The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1881-11-19
COMPLIMENrARY TO SOUTHERN
rARMERa.

Inc IOlIOWlng from tne 81. LOUIS
Republican is SO complimentary to
the intelligence and skill of the South
ern cotton planter, that we cannot re-
frain from publishing It:
Agriculture In the South is almost
as rude as 1t was In Egypt three thou
sand years ago. The Implements and
methods that prevail are of the clun-
siest and most ineffective kind, con-
trasting strikingly with the effective
machinery and processes by which
three men on an Illinois or Missouri
farm do as much labor as ten men
could do a generation ago. If raising
cotton is profitable In the rude and
wasteful manner now followed In
Georgia and Alabama, what would it
be II subjected to the more thorough
system OF cultivation that prevails In
the Northwest? The annual cotton
crop in the South is 100000 to 9, OOO,-
600 bales. If Southern cotton fields
were ploughed, planted and cultivat-
ed next year as Illinois corn fields are,
the crop would be 10000, 900 bales.
The average yield of cotton in the
South is. one-third of bale to the
acre.
The Egyptians 1900 years ago used
wooden ploughs, If we are not mis-
taken, and we have iron and steel i'm
plements, that is some difference.
Metropolitan journalists very often
write articles, which. because they
come from big city paper, are
thought to be written by solons. The
writer of the above evidently knew
very little about what he was writing.
We think generally there is about as
much intelligence among the South
ern cotton planters as you will find
among the grain and wheat farmers
of Illinois end Missouri. We have a
large colored population here, of
course, who have very little know.
ledge Of practical and none of the
oretical farming, but where their ef-
forts are directed by white intelligence,
make very good showing.
We remember soon after the war,
what a number Of men from the
North came here to raise cotton.
They brought their gang plows
and labor saving machinery, and ex-
pected to raise cotton in the South like
they did corn and wheat ON the prai- I
ries Of the West. But they had to en-
counter stumps and hills here which J
they did not have at home.
Finally their labor saving imple-
ments had to be thrown aside for the
hoes and common pillow. In few
years impecuneous they left their un-
profitable cotton fields and labor saw
ng machinery, disguised with the
and bankrupted.
II successful implement to hoe h
'otton by steam or horse power could v
'e invented-or machine for picking t
otton In the same way-then all II
Jumps removed and our hill lands U
urned into broad and level prairies, \
hen we might talk about introducing n
team plows and labor saving ma
hinery into our cotton fields, but till 1t
hen we must put up with the idea Of ia
eing Southern ignoramuseses.
We hope that day will never come h.
he Southern farmer raises too much W
otton now. Ten millions of bales of
otton would bring starvation upon us. "a
We believe labor saving implements he
,uId be introduced successfully into
nr corn, and potato and sugar cane
elds-but the more cotton we raise ("
ie poorer we get.
We expect soon to write an article lie
rawing comparison between some
the skillful farmers of the West and an
Mississippi, and we will see how they pc
i'll bear the test.