Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-06-27

/ That DER tffe y trackleSS ocean vast
r Secure We ssIiL Or anchored, hide 34
And pilgrims to his grave shalIitelI{
The prophets meaning where he trod.
D. And in Columbia's spirit dwell,
ftI Safe-fsled, Within the fear OF God
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j The Tendency of Agriculture in Tennessee.
1 fisai ~, Nashville American. .sss
The progressive movements OF agri-
culture in certain directions in Ten
i nessee are easily traced. From an
early day until lS40 corn and pork
formed the st,pie crops all over the
State. The chief aim of the farmers
was to make am abundance of meat
and bread and the census of 1910
showed that tennessee was the largest
corn, producinga State in the Union.
The difficulty OF disposing OF y. the
surplus grain led the farmers to the
practice OF feeding it at home, and the
hog being the main reliance for meat
hog raising came to be the leading
business in Tennessee, so that in 1850
it took the first rank as hog growing
| State. Insihe meantime the demand
for corn and bacon being supplied by
the Great Western and Northwestern
| States, the farmers of Tennessee turn
| ed their attention to mule raising to
supply the increasing demand from:
| the cotton states, so that in 1860 Ten;
nessee became the largest mule grow
| ing State in, the Union. Here we have
three changes; first it is cerp, then
hogs, then mules. Il But these changes
were only relative, for as matter o.
| fact, Tennessee grew more corn IL
1850 than in 1910, and in 1860 a larger
crop, OF hogs than in 1850.
The devastations caused by the war
stopped all progress for a time, and
the efforts OF the farmers were direct
ed 70 the Swings of as much OF their
property as possible. After matters
became settled, their comparatively
Impoverished condition forced them, to
pursue a hand -to-mouth policy, grow
ing each year that crop which would
probably supply them Most readily
with. little cash. No far-reaching
policy was adopted, and it WAS not
until about 1871 that a few -shrewd and
sagacious men began to look toward
improved cattle as the best basis upon
which to build a new agricultural
prosperity. Short horns were at first
the flvorites under the impression
that the fine grass producing lands of
h,he State would enable her farmers to
compete successfully with any other.
section of the country in tie produc-
tion OF high quality of beef, For
few years prices for this breed of cat
tie ruled enormously high and though
the profits were great the number OF
customers was restricted by the ex-
cessive prices and the demand WAS
rsensibly checked.
In the meantime other breeds of
cattle had been studied. The Jerseys,
the, Devons and more latterly the
Friesan- III olstelns were Introduced
into the State and became immensely
popular. The intelligent manage
ment of the Jerseys soon developed
the fact that the dairy interests offered
new field, and one that could he
worked with large profits. The
sprinkling of Jersey blood among the
native cattle raised the standard of
dairy products and set sagacious men
to thinking how these products could
be more economically and protitably
handled The result of the investiga-
ton was the establishment of cream
cries in many of the country towns In
Middle Tennessee. These unquestion-
ably, with the feeling now prevailing,
will continue to increase in number
and efficiency until Tennessee will be-
come as famous for her dairy products |
us the Western Reserve in Ohio.
Every natural advantage is here
offered for the successful prosecution
cf such an industry. From the crests
OF the loltiest mountains in East Ten
nessee, to tile oozy banks of the Mis-
sissippi River, rich nutritious grasses
grow i'll the greatest plenty. The /
valley of East Tennessee and the Cen |
tral Basin of Middle. Tennessee pres
ent the fairest fields for engaging in |
this industry. Wherever the soil has |
been preserved, herds grass, clover,
timothy, orchard grass and, in lime |
stone areas, blue grass grow with a |
fecundity rarely surpassed in any land.
the old red hill-sides can be more /
quickly reclaimed by dairy husbandry |
than by any other. In the Central
Basin the landscape spraads out in
gentle swells; the streams linger be- !
side rich pastures charged with such |
mineral ingredients as ensures the |
most healthy growth to the grasses,
which in turn supply them to domes-
tic animals, building up their bone, |
flesh, blood and muscle and increasing
their tactical secretions. In the south /
ern portion of this basin winter is
barely severe enough TO destroy WIN
ter grazing; southern slopes continue
green and the violet appears ia its /
modest teauty during the severest
months of the year. The heat is
never SO excessive rs to destroy vege-
tation, and the number OF days that /
cattle can Craze upon pastures prOba-
bly, reaches maximum in Middle
Tennessee
The tendency Of agriculture in Ten
nessee now lies in two directions. The
first is toward the production of beef
and dairy products. The second is in
the line OF small industries. such as
the growing of vegetables and fruits
for the Northern markets, the making
OF honey. the growing and drying of
fruits. Tennessee took the first rank in
the production of honey in 1880, and
its advantages in this respect, have
begun to be appreciated. 1t
viii be a happy day for Tennessee
when the .tillers of the soil shall adopt
such method of agriculture as viii I
reclaim the soil while it increases
their profits. This can be done, by
dairy hnabandFy and fruit and yegeta-
bic growing,
State elections will Le held this year
in Massachusetts,, Pennsylvania, Yir-
L. L L. Il