The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-04-17
Wednesday, April II, 1889.
The "AlI.COtton" Farmer iii New
berry.

sour observation has been that, rs rule,
those farmers who raise all cotton, ana buy
Mi their supplies are not the most success
ful."-NewbeTry Herald ana News.
There would have been nothing strange IN
the above paragraph, If our neighbor had
worded 1t in plain English, somewhat after
this fashion:
sour observation has been that as rule
those farmers are not the most Succeel1i WIZ
wait to the first or the fifteenth OF Marcn'
TO begin work, and who after the crop IS plant,
ed walt q month for 1t to be ready 10 hoe ana
or six weeks for the crop to be ready to eath.
er. When the crop Is gathered, theh STOP, ,t'S ~
about the middle of November, and wall u''
next March before doing any more work.
That Is way to talk of all cotton iarminS'
Even suppose the cotton farmer should gam
er the cotton crop, 1t would be aiillcul'
to show where such farmer WORKS more
than five days in the week for seven months
in the year.
The all cotton farmer docs not fail because
he plants cotton, but the cause OF his failure
lies In the fact that he does not apply the bus-
iness methods which bring success. Ho laii
simply because he is idle about one hall
of the wear. No man In this country need
expect to succeed as long as he wastes
five months in the year ana goes
10 town on Saturday during the WORK
season to buy his cotton seed, meat
corn, flour, oats, hamper baskets, and hoe
handles, while he leaves his wagon, COWS, and
farm i'm plements in the weather all the year
The all-cotton farmer is simply so.callc':
farmer who does not put In years WORK
and for this season alone, he may ever en-
pect to be dead failure. The al-cotton farm
er we believe seldom has evena good pasture
Isn't 1t preposterous to expect success Tor a
farmer who works only part OF year, anu
then has not q pasture? With large mum
ber of all.cotton farmers. there Is no wonder
that colossal combinations should be formed
whose sole object 1t may be to the purchase
all sorts Of farm products?
Before the farmers OF Abbevillc county
abandoned the Newberry Plan of "all-cotton
farming there were some men here VINO
did business on the "all-cotton' plan.
But such a system in AbbeVille county
is now thing of the past, though there may
be an exceptional case OF "all-cotton' IN the
county down below Ninety-SiX, or up toward
Anderson line, where we believe some of the
"all-cotton" men give lien on their crops
for supplies.
In Abbeyille county there must be few
farmers who have not barley patch. NO
farmer possesses vast stretches Of unfenced
lands in this county that would make valu-
able grazing fields for cattle, hores, or other
animals. Such lands are now covered with
grazing cattle.
A milk COW will sell for, say SD, beef
cattle will always bring fair price, ana rs
the waste lands have been fenced thous-
and of cattle are sold by our farmers ever!
fall. The cattle are industrious. They WORK
from early spring until the last of the grass
crop is gathered. They charge nothing for
services in turning the grass into flesh, and
and no landowner in this county al
lowshisgrass to go towaste. An "all-cotton
farmer would be real curiosity here. What
wek now OF "all-cotton" farming in Abbeville
county is from tradition and such Information
as can get from Newberry, and other distant
parts.