The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-14
Southern Agriculture.

Southern Agriculture.
The American Agriculturist says no
doubt stranger from the north visiting
southern locality for the first time may see
manly things which he thinks deserving Of
criticism, but it is always safe before one
criticises anything new in strange place
to wait until he understands something of
the necessities of the case. The whole agri-
cultural practice of the south, necessarily
differs greatly from that of the north. CHI
mate has an important Influence, which is
not at once apparent to a stranger. And
when one sees corn and cotton grown in
crooked rows unlike any rows he had seen
''up to home,n he had better make sure that
the crooked rows have not some kind of ad-
tango in their crookedness ere he attributes
it all to want of skill on the part Of the
person who laid them off. Because a thing
/ happens to be new and strange to him is no
kind of reason for settling to the conclusion
that they are ''slip,shod;' . or, in other words.
are not the very best ways under existing
circumstances-the exact ways that he
would soon be led to adopt were he to settle
in the regions where they are in vogue,
| OF course there may be existing circum-
stances that skilled farmer from the north
might be able to change somewhat, and to
great advantage, but it is not at all safe to
conclude that everything one sees from
northern standpoint is wrong.
There are some practices going on at the
south that a reasonable farmer from the
north can know to be wrong. They are
wrong at the north, where they are also be-
SIo,-a Al
tent For instance, southern farmers
could make better use of their land than to
SO thoroughly exhaust it by continued crop
ping in cotton and corn, as to disable it
| from producing even the common weeds
Rotation of crops is taught us by nature
Anyone may see how nature practices this
rotation, in the springlng up of pines and
other soft woods, on lands from which hard
woods have been removed, and the growth
of hard woods upon cleared pine lands.
When the soil has been exhausted of certain
elements which have furnished food fer
corn, cotton or tobacco, any one of these
crops may follow another without any indi-
cation of distress, but when the whole of
them have been grown successfully, and the
soil has been exhausted Of every constitu-
ent required by these crops, there is still
food enough left for grass, if the process of
exhaustion has not been carried too far.
No doubt, as a rule, southern farmers have
gone to extremes in their disregard of these
requirements f the crops, and the ability
of the soil to supply them; hence the great
amount of poor, abandoned land which is
left to grow up to weeds, and "old field"
pines and oaks. 1t cannot be charged
against southern farmers that they are any
worse in this respect than their northern
and western brethren have been.
Soil, no matter where, calls for intelligent
management. The same may be said for
the casting of crops. A certain crop all
the time and exclusively from year to year
is never safe, to say nothing of the fact tnat
it admits of no rotation; no rest to the land,
so to speak. Cotton may be a good crop,
but it cannot be depended upon as an ever
safe one. A great European war appeared
to be imminent but a short time ago, rea-
sons our contemporary, and many think 1t
postponed but for a short time. Should it
occur, its first effect probably will be to af-
feet the cotton market disadvantageousl
This will force southern farmers to grow
some other crops. and the first and best of
these crops will be feed crops Then will
follow the feeding of stock, the production
of beef, mutton. pork, wool, butter, cheese
and fruit, and other valuable and indispen-
sacle products. These will not only bring
in money to the south, but will keep money
there, and the very greatest need of the
south-money-wl soon be supplied. With
the increase of food products will soon fol-
low manufactures which will occupy tho
magnificent water powers, and utilize the
vast wealth of timber and mineras 6. Thea
will follow the construction of more rail
roads, the need of more shipping, great
increase of population and prosperity, and
all these will make the south what is great
nrtural wealth and unexcelled climate fitted
it to be--the richest portion of the United
| Gfata