The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1881-10-20

! PROSPEROUS FARMER.

recent lnterVIc" WV" O ON''"
reporter, he said:
After the war ! had some money
and considerable property and hired
every negro that | could get my
hands on !; bought stock and CONS
menced farming on a grand scale,
cultivating every acre that ! had
and doing everything loosely. In
few wears | bad nothing but my
land and was seven thousand dollars
in debt. then went to DIR. More>
land, told him my condition aOd said
! must have seven thousand dollars.
He agreed to lend it to me and ad.
vised me TO buy more mules ana
hire more labor and cultivate more
land. But | had seen the folly OF
my ways, and changed my farm
from twenty-five horse to two
horse farm and determined to culti'
yste what did cultivate 10 the best
style. | planted about twenty-five
acres 10 cotton and made it average
over a bale to the acre. COM
menced raising my own cOrn,wheat,
rye, oats, etc, and improving the
little land | had reserved.
1t was that 10 three years instead
of losing money, as heretofore, had
improved my place and paid back
almost the whole of the 81 900 that
| had borrowed. This is my fifth
crop since !. reduced my farm and |
am now entirely out of debt, have
improved my home and buildings
and farm and when this crop is mar
keted will have a comfortable SUR
plus. There is no trouble in making
money in Georgia if the farmer will
only work inteligently.
Last year | made within two bales
of bale and a half to the acre. This
year | will average nearly bale
and a half to the acre. Here is a
certificate from two responsible gen.
tlemen showing that on three acres
of land have this year raised eight
bales of cotton, and gathered 10 their
presence 2,502 pounds of cotton per
acre, and had already gathered 900
pounds per acre, making up to date
4,l03 pounds. This cotton was
weighed with not even dew on it,
and / have got $50 pounds of top
cotton per acre, as they estimate,
in addition to what l have gathered,
and could make every acre that |
have planted in cotton this year
yield the same amount per fc"e as
this patch of three acres. | was
not able to give it all the same cul>
tivation, but shall Increase my ems
tensive farming over more acres ev|
cry year.
My cotton costs me less than three
cents a pound. Comptroller Gems
eral Goldsmith and some gentlemen
took the figures for my crop of three
years ago and estimated the cost
They figured it at q cents a pound
| am satisfied that | have not raised
any cotton since | reduced my farm
that cost me over three cents 1
pound.
The crop of last year was baset
on twenty-one acres. The labo
used was three boys valued respect
lively at seventy five dollars o yea
and board for one, and forty dollar
year and board for the other two
together with seventeen dollars wortl
of day lsbor-two of the boys being
too young to do good blowing. Thu
total cash cost OF labor was SIP
This includes the labor of ny sons
The land was MANFRED with a ton
and half of Etiwan dissolved bone
composted with domestic manures
and cotton seed. The cost OF the
dissolved bone was 500, of the cot.
ton seed which were used at the
rate of 80 bushels to the acre, $63,
the compost nothing, making a total
expense for manure of $l53. Be
sides the labor in making the crop,
had to pay for picking half of it at
the rate of seven dollars q bale,
amounting 10 S9S. The three boys
did extra jobs about the house,
did the milking, and it may be est,
mated that their board was worth,
outside of this, $50 or Sl06 for the
three. The total cost of the crop
therefore on the = acres was 1881.
Off of this land gathered 4,404
pounds of cotton, or IS bales of 5le
pounds each, making the cost of cul'
tivation . cents per pound. | held
this cotton until the spring, and sole
it at ten cents a pound to b. G
Swanson, of LaGrange, making ST.
446 or S9l7 net profit, or about S4,
per acre. Besides this the hand
that cultivated the cotton made 100
bushels of wheat of which | sold l0(
bushels at 81 20, 800 bushels of corr
and about $500 pounds of fodder
500 bushels of oats. | hired some
labor to harvest these crops.
LII On .a:nht Ln, hnnn .nA.o: