Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-01-10
Tennessee Letter.
Cor. Jefferson Ohio Gazette.


country six hundred miles from Jeffer-
son in delightful winter climate but
rather a poor agricultural district and
not equal to Ohio in thorough tillage.
have had day with Mr., G. M.
SMART, at Smartts Station, five miles
from this place, and enjoyed the hos.
pitality of comfortable home. He has
a thousand acre far and is the lead
ing farmer of Warren Co., Tenn. also
a very intelligent gentleman and twelve
years President of their Agricultural
Society, and from him | have learned
of this country's resources, develop
ment, and complete history for seventy
years, as he has been here all his life
and is now seYenty-one years old.
1t requires from 8 o'clock P. NJ. at
Jefferson Station, &c hours to reach
McMinnvlle six hundrad and fifteen
miles, and costs for round trip thirty
one dollars to 60 and return.
There are several families from Ash
tabula County, Ohio, that have lately
moved here and purchased land to
build up their future homes. Land is
cheap according to quality, from FIVE
dollars per acre to twenty-five, but no
necessity for as good buildings as we
have in Northern Ohio, for their mild
winters do not require them for the
comfort of man or beast.
The cultivation of land here and
their farm implements are the same as
with us in Ashtabula county, the only
difference being longer summer seas
son, in consequence of which crops can
be raised more easily and in greater
quantity, as the farmer has more time
to do his work.
In the last week of February, oats
are sown; but corn and potatoes are
not all planted until the first of May.
Harvest commences from the first to
the middle of June for wheat and hay;
but you can have until November to
secure the other crops and in fact at
the present time very much of the corn
remains in the field, even wheat seed
ing is not all completed.
Isee no good reason why stock farm
ing will not pay. Mr.. Smart has a
dairy of thirty good cows and for eight
years has sold his butter in the Chat.
tanooga market, sixty miles from here.
For three years past he has contracted
his entire make at thirty.fve cents per
pound. | never ate better butter than
found npon his table, although there
is plenty of ten cent butter left.
1t is not wilderness nor heather
land. McMinnville has population
of over two thousand people. 1t is the
county seat of Warren Co., with fair
public buildings, two wooden factories,
cotton mill, and other enterprises of
like nature.
There is an abundance of oak timber
here and many other kinds; but rail
fences are cheap and in far better con-
dition than with us in Ohio. They
have no cattle. law in Tennessee, con.
sequently they are obliged to keep
good eight to ten rail fences on their
farms.
Politics here are rather democratic
but freedom of speech is not denied,
although the State is about equally
divided between the Democratic and
Republican parties.
1t is about twenty miles from the
Cumberland mountains and upon them
are some of the finest fruit orchards in
the world, but here the fruit crop is no
more certain than with us in Ohio, be-
cause the spring frosts do just as much
mischief and require the same caution
we exercise in all our farm work. A
land agent who reports different gives
you false information.
1t needs hard work and thorough
tillage the same as with us, and all
men work in the fields side by side,
both white and black. The negro is
rather inclined to stop first and rest
the oftenest and for the greatest length
of time, but they can be hired for
from fifty cents to one dollar per day,
according to the work done.