fertilizers for our land. And no man will
doubt for moment that this can be
accomplished by o united effort of the
planters of this country. What say you,
Shall we try it'll. B., Bovinia, Miss, in
Planters Journal.