Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-07-14
Cotton or Corn.

To the Editors of the Appeal:
Editors of all kinds of newspapers--re-
ligious, secular, agricultural and scientific
urge upon US cotton planters the propriety
of our cultivating diversified crops, and ex-
hibit 10 us our folly in growing "all cotton
As there is but bare living made in raising
cotton, ii ia fair presumption that intelli-
gent farmers land there are some of these
among us) have read these structures, pom
dered on their wisdom, and tried in ways,
more or less feeble, TO better matters BY
taking the advice. The expense of pork
when purchased is great, and as it is an ab-
solute necessity it is reasonable to suppose
that every intelligent farmer in the South
would try and grow his own meat. and l
venture 10 say that there are but few of them
who have not tried to do so, bat also
venture to assert that until the moral status
of the laboriug classes of the South is eie-
waited much above what it Ia, and NAV add
their religion changed, ii will be cheaper TO
buy pork than to raise it. You may lock
up your pork, but you cannot lock up your
hogs, and at The present time land 50 il has
been ever since the war; hogs running loose,
irnit in orchards, vegetables and melons in
gardens and corn in unlocked cribs are re-
garded as common property, and the moral
sense of the community al large does not
condemn the robber half so earnestly as il
ridcules the fool who can't take care of his
properly. One hundred acres in corn will
net as much IS an equal quantity OF land in
cotton, and requires one-ihiTd of the time
and money which the latter does, hence it is
reasonable TO suppose that sensible planter
would prefer to put his and 10 corn, but IN
fortunately be is met by difficulty at the
very start. In the early part of the year the
farmer makes his arrangem -nts for his crop;
if he IS reliable man, with a fair reputs-
4 nav m =fe nd
be finds no difficulty In getting all the labor
he requires, either -hare- croppers renters or
hired laborers, prorided, he proposes TO cuIti-
vate cotton; for the simple reason that the
cultivation and gathering Of a crop of cotton
furnishes work and consequently pay during
at least ten months of the wear. If he an
nounces his purpose of raising nothing but
corn which will require but three months to
cultivate and one month 10 house, four
months in all, be will go without hands. A
farmer who raises only small proportion of
corn il often in a quandsry about getting it
gathered when ripe, because just at that
Time contemplating is in season and offers
larger pay than corn can afford; neverthe-
less the farmer finds it to his interest
to raise enough for his own necessities
Newspapers, and particularly those de-
voted to agriculture, should give farming
people credit for little sense about their
own business. 1t would be as wise TO advise
and insist on the bootmaker making his own
hats to save buying them from the hat
maker, az to advise the planter 10 raise
articles which he can buy cheaper than be
can raise. In all businesses of the world
profit is to be found in con6niDg energy,
skill and attention 10 specific objects, and
the cotton planter hnds it 10 mia interest TO
use his utmost skill ia producing those
articles which will net him the largest profit.
OF course this argument does not apply to
prevent farmers from raising their own veg
etables and other articles which can be pro-