The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-04-28
COTTON NJ LONGER KING.
AN INDUSTRIAL NENOLUTION IN TIE
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

Near Future.
Washington Letter 10 the N,w YORK Stdr.)
Gen. Stephen ID. Lee, president of
the Agricultural and Mechanical Col
lcgc Of Mississippi, has been IN
the city a few days. Your cores
pondcnt, knowing that Mississippi has
taken the lead among the Southern
States in an organized movement of
redemption from the cotton speciality
the fetch OF the n crop idea-and
that Gen. Lee, as the head of the
machinery of that movement, would
be c%mincntly qualified to speak of its
achievements and its prospects, called
on him at Il q Ebbitt House. Gen. Lee
was enthusiastic over the outlook for
his adopted State, and readily respond
CdtO all intcrrOyatorieS. The follow
ing is verbatim rcpurt of hisrcmarkS:
"a revolution is going on in Miss
issippi in divcrsitNinG her industries,
especially in the lire of agriculture.
Heretofore, aud even now, the farming
interests arc mainly in the raising OF
cotton and cOLn, which have restricted
her people &c the incubus of thc one
crop-lcading to soil exhaustion aud
money receipts mainly at enc season of
the year. MANY intelligent c tizcns,
however, have long since abandoned
cotton, and it il NOW known that
Mississippi is soon destined to be one
of the leading States in stock and dairy
farming. These gentlemen have dem
onstratcd that the native grasses, such
as Bermuda, Japan clover, johnson
grass, crab grass and other kinds,
supplemented with the varieties OF
sor@huln-0r, as known in its dCtcrior.
atcd shape-chickcn corn, afford as
great a variety OF food for stock, ard
of Il permanent character, as is given
in II State. 1t is known, too, that
cotton sccu is the most valuable food
for cattle, aud combined with the
grasses affords better and cheaper food
than can be bad anywhere else. 1t is
Il fact that cattle III Mississippi have
not bccn fed until Of .atc Years. They
made their ownliviug on the commons,
subsiSting on such rass and TODD rs
the country afforded, even in winter.
1t is true they usually got poor during
the three months of December, Jan
uary and February but in the remain
ing nine months they had ample TODD
in grazing, the grass ailording good
grazing from about March | (ut which
time corn is planted) to December Is.
In other words, stock is handled read
lily throughout the year by feeding
them only two and Il half or three
months, with which slight attention
they are kept in good fix. Is i%tStrangc,
then, that Mississippi is a stock State,
when at the North feeding is necessary
for four or six months! Ensilayc also
is easily prepared and successfully fed
to stock in Mississippi. Among the
gentlemen who have led off in this
important industry may be mentioned
Col. W. b. Montgomery, of Starkvillc,
who has Il herd of over two hundred
registered Jersey w In the same
section, or northeast portion Of the
State, may be mentioned Col. Col. II.
Muldrow, assistant secretary OF the
interior, John Allen, NJ. O. Winston
Garth, Mr.. Abbott, Judge Houston,
Mat Mahorner and others. Col. White,
of fernando, Col. Hemingway, Mr..
O. Dcncal, OF JAG. son, aud Col. Stuart,
on the Gulf coast. In fact there is 10
portion of the State that is not suitable
for stock of some kind.
"Along the coast orsouthcrn tiers of
counties south OF Meridian and the
Vicksburg Railroad sheep are raised
with great ease, and the recent MisSis-
sippi exhibit gotten up by Major ). a.
Jonas Gnlcrior Department. demon
strated that Mississippi had as fine
wool as could be found in the United
States. Market gardening is success
fully carried OH throughout tic State,
and tic railroads are now furnishing
refrigerator cars for sending vegetables
and fi.piia IN ~ Tnnic iIinor, n,,I
other cities. Around Madison Station
are ma Y hundreds of acres Of straw
berries, and DR.. III. f. McCay, from
his great success in handling and Ship
ping this fruit, is known as the "Straw-
berry King" South of jackson and
along the Illinois Central Railroad is Il
great vegetable aid fruit region.
Large shipments Of peaches, tomatoes,
cabbagcs, beans, &c, are made every
year. The lumber business of Missis-
sippi is very great. The State rs vet
has almost an i~ncXhaustiblc supply of
a good timber as is found in the
world, aud these valuable forests are
now being bought up by lumber men.
The extensive buildings for the Cotton
Centennial Exposition at New Orleans
were made of Mississippi pine. The
timber exhibit of the State at the Elk
position attracted great attention. A
great impetus has been given to diver
styling tho industries OF the State by
the establishment six years ago of the
Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Mississippi aStockville. This imsti-
%tutiontis 81 genuine agricultural col
legc, and is conducted by an able
board of trustees and faculty loyal to
the agricultural interests of the State.
1t has bad an average annual attend
ance of3OO students. During the present
session 4l5 students have attended and
over 800 were refused for lack of
accommodations. The college was
located on a farm Of LOO acres of
land, much of it made poor by con
tinnous cultivation of cotton and corn.
In a few years the farm has been
brought up to a high state Of cultiva-
ton, demonstrating that imnrovnd