The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1884-03-26
Wednesday. March 26, 1884.
Men who have Succccded--T. c. j. :
His Views and Methods on His
Farm.

Men who have Succccded--Y. c. j. .
His Views and Methods on His
Farm.
The subject of this short sketch, famil'
jarly known among his %neiShbcrs and
friends as "Jack,' resides about foui
miles east of Greenwood, on an old set
tied place well Scared with gullieS ant
CALLED noleS, and regarded rs worn out
long before the war. After Il term oI
faithful service as u Confederate soldier,
in which he lost 4 leg amputated close to
the hip joint, he returned to his home,
when, to all human appearance, his fu-
ture prospects were forever blasted ; no
money, his slaves liberated, his posses
sion in a state of decay from neglect ana
his body mutilated in such Il way that
ordinary morta!s would have given over
in despair. Summoning to his aid, how
ever, all the of which he was
capable, both intellectual and material,
he began work as hest he knew how.
The situation was i novel and p~erpleXinS
one; he could not work himself and ho
was unaccustOmcd to free labor: 1t was
something Of which he had as little cxpe-
once as the laborer had Of freedom, and
hence it was natural that they should, at
times. differ in their notions OF things;
whence the question would arise with
him, who shall decide when doctors dit
fers? This uninvitiug state of affairs
made 4 deep impression OH him, and with
his practical turn of mind he began t"
work out a solution Of the difficulty
which he saw was likely to recur at any
moment, and must be definitely remov-
ed. For the time being. he utilized he
situation as best he could. lie knew
how to raise cotton rs he had been accus-
toned to do, and did not know that mon
ey could be obtained in any other way
on the farm. In fact, the prices which
obtained Just after the war made cotton
growing Il profitable business, and fully
justified the Almost exclusive attention
given, Notwithstanding the heavy cx-
pense attending its production. IN this
way our friend continued his operations,
keeping a close and accurate calculation
of each years receipts and expenditures,
until the price declined to such extent As
to leave no profit TO tho producer. This
decline was, to the cotton grower "blc>s-
Ing in Disguise" as paradoNical as it may
appear. The heavy decline in he great
staple to which every II was devoting
attention, unlike its effect OF the mass OF
farmers, arrested the operations Of our
friend; he saw no money in it; the situa-
ton became p~erplexing; his occupation
was gonc The bonanza which had pre-
sonted itself in the shape of cotton at u
to 35 cents per pound, had become cX-
hausted, and ante-bellum prices of s to 10
cents was the best that could be had.
The question arose with HIM as to what
was best to be done. He was enabled to
determine it by an argument, which
Iocicians would call, reducing the propo-
sition to an aLsrrdity, viz: If, when l
owned and controlled the labor, could
not do more than balance accounts with
cotton at S to 10 cents per pound, how
can I afford to pay wages for all the labor
employed, in addition to the cost of sup
porting it, in its condition of freedom and
disorder? This view of the question de-
termined his course. He could not af-
ford to hire laborerS to raise cotton: it
was too expensive an operation to engage
in, and he began to realize for the first
time, that slav ~ was indeed abolished.
and with it all slavery methods; that q
new theory of life obtained in the South,
differing from that which hitherto exist
ed !; thai every man must make his own
living either by the sweat of his brow or
by the proper use of the means he pos
scsscd, that he who expected to hire 9TH
ers to make a competency for him, over
and above the cost of their own maintain
ance, would most assuredly be disap-
pointed. Being restricted to the altcrna-
tive of either employing others to do his
work, himself being disabled, or to so
utilize his hands as to dispense with the
amount of labor required to cultivate
them, he directed his attention to the
consideration of the latter proposition as
the vital question with him, just as it is
to-day with every other land holder in
the State.
He considered the subject in the follow
ing light: his land was to him invest
ment of. say SIC per acre, which ought to
and must pay All interest annually for his
support he had tried to Otttin an an
nual intercs: from it, by a resort to cult
waited crops, and experience had taught
him that that method would not do it,
with cotton at ten cents Il pound; hence,
the only course left him was to devote
his lands t. grain. The results of this
plan were eminently satisfactory. 1t is
poor quality of lard which will not yield
fifteen bushels Of oats per acre. Fifty
cents per bushel is q fair estimate of their
value, which would give $3.50 per acre.
Deduct S4.25 cost of seed, sowing, har-
vesting, hauling and threshing, and he
has a net balance of 1926 per acre inter-
est on his investment Of 80. His land
has been quietly, though industriously,
at work for him in the rain and sunshine,
in darkness and daylight, and has yield
ed a handsome return after payingal all eH-
penses. Cultivated crops entail a con-
tinuous expense, and can return no
profit unless the yield is abundant per
acre, or the price of the product in pro-
portion to the expense of its production.
In intimate connection with grain grow
ing comes another branch of husbandry,
the utility Of which II practical friend
was not slow to comprehend. A limited
number Of sheep and other stock may
be kept on such Il farm with profit.
SubsiSting on the same investment,
the profits from this ource are also prop
erly to be accredited to it.. This COM
pletes the general system adopted by our
friend, pointed out to him by observation
and experience, and the results have con-
fined it's correctness. In the Meanwhile
q modest sum Of money accumulated
from the sale of cotton at 25 to IS cents,
had been loaned to al anjoining neighbor
whose land were fresh and productive.
This money also labored for its owner
without expense to him, but charged the
borrower 10 per cent. for its services, of
which lie could n~otcomplain, for it labor
ed day and night to add TO its growth.
The borrower labored also tor an in
creased production of cotton the more
it declined in price the greater the efforts
he put forth for its production. AMER
the lapse of a number of years. the Dor
rowing ncighbor was overwhelmed i'll
debt, while the money Borrowed, grad