The Portland daily press., 1884-12-29
Special Corr. of the Press.)


TENNESSEE, Dec. %, 1884.
To the Editor of the Press:
Ii there is any place in the world that pre-
senis greater discomfort than any other
place, it 10 the "Sunny South with the
thermometer at zero. The houses are SO
poorly constructed that it is quite impossi-
Bile to make them comfortable in cold wealth
er, and the result is that the people suffer
more from cold during their few weeks of
winter than the New Englauder does in his
whole life time.
The fact is that the average dwelling
south of the Ohio river is not as warm as
the average barn in Pennsylvania, New York
or New England. 1t is amusing to see the
people sit before an open fireplace, in which
are steaming afew sticks of round gum wood
making only tire enough to create strong
draft of air through the room, when the
mercury is at or near zero outside, and hear
their words of compassion or ridicule for the
"poor deluded people" who live in a cold
climate. Their improvident habits of life,
such as are indicated by this condition, are
conducive to much disease, the most prevs-
lent ailments being pneumonia and rheuma-
tism, both of which, believe, could be al
most, if not entirely escaped in this climate
by better constructed houses and more eco
nomical aud efficient heating apparatus.
Through the country places person sitting
in oneof their houses on a cold day, before
anopen fire, il it is burning freely (which
issnot often the case) is compelled to keep
turning himself around to maintain an equal
heat. If he does not turn he very soon finds
himself shivering on one side and too eoeLL
done on the other.
1t is not considered worth while here to
put more than single covering of "weather
boarding" on the walls of house. There
ia M e1,
nor clapboards; but simply one layer
OF boards, say three-foarths of an inch
thick the whole width, put on as we
OF the New England States put on
clapboaIds, tapping them one and one
half or two inches. This consti-
tutes the outside wall. On the inside
the best houses are fairly well ce led
with boards, or lathed and plastered; but
this is done with but little regard for
warmth. If it is done with boards the
draft of the great yawning fireplace receives
its supply of cold air from outside through
every crack. If plastered, il is SO poorly
done that the cracks around the windows
and doors supply plenty of cold air to make
mercury is below 40o.
The above description applies to the better
class of houses in towns. In the country the
larger part are log houses, the logs not even
hewn. The spaces between the logs are
.'chinked aud daubed, as they call it. the
"chinking" being done with chips, wedged
In between the logs to partly fill the spaces.
and the "daubing' with mud put on like
mortar over the "chinking." This method
OF building is so common that sometimes
one will ride for hours and see no other
houses.
The same shpshod, improvident habit is
in hot a4h ol De
Not one half of the people go to bed at night
with wood enough cut to build fire in the
morning. They always burn green wood,
and nearly every fireplace smokes. II you
spend a.night in village during cold snap,
you will be awakened in the morning by
what appears to be veritable hum of indus
try. You will hear the sound of axes in ev-
cry direction as soon as the cock crows, and
your first impression is that you have found
a busy and enterprising place. This activi-
ty lasts about ten or fifteen minutes, when
silence reigns again. Thereafter through
the day you may hear occasionally the sound
of an axe as each individual supply of fuel
becomes exhausted. There will be no other
evidence of a general industrial awakening
than that which occurs when the glorions
bird OF democracy calls his fhivering wor
shippers from their uncomfortable repose to
cut wood with which their ill clad and ill
fed wives may cook morning neal of "hog
meat and corn bread. When Bascom hears
the sound of the axes he gets up and opens
his grocery, and as soon as the wood is cut
the head of The family goes to the grocery
for bis internal fuel, leaving his wife TO
build the fire, if, indeed, she don't have to
cut the wood herself on account of his hur-
ry to get his dram.
Similar loose and lazy methods character
ize the system of agriculture which prevails
through most of the South, especially where
cotton can be raised. In the hill country of
middle and west Tennessee and northern
Alabama and Mississippi they plow their
land year after year and plant cotton. They
use but single horse or mule for blowing,
and stir the land about three inches deep.
often less. When the rains come there is
not enough loose earth to absorb the water,
and as consequences the soil soon washes
away and the field is abandoned. 1t
becomes marked with unsightly gullies, often
~ or ~ feet deep. through which torrents
pour IN every storm, carrying away vast
amount of the soil, to be deposited in the
swamps OF the Lower Mississippi, or dredged
out OF Its channel perpetually at public ex-
pense for the improvement of navigation.
These people labor hard during the year
TO Kill grass in their cotton fields, which, if
permitted TO grow, could be more profitably
utilized than the cotton, and would finally
reclaim immense tracts of land that are now
wasting away and becoming barren. The
farmers are fighting the best friend of their
prosperity when they destroy the grass, as
they fought their best friend when they made
var on the Union. They may see their mis-
take some day, possibly, in both cases. They
haven't seen it yet in either, no matter what
they pretend as regards the Union. Nature
is making hard struggle to preserve her
domain, but the Inhabitants, who still cling
to the idea that cotton is King, are doing
their best 10 prevent success.
This would be an excellent stock-raising
country If once started in that direction.
Ihere are now no decent dairy products
here, except the milk. The rest is brought
from the North. 1t lie almost impossible to
ind pound of Jolerable butter, and one Oft
en- seats himself at hotel table (50c. per
meal) without being able to obtain cream or
even milk for his coffee.
The stock, with the exception of the
'marster's riding nag" is almost invariably
In bad condition at this time of the year, and
grows worse until the new grass starts in
the spring. The work animals are thus al
ways in poor condition TO begin the sum-
mer's labor, and the cows are not worth half
price for dairy purposes.
Most of the land is owned by large holders
WIN rent III 10 lOm, LICK and Harry, both
white and colored, who care not cent
whether or not the land goes to ruin, after
their iease-commonly for one year-ex-
pires. When they can live on the land no
longer they lease new lot to spoil it..
The inhabitants have no knowledge or ap-
parent thought of raising any other crop
than cotton, throughout all this territory OF
which am writing. They sometimes raise
little corn, but rarely enough for their
own use. The land will produce grass in
if properly cultivated while
peaches, plums, pears, grapes, all small
fruits, sweet potatoes, peanuts, Irish pota-
toes, and vegetables of all kinds can be prof
itably grown for the early market, and
shipped direct to Cincinnati, Chicago, and
other northern cities. There is more cotton
raised at gross return of less than $12 per
acre than there is at more than that figure.
In the highlands there is no reason why
general good health should not prevail. Liy-
ing as people do here, it must be a healthy
region or the race would die out. The same
degree OF personal neglect in Maine would
depopulate the State in fifty years.
l,oIn