St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-08-10
AT CALHOUN
Monthly Meeting of the North ou;s-
lana Agricultural Society

n. .. Plcayune, The monthly meeting
of the North Louisiana Agricultural Soci55
ETY. was held here to-day at the experimen
tai farm. While the crowd was not 90
large as on previous occasions a lareer
! percentage of it was farmers III
| speakers, II. G. Stringfellow. J. f Smith
and DIR. Frlerson, We're not present, bnt
their places were ably filled by three nrac.
ticle and successful farmers-Messrs r
j. Williams, of Morehouse parish , Can.
tain A. Wyatt, of Ouachita, and Hon. Chas
Schuyler, OF DeSoto parish. The subject
was III farming does not pay, and why
| not"
Mr.. Williams was the first speaker and
lie announced mat ne was not a public
speaker. but be would make plain, prac
tlcal talk. lie SAID planting pays if not in
! money it does in The raising and education
of our children, which is the basis Of al
wealth. civilization and position. 1t is trua
the farmer does not get fair portion ~
| the proceeds of his labors as he does tho
most arduous work and receives moor nav
! But he feeds and clothes the world HI,
crop pays. Exhibit freight and all sorts
! of commission. In speaking of the COM
mission merchant he specifies the outlay
of the farmer, but said, AIN the last man
| to say anything against the commission
| merchants as 1t has been by their cash that
| have been able to run my place Some
OF the reasons why planting does not paw
is that we have no system about the
arrangement of cur business. We have
to buy almost an entire outfit of tools
annually and our plows hoes and other
tools are scattered all over the field and
exposed to The weather. If not under the
grass and weeds wagons set under the
trees. Cattle grounds are generally on the
public road and the manure left to waste.
All OF our money has gone to the West to
pay for meat and other supplies and horses
and mules. Am glad to say the planters in
our parish are raising their own horses and
mules, and we ought to raise our meat. and
could do so but for cholera, and that is for
want of proper attention as we do not
raise sufficient food for them. They have
bad water and sometimes none, and if any
stock is neglected it is the hog, as the
mule cannot pillow unless fed nor the cows
give milk unless taken care CT He held
an extract which said that the planters of
Brooks county, Georgia, had abandoned
cotton and were raising supplies and stock,
and shipped their surplus grain and other
products, and that there was $500, 900 in
bank to their credit and they were loaning
money to their neighbors at per cent.
Captain A. Wyatt, practical and sue
cessful Ouachita river planter, indorsed
the idea that farming paid those who fol-
lowed it, and told how, as boy, he earned
$6 the first month by employment on a
farm. He was raised to $40; then to $50
per month, and at the end of the first year
he was given $1,000 per annum He was
without education to meet his enlarged
labors, but he studied by pine knot light,
and If our boys expect to succeed it will be
by labor apd intelligence.
To illustrate the magnitude of the toll
ers of the earth, he selected large wal
nut tree overbanging the platform and
made the tree trunk to represent the farm
ers, while the branches and offshoots re-
presented all other avocations. All of
these fed on the trunk, and, when separa-
ted from it, died at once. Cut any of these
away and it did not kill the trunk This
was the support of the vitality above the
ground. So was the farmer all the vital
ity of the consuming world. There could
be no doubt but that the average paid, but
by proper trastment it would pay better
dividends.
Mr.. Schuyler said that there was wide
difference between planter and farmer,
and he believed that the experimental
farm was of more service to the latter, who
turned the soil with his own labor, than to
the planter, wLo hired his own labor to cul-
tivate large interests. When he met
brother planter, his first question was,
GLOW is your corn ?" This is much
more important crop than cotton.
In speaking of meat raising he said
every time hog dies it is claimed that it
was from cholera, but that it was not SO by
any means. 1t was inattention and care
lessness. When he quit raising his own
meat, be intends to quit farming. He sells
his lard and bacon for good prices in
and there is greater demand
than he can supply, and he advised others
to try it. He says corn can be raised for
market to good profit, and that he sells
l5OO bushels annually, besides large
amount of meat of his own make. This
be had been doing for many years. Cane,
sugar and molasses crops, cattle. chickens,
eggs, and butter raised to good profits.
These latter his wife attends to, and
she always has money to loan him in
stead of calling on him for money. He was
Just as proud of carrying these things to
market as he was of load of cotton. He
Uses wood manure extensively instead of
commercial fertilizers, and finds it very
gracious to the plants. His neighbor, E.
J. Howell, last year made $50 bushels of
;orn on one acre, which suggested that if
'ne acre could be made to produce such
crops that he could make FIVE acres do it,
and he had planted five acres of corn, of
which he would make over 500 bushels of
'orn. This land has been cultivated fifty
me years and is the hill lands of DeSoto.
lie averaged twenty bushels heretofore.
t cost him ST. per acre to make this corn,
'ut 1t is large yield and would pay him
4 handsome dividend and was q splendid
essen for him another year to be a good
armer. Everything to be used should be
aised at home and make cotton surplus
;rop What he has he made on the farm.
The speeches were not of note, but fine
PRACTICAL lessons taught by successful
planters to those who have not progressed
20 well. This same subject was continued
or next months discussion, with the fol-
owing speakers: X. D. c. Scarborough,
# Natchitoches J. B. Williams and E.
1etfner, of Morehouse, and Jas. |. Harp.
n the discussion of these vital questions
much good will be obtained. The Irish
potatoes have yielded unfertilized sixty
wo bushels to the acre, and fertilized 275.
he corn and cotton crops were examined
nd pronounced as fine. After dinner
eneral water melon lunch was given by
oe Glee, in charge of the station. BY
ext meeting the public hall will be ready
or use. From gentlemen here to-day 1t
J learned that more interest is taken IN
Wishes station than in both of the other
tations combines II. Fl. HARGROVE.
Some Royal Beds.