The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-06-19
MOVING SOUTH.

I1s,.tpus a5!&vi~tu-r @"i 'tti
During the past ten years Northern
capital and emigration have turned
gradually from the great West toward
the new South. Thousands of people
are settling the fertile valleys and
plains of the South and many more in
the over-crowded sections Of the North
and East are looking forward to
homes in a SUMMER cline. sas .aTft
For the benefit of those who are
thinking of changing climates | give
the following hints and suggestions:
Do not believe all you hear and read
about in the South. Descriptions of
the Southern country, given by some
people, remind me Of the three blind
men>of #Hindoostan who went to see
the elephant. One of them stumbled
against the animals huge side and
concluded that the elephant was Every
like a WALL" the second, feeling of the
ear, made up his mind that the beast
was every Like a FAM" while the third
grabbed hold. of the animals tail and
was sure the elephant was every like
a rope" There are always people who
will settle in some low malarious dis
trict where land is cheap. They get
the ague, dislike the country and write
back to their friends at the North that
the South is a land of ague and fever,
.swamps and morasses. Some will
take their families away back in the
woods, Or run in debt for large worn
out, run down farms and then claim
that land is worthless, and no one can
make a living in the South, and others
who strike the best side of Southern
life and prosperity and who very
likely are interested in the sale of real
estate, will proclaim to the world that
they have found the long-looked-for
Utopia, the land Of eternal sunshine
and perpetual delight.
On the whole, the South is a good
country to emigrate to, a land of great
promise where any honest man can
make a living if he we'll only work. It
is a land of great fertility, exhaustless
resources, and abundant harvest, a
land which will compare f~avorably
with any country on earth, and blessed
with a healthful climate, short mild
winters and beautiful sunny weather.
No section offers more inducements to
the home seeker, yet the success of
the settler from the North depends
entirely in the location and his ability
to succeed. .....
l would in no wise advise the
Northern farmer to invest in Southern
lands without first seeing them. There
are places in the South where no one
would want to live, places remote
from railroads, schools, churches and
civilization. Some of the richest and
most productive lands in the world
are found in the South and there are,
also, some soils SO sterile that crows
carry their provision when flying over
them. By all means see the land be-
fore you buy, and do not move South
with the expectation of having an
easy time. Of course the soil not only
needs "to be tickled with a hoe" but
it will bear a good deal of tickling
sometimes, and there must be some
one to hold the hoe handle. ..5
You will have to endure the same
hardships that r experienced in any
new country unless you have the
means to buy an improved farm A.
good deal Of the land has been neglect
ed and will not produce as readily as
the unbroken Western lands, but by
the aid of green manuring, and keep
ing stock it a soon be made rich
and productive. The Northern sys-
tenn of farming must be laid aside and
a new system learned, as a great many
Northern methods of planting, sowing
and harvesting will not do for the
South and several Southern crops are
not grown at the North. On most
Southern farms which are for sale a
great deal of repairing is needed, new
buildings constructed, fields cleared of
brush and briers, young orchards set
out and many other improvements
made before they will seem like home.
Do not be led into the detective snare
of buvino or rI1nninp into doht for O