Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1884-09-30
Resources Of the South.

In a newly published work entitled
sFarm and Factory" by Prof. j. X. Dodge,
statistician OF the department OF agrlcul-
ture, there is very interesting chapter on
the resources of the south, including It's
mineral treasures and it's facilities for man.
ufacturing industry, as well as the advan-
tages of soil and climate which fit it for a
varied agriculture. The following are a
few of the facts to which Mr.. Dodge calls
attention: The territory lying between the
Potomac and the Rio Grande, including
eleven states, is + fully three and half
times the size of France OF Germany. Its
surface is diversified by mountains, it's soil
of great variety. including unfathomed
alluvial deposits, it's rainfall abundant ana
seasonable, it's rivers source OF untalllng
water power, and its climate mild and
healthful. Coal, iron and long hst OF
minor minerals are found in great album
dance, and mined at little cost. In the cen
tire of Alabama are hills so rich IN iron that
two selected tons of ore will make one ton
of pig iron, while there is abundant coal
near by, and limestone for f1uXlng purposes.
The live oak, the southern pine, the cypress,
the black walnut, the wild cherry, the
sswhite oak' poplar, and great variety
of cabinet woods as well as of those used in
the industrial arts and in building, and the
demands of commercial and manufacturing
enterprise,
The population of this favored region,
amounting to 17.7 per square mile, is only
one-ninth as dense as that of Germany and
only one-twenty ninth as dense as that OF
BELGIUM. The farm area Of this great dis
trict embraces AZ per cent. OF the whole.
but not more than one acre in ten out OF
the whole area of the south renders actual
service in agriculture. There are now
growing in these eleven states about II
million acres in cotton and nearly "a mil
lions in corn. Thus almost four-fifths OF
the tillage is in these two crops. sit is too
large proportion says Mr.. Dodge, sand
the earnest and persistent endeavor OF south
ern farmers should be to enlarge this mis-
cellaneous fifth to full third at very ear
" day. There is no part of the United
States where such variety is possible in
agriculture as in the States of the South"
The aggregate value Of farm products in
| 1879 was $547, 567, 526, exclusive of meats
and of the milk and fruits consumed in the
families of the producers, which, as Mr.
Dodge intimates, would raise the total to
$770,00O, 900, or $50 per capita. This is
nearly $4,000 per family for those engaged
in agriculture and should be largely in
creased by greater variety VI PAouea0oio14,
more effective labor.saving implements
and advancing progress in scientific agri-
culture. The best results in agriculture
can, however, meyer be fully attained with
out progress pari passu in the other branch
es of industry.
AS an indication that such progress'is be-
ginning, Mr.. Dodge refers to the. recent ex-
tension of cotton manufacturing in Virginia,
the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Ten
nessee, in which cotton mills have been
erected the present year costing from $780,,
900 to 100000 each, and requiring in the
aggregate many millions of dollars OF CAPT.
tai Between January and May, 1884,
southern investments in new manufacture
ing and mining enterprises, as reported by
the Mamuf acturer's Record, amount to over
fifty-five million dollars, of which eleven
are placed in Kentucky, nearly the same in
Alabama, nine in Virginia and six in Texas,
with smaller investments in Georgia, North
Carolina and other states. They include
iron companies, cotton and WOODEN mills,
flour mills, saw mills, machine shops,
woodworking, cotton manufacturer is
shown by the facts that 331, 900 bales were
taken last year by southern mills as against
1890 bales in 1880. while their present
consuming capacity is estimated at ,0oO
| bales Der annum.