The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-02-14
a farmers Club.

the fettlt'a CreeK cluD. 1n6 1oiloWIDl
paragraph will Interest the Anderson
farmers.
About four years ago Mr. Hollingshed
Mr.. Zimri Jackson and one or two othe
farmers living near Rogers station in Bar
tow.county dubbed together and ordered
carload of. fertilizer. They saved tw'
dollars ton, and that put them to think
| ing. If one or two could gave two dollar
a ton on q carload, why could not {
dozen save larger amount on six o.
seven carloads? They talked the ide'
| over among their neighbors, and whel
fourteen had agreed to join together fo'
buying purposes, they met at one OF the
farm houses and organized.
The fourteen were all responsible men
They would rot admit any one who was
| not, for they were to be all bound for the
joint purchase and could not afford tt
guarantee the payment of any mans share
in the purchase money if he was not sure
to pay The club. they we're worth fully
5000, 900 and their credit Vas too good to
stake ON Tom, Dick and Harry's promise
to pay.
When the next order Was made tol
fertilizer each man told the club how much
he wanted, and the total Wa5 about fifty
tons. The president and secretary cor
responded with manufacturers in Georgia
and South Carolina, but as the club wai
new, it had to go through; the usual
investigation as to responsibility. That
was short work, however, AID the manu-
faeturers soon informed the Glib thai
they would be pleased to aell them fertil.
izers on their joint note at a price several
dollars less thai Usual.
The president and secretary signed q
club note for the whole amount of the
purchase, and each farmer made q note
for his own share. These individual
notes; amounting to the same as the club
note, we're placed in 0artersville bank
as collateral. Thus each man vas bound
primarily for his own share and by the
terms of his membership and the club
contract with the manufacturer, for every
other mans share. The notes were
waivers Of Homesteads and the 81 ,0OC
club note was 5esdfsd by 100000 worth
of property: 1t did not take credit mar
long to. decide on the advisability of sell;
ing such aconcern, and the goods were
shipped.
The farmers saved about $3.50 on fer
tilizers that year. Year before last they
saved nearly $4OO. The same arrange
ment was made in buying hardware, plowi
and the like, except that all these articles
were bought for cash. They bought
only fertilizers on credit.
eve don't center on any particular
merchant, but buy wherever We can de
we'll. think there ought to be mer
chants as veil as farmers and I don'
think tits right to build one up and pull
another down. I think every one ough'
Ito have his share.
"The social feature of the club is YER!
i pleasant. We meet once month at thu
lIhouses Of the members, taking them il
/ alphabetical order. Our meeting day il
the first Saturday in each month, and vi
devote the whole Of the afternoon t
discussions of farming methods. It ii
usual for the president to appoint fo'
discussion subject suitable to the time
Of year, and then we have an experience
meeting. 1fany man makes 9 test crol
on an experimental acre he isrequired t.
report it to the club. One year, for in
stance, ne took an acre apiece to see hov
/ much cotton We could make. One mar
made i 800 pounds offs eed cotton, I cam'
second with 1850.
"I bought two tons Of acid this year.
said Mr.. Zimri Jackson, "and it.cost M
s98. 1 have just put up my compos
heap and am satisfied that it will max
me twelve tons of fertilizer every whit a
good as guano. In fact I like it better
I would not even use the acid but for th
fact that it makes the cotton ripen ear
lier. When the compost is put on th
land two months from now twill be
fine as the acid. Iput it on With thi
simple distributor, which costs eleve
dollars. With mule I can distribut
the compost as fast as plow can lay o
the land"
Mr.. George Jackson described th
planting OF corn as follows: 1--WE ope
q furrow with an Oliver chilled plow an
then follow in it with scooter as dee
as two mules can pull it-sometimt
fifteen inches deep. That is great prt
lection against drouth and it is given u
that you must subsoil where you fertiliz
The dirt falls back and partially fills th
furrow. Then we drill in the compo
With the distributor and afterwards run
turn plow on each side ofthe furrow, CO.
ering it up and leaving furrow on eac
side. Then We put compost in these 9TH
furrows just as We did in the first. "
plant the corn on these furrows FIVE fe
apart and thin it out to thirty inches
the row."
eve raise all We use on the farm
said Mr.. Jackson, the elder, Except OF
groceries. We raise our corn and whe
and our own bacon. I don't think the
is farmer in our club who has boug
any corn in the last four years.
, .In August COMMITTEES are appoiut'
to inspect the crops of the different me1
bera," said Mr.. Jackson. "They usual
go three together and take day to lot
f at crops. Some other members of tt
club may be appointed 10 inspect n
E crop and I might be on committee