The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-08-13
Merchant and Farmer.

Some time ago l wrote an article
on the above in which / stated that
the farmer in the cotton states who
failed to make enough provision To
amply supply his family unless pre-
vented by providential occurrences
such as sickness, drouth, or high
water or some cause that could not
be prevented-was simply too lazy
to work or too indolent to get out
of the old grooves.
Now, l have thought long time
to see if l had done my brother
farmers wrong or not After sew
eral months to think over the mat
ter, | come again to my first cOnclu-
sion, and say that the man in the
cotton states who fails unless pre-
vented by circumstances over
which he has no control, to make
enough meat, bread and vegetables
to feed his family for the whole
year is simply too lazy to do it.
| used TO get mad and cuss like
a trooper when the yankees said the
southern people were lazy. But
have had to acknowledge the fact.
It's true that it is not real pleasant
to think so, but facts are stubborn
things to get around And for
twenty years stubborn facts have
been accumulating that form be
yOnd doubt thatswe, as a people,
are lazy and thoughtless.
Now, here are some of the facts.
Since 1865 the people of the cotton
states have sent to the north foI
meat, bread, vegetables, horses and
mules SO, 100000, 600 for Just such
things that, had they been as ener-
getic as people should be, would
have heen raised at home. The
state Of Georgia alone has sent
100000 to pay for meat which
could easily have been raised at
home.
Now, if every farmer in the cot.
ton states had raised all he needed
and then enough to sell to the peO-
pie in the cities all this money
would have been kept at home,
and what cotton we made would
have brought double the money.
Had this been done, my brothers,
do you think that there would have
been a cry all over the land about
the merchant charging too much? |
l have said that every man who
farms. can raise all his family con-
sumes. For the renter who moves
from place to place this may be a |
little difficult, but for the man who !
owns his land there is no earthly |
excuse for not having plenty Of |
sweet and Irish potatoes, peas, |
beans, carrots, parsnips, satisfy, |
turnips and dried fruits; and dur
ing summer he can and should have |
as many, vegetables as his family |
can consume, besides enough to |
feed one pig for each memuer of the
family, and then raise plenty of
cern to feed all his stock.
There is one thing very true of
the farmers in the south-they CON
sumo too much meat and not
enough vegetables. l have often
been to the houses of farmers in
the summer, and all that was on the
table was bacon and bread--not
single plate of vegetables--and they
have lived in this way for years,
running their health.
There is a habit prevalent among
farmers to put the labor of making
a garden on the wife, who is ply
sically unable to do the work, the
men thinking 1t beneath their dig
nifty to work a garden; the field,
they say, is the place for men, and
the women can work the garden.
A few weeks since a merchant
sold LOCO pounds of dry salt pork,
in three days, to farmers for IA
cents per pound. This was in a
county where the crop of corn av-
eraged sixty bushels of shelled corn
per acre. Now, if farmer had a
lot of one acre of Bermuda grass
upon which his pigs could Craze,
and had fed them the corn from one
acre of land, h e could have raised
1000 pounds of pork worth then
$40, or as much as he could clear
from four acres of cotton at present
price. My brother from st. Ian
dry, is this laziness, or folly?
No, no, my brother farmers, we
might as well acknowledge the fact,
we are.a lazy, thoughtless race. We
have the best country under the
sun, and we have made it a by
word and q disgrace. And if you
will only make up your mind to go
to work next year and resolve that
you will make plenty of corn, have
plenty of vegetable for summer use,
and be sure to have plenty to do
all winter, you will not hear Of any
trouble about merchants charging
too much for provisions.
Then have an apple, pear and
peach orchard, then all the differ
ent berries. You should live like a
king, and not like a poor peasant.
Sow patch of wheat, rye, or bar
ley, one or the other will hit so as
to make you ahead. There is not
a particle of doubt but what every
farmer in the land can make all his
familyIcOnsumes, and can do it
without any trouble or lessening
his field crop. We have been tools
on the cotton question long enough;
tits time we are changing. So re-
solve now to begin. Plant Irish |
potatoes next January and have
them early. Plant enough to get !
seed for a second crop and have
enough for winter use.-J. G. II. in