St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-10-07
Two Agricultural Systems.


monopolist, who owns in one body 49,
900 acres, and appears to be doing his
best to reduce the soil from its original
tirst-class standard for grain to poverty.
The temptation to this execrable abuse
of the land is a present income of 60 pc:
cent. on the invested capital, with GER
tain prospect that the profits per aero
will every year diminish till the average
production of wheat shall not more than
suffice to pay the average yearly eN-
pense OF raising it. This year he has
80, 900 acres in wheat all looking well
and promising yield up to the esti-
mates-22 bushels per acre. The ag-
gregate yield of 5000 acres at this rate
will be 1000 bushels. 1t costs, in
GLIDING interest on capital, wear and
tear of machinery, implements and
horses, wages of labor, taxes and all,
35 cents bushel to lay this wheat down
at the cars for shipment. 1t costs 80
cents to transport it by rail to the At
lantic seaboard market, where the aver
age price, one year with another, does
not exceed $1.25 per bushel. This
leaves the producer a net profit of So
cents on every bushel of his wheat, after
deducting the costs of production and
transportation. The net profit per acre,
at 90 bushels, is Sl2.76. Let us call it
Sl275 That makes the Dalrymple
wheat farm of 55, 900 acres in crop this
year stand to clear S446.25O. This is
the bright side of the picture. Now let
us take the dark side.
The crop is wheat every ye.a- After
five years of such cropping the average
yield will fall from p to not over II
bushels per acre. 1t will cost just as
much to produce these IA as it now
does to produce % bushels-35 cents
bushel, or $40 an acre. The trans
portation at 80 cents a bushel will be
e4. 43 an acre. Add this to the cost Of
production and we have total cost OF
SIPS per acre. The value of IA bush
els or the average product per acre at
$1.25 per bushel at New York, is
$3.50. Deduct S12.lS as the cost of
production and tsanspo tation, and we
have left clear profit of but 1912 per
acre. Every fifth year may safely be
counted on as total failure, from the
lavages of locusts, grasshoppers or
drought. In such years the 80, 900 acres
would be dead loss Of S269,O to the
cultivator. 1t is equal to 20 per cent.
deduction from the ave age crop of
each of the five years. 1t reduces the
average net profit ON q yield of IA
bushels per acre to $40 per acre.
The ave age of IA bushels is above the
general average Of the country one
year with another. Lands as good as
the best i'll Dakota, cultivated every
year in wheat for ten years, do not in
Gallo MIA, Illinois, Kentucky or Iowa
average over II bushels per acre. unless
they are strengthened by liberal manur-
ing Eleven bushels per acre, deduct
ing cost of production, $40 per acre,
and cost OF transportation, 1926 per
are, would leave the producer a net
profit of but $253 per acre. At this
rate the net profit on $4,000 acres would
be but SSS,55O a year; in four years.
1856. 200. Deduct the total failure OF
the fifth year at a cost of $40 per
acre, $3.50, 5O0,an there is left only a
clear profit of $84,5O tor the five
years; which is but $4,000 year, or
less than so cents an acre. This is not !
equal to p per cent. on the capital in
vested in such d farm. Nor do we be-
1ieve that land monopoly farme: s. in
this or any other StatesfhaVe done much
better than this in cycles of ten years.
What they realize for the first four
years when the land is fat, they lose
in the last six years when the land has
become worn out and poor n q AZ
The system of small farming with ro-
tation and divcrsifcationio crops not
only saves the original strength of the
soil. but improves it. A farmer who
has in this State one hundred acres,
ty in grass and tie retnaining thirfyin
roots and graita can, sitter tie seventh
year. realize $50 an acre from his vines,
1920 an acre from his orchard, $50 an
acre from the mich cows his meadow
will support, and average 1875 an acre
from the rest. His, vine crop will get
better and better every year for the /
next twentygyears, and all his acres Wilt
be improved and enriched by that system
of cultivation. In cycle of fifteen
years he will be able to place more
money in bank from his farm Of one
hundred acres than the average large
wheat farmer who cultivated ], zoo acres
in wheat during all those years.
The counties easgricultural pros
perity is greatest are, those Of the snaa
farms; those ID which agriculture Il
most declining are the counties of large
land monopoly. France has more farms
than the United States. and she is the
most prosperoass in her agricultural in
dustry OF all nations. In France SO out
of every 100 ofthe people live by agri-
culture. In England but 26 out of ev-
cry 1907 in; the United States but AZ.
In France; 1875, there were 1870, O0O4
farmers, owning the land they cult
waited. The whole area of the country
is but l3O, 673,2 8O acres. Deduct one
tenth for mountain and water, and the
area cultivated was 1865, 952 acres.
Divide that by 4, 100000 farms, and we