The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-09-11
CONDITION AND NEEDS OF
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE.
Prepared for the Interstate Farmers As
ed' ISOLATION, By &e,oart Of High 5a..o'
lands, ~. G. H.. 49, ,...a.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK. 81

ICONTINUED FROM asst WEEK. tod
Let us now consider some special
products North Carolina has 233iil33-
cows, with all these COWS two butter
factories only, making 1000 pounds
OF butter yearly in these, and 1921
507 pounds in her diaries. Vermont
has 2l7,O00 cows only, but more than
$50 butter and cheese factories, max
ing 5000, 900 pounds of cheese and
about ZOO, 600 pounds of butter,
while the products of farm and diaries
are 81, $500 900 pounds Of butter and
3,450,000 pounds oflcheese. Il Il i ! II
Wisconsin, with a less population
than North Carolina, has $50, 900
cows, making 1888, 600 pounds Of
butter and 1927, 900 pounds Of cheese
in private diaries and q $780, 900
pounds of cheese, 9 besides S86,0ON
pounds of butter in her factories.
Virginia has 243, 0615 cows, making
about 1900, 900 pounds of butter
and 100000 pounds Of cheese every
year.
The great Southern staple is cotton.
1t brings into the hands of Southern
farmers yearly the sum of 1851, OOO,-
600; tobacco brings about SIC, 100000;
sugar and syrup brings $50, OOO,O 900.
The production of corn, wheat and
Other. grains mostly grown in the
West and Northwest, reaches the en-
ormous sum of $1,l67, 600, 900; meats
produce S748, 900, 900: poultry Sl86-.
600, 000i dairy products $3.50, 0OO, 900;
hay $35O,0 600, 900; cotton $257, 0eO,-
600, OF these products, $17S, 900, 0OO.
worth of cotton is exported, and $32,-
900, 900 worth of tobacco, in all $500
100000 Of the Southern Staples while |
the average expectation of products
from northern States to foreign coun-
tries and the South exceeds this |
amount very considerably. The larger
part OF the northern products, how
ever, are, consumed by the artisans in
the manufactures. But this is not
the whole OF this part Of the. subject.
In tobacco and cotton with the oil
cake from the seed included) we send
away the most essential elements Of
fertility of our soil the nitrogen, phosl
phorlc9 acid and potash, which when
combined In the form of mixed fer
~tilizers, cost us $50 a ton, and in the
aggregate value, amount t q very
large proportion of the returns from
the crops. While in other States the
farmers make an, exceedingly valuable
product in the form Of manure
amounting to a money value Of hun.
dreds of millions of dollars, and be-
sides this the bulk of the,exports from
northern farms consist of products
which contain mostly the fats or other
carbohydrates which take nothing
from the soil, but which are made up
OF elements freely supplied by the air.
Our cotton, it is true is pure carbon,
as near as may be, but for each pound
Of it there + carried off in the seed
aihtge CquantityGlof the three costly
elements named, which require a
large outlay of money to REPLACED h
Without t~respassing on your dpa.
tience in making further comparisons,
it may be assumed that the condition.
OF Southern agriculture is not salts
factory, that it is not profitable; and
that it does not contain, in ITSELF as an
Inherent element anylpower or ability
to reform o. invigorate itself. It is
in fact not able to support itself, but
is forced to rely upon the reserved
fertility, Of the soil, and lives. as it
were, by. devouring it's own vitas. al j
q corollary, while this primary interest
languishes, all others which depend l.
upon it are weak. and do not grow Il
thrifty but if at all, they make spas I
modic spurts and then fall back for
want Of essential vitality. For gen It
sral prosperity, the prosperity of agri-
culture is essential. Farmers must "a
have a large surplus to send away to "a
make traffic for railroads; they must s
have money to spend to give employ f
to artisans and workmen, who t
n turn will consumelthei productsI c
md we need to attract q large increase Ii
IF population to- occupy our spare t
ands and to change useless acres into 8
7ital Glife- giving circulation, in the &
'orm Of money, which may be invested n
n various profitable enterprises. IA
Z But . get down to particulars, I n
IN 1nlt convinced that our greatest need f,
8 to improve our methods of cultivat O
the land SO as to double or treble Fl
he value OF the products. We need p
o produce all we use and a surplus to p
end away, and not only this, but we
must grow crops to a large extent that al
I'LL leave directly or~indirectly a large il
mount of plant food to accumulate in M