The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-05-28

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lance, the manufacturing establish
ments in Europe and America have
almost entirely been the property of
a fortunate few into whose pockets
wealth has. flowed in a constant
stream, while the great mass of labor
ers, who have tended the machinery
and done the drudgery, have been
compelled to submit to such wages as
circumstances have forced their en-
ployers to allow them. Inevitable
struggles, therefore, have frequently
resulted, followed by strikes, lockouts,
suffering, a~narchism, and the engen-
dering of the fercest antagonisms,
thus endangering not only the prop
erty, but the lives of the community.
This is a condition. Of things IN
known in agricultural sections of
country, and will probably remain
unknown, unless we introduce the
same system of manufacturing which
has brought it about in other sections
of our country. Hence it may be,
and perhaps is, very unwise for us to
invite capitalists from other States
and countries to come among us and
build factories, or to encourage such
building by the few wealthy men
among rs. This unwisdom becomes
more manifest when it is considered
that the agriculturist, as such, cannot
hope for much benefit to himself if
the factories and shops IN our
State and county are the prop
erty Of a few individuals, who will
likely and naturally struggle to enrich
themselves at the farmers expense.
A plow factory in Kenansville would
doubtless charge as much for a pillow
as a merchant in the same town would
for a similar pillow made in Richmond
or Baltimore. Our argument, then,
brings us, without an alternative, to
the duty of building shops and fac
tories on the cooperative plan in every
county, if not in every township, to
manufacture such things az are needed
by the farmers and their families, and
some to spare to other sections of the
country or to other counties, as expe-
rience may dictate. By this plan we
can furnish remunerative employment
to ourselves and particularly to many
of our sons and daughters, who grow
up on our farms in idle despair; and
thus will be saved much of the cost
of middle-men, agents, transportation,
&C., with results which we will not
attempt to portray. Ours would be-
come an industrious, thriving, hope
full and wide-awake people, with
plenty of agreeable and profitable
work for all and cheerful hands to
do it.
In concluding this part of our re-
port, we feel it a duty to offer two
suggestions: l. That the members of
this body carry this subject into their
Sub-Alliances and urge its Importance
on their fellow-members. 2. That
this Alliance appoint a committee to
suggest a plan by which this Alliance
and the Sub-Alllances of the county
can go safely into manufacturing.
RAISING HORSES AND MULES.
AS to the second branch of our re-
port, the necessity of raising u own
horses and mules, we think there can
be but one opinion. The folly of i'm
porting these animals from Kentucky
or Vermont, when they can be raised
here at one-fourth Of what we pay for
them, is self-evident, and we might
dismiss the subject here; but our duty
would not be fully performed if we
failed to remind you that profitable
s~tock-raising in our county demands
a change in our farming; we must
learn to raise small grain and grasses.
Horses and mules cannot be cheaply
raised on corn and fodder. A green
pasture during, summer and autumn,
and hay and oats for winter, are in
dispensable. So teaches the expert
ence of other States and countries.
But some one may claim that we can
not raise the grasses. This is a mis-
take which every farmer has found
out to his sorrow, and is but a fresh
illustration of the common fact that
men often hold the most decided
opinions on matters which they have
never studied. There is no better
grass in North Carolina than crab
grass, and a small piece of ground
made rich and broken up and har-
rowed in the month of May will yield
a luxuriant crop of this grass without
any seeding-the winds win seed it.
A top dressing in June or July will
materially increase the yield.
We think it advisable for the mem
bers of the Alliance to test the matter
by making an experiment this year,
even on a small scale. The grass will
be good for L milk COWS or their
calves if we are not raising horses OF
mules, and nothing will like it better
or receive more benefit than our plow.