The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1881-09-22
Corn vs.. Cotton Farming VS.. Cotton:
planting.
to's a. Moore, i'll Southern Farmers
a Mnnfbey

Ao1hilu5 duu COIGOu-pldHCInBJ anu i VIII
give my ideas to your readers, hoping
in he face, and may induce some of them
to change from all cotton to at least
mixed farming and planting. For years
the South has been told that it is suicid-
al to plant cotton to purchase corn,
meat, mules, horses and other things
needed by the planter, but all to no use
Tor each year the idea has been enter
famed ny every one that every one else,
save himself, would quit raising cotton.
ana that the price would be large and
ne would get rich, and last year the
price was remunerative, and all went in
Tor the last acre that could be cultiva4
ted, and ruin followed. And, 20 far as
the general prosperity of the country is
concerned, 1T makes no difference wheth
or the price of cotton is eight cents or
twenty cents. AS every dollar goes up
North to pay for what we buy. This
course will bring ruin and poverty as
sure as time runs.
The sun does not shine upon Io,a
nor never will, that became q nrosnor
Gus country. that depended entfreIy on
the plow and the hoe to make none, u'
Farming, even at best, paws but noor
wages, and the feet that the farmer
raises some stock and his own food ;s
his only chance for making monev> Tn
making the comparison between corn
and cotton, shall take the river bot-
tom OF the Mississippi valley, and SIM
pose the comparison will hold good in
other sections, and will take low mid
dIlng cotton as a sample, as that is the
quality we make. A good crop for a
good man that will put in his time woli
~ eight bales, or 1000 pounds lint cot
Ton the average is less than 5000, but
VIII take the largest crop). Low mid
dllng ls worth now in New Orleans nine
and one-fourth, which is eight cents net
-Four thousand pounds of cotton at oirbt
cents will be 1920. Now the same H.
Dor that it required to cultivate and
PICK this 1000 pounds of cotton will
make 1000 bushels of corn, worth now
III New Orleans sixty-thrce cents ner
bishel by the carload. Thi, corn can
be taken to New Orleans and put in tho
elevator by bargcs for six cents nor
bushel, and seven cents will more than
cover the cost of shelling and selling
leaving net profit of fifty cents Der
Dushe', or $500, making a difference Of
Nloo IN favor of the corn. Now if neos
were planted in the corn at the Last
pl"wlng they would ssfatten one hoo
10 eacn acre, making at least SIS peT
acre. But am aware that some plant.
erS Will say that they rent their land
"nu can get more net money Der acre
WIN cotton than with corn. If tbey
Will make a fair calculation of the cost
OF each and charge up to cotton the
waste or the negro and give the corn
tLeuiC ior the Improvement in the land,
then they will find that the corn pavs
oouole the rent that cotton does.
f., IN my vicinity planters are paving
81 per Dushel for corn on credit, pay.
able out of the next fall crop. II cot.
ton should sell for seven cents net i
Will require II 2-7 pounds of cotton to
pay tor one bushel of corn. IF a man
can exchange his 1000 bushels of corn
ior cotton at these figures, he will oct
lf,'o pounds of cotton for his cron of
corn, or about thirty-six bales of cotton.
IN other words, we send thirty-six bales
"l c"Ct"h up North to pay for the corn
''i'I one man can make Is there onv
wonder that we are as poor as q church
mouse, and Bill Arp is about right when
ne says, ~ am Altered we are a nation
of fools" Z" ''''oii
mere has long been an impression IN
North, and even in the South. that we
can raise stock to profit--that we have
no grasS-can't feed stock-that the flies
are 100 bad-that we have too MANY di-
seascs; while the fact is, we have more
ana ana better grasses than the North has
we can raise hogs, cattle, sheep, mules
ana horses for one-half the cost that it
requires up North. And to fatten the
stock tor market, it can be done with
peas even on the poor land of GcOrria
,or less m ney than it can be done i'm the
North, and while we are raising stock
we are improving our lands instead of
wearing them out
am well aware there is strange fas.
rihatlon in planting cotton. We see in
the spring that $40 bale, and ten bales
OF cotton to the hand, but from some
cause We an't,see the expense attending
the making of the crop.
A few days since I saw nm article in
IN Iowa paper telling of the sale of
seVenty.tive hogs by one mun. all of his
own raising and fattening, for 1887, or
about three times as much as can be
made by one man cultivating cotton. I
see also an item in the New Orleans
Times OF a planter who fatiened GOC
mead OF hogs, making 10000 pounds of
pork, which he sold for 81, 500, nearly
the whole of which was net profit. Had
he made this into bacon, it would be
worth now $4,000, which is nice in,
come.
Brother planters, there is an easie,
ana better way to make money than by
planting cotton to buy meat and bread