The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-01-23
A Successful Farmer.


He lives at Riehburg, but owns about
four thousand acres in Eastern York,
where he does most ofhis farming. a
reporter of the Enquirer met him the
other day at Leslie's, q station which he
is building up on the Three o's. The
old gentleman had just finished settling
his accounts with his croppers and having
made a large crop was in real good
humor for telling how it was done.
He said to the reporter; "You can
put in the paper that I averaged more
cotton to the mule than any other man
in York County"
"How many bales, Mr.. Barber?'
aTen bales to the mule with twenty
six mules-26O bales. Now let me see
you beat that if you csn."
"Was.your crop asgood this year as
usual, Mr.. Barber"
"No, no. Ican't say that it was, but
here is another point for you. I have
just paid one negro vino runs a two mule
farm on my place 1899 Sc. BE makes
that much clear after paying everything
he owes me-living and everything, and
nearly every uneof q dozen others have
cleared over $3.50 apiece.
"Now people say there is nothing in
farming, but I say there is. There is
more in il than anything elae-there's
everything In it. That's my experience
and 1 know what I'm talking about when
I say it, my young friend. I merchan
dised seventeen years, and made money.
I have one-third interest in the Fishing
Greek factory, and it's making as much
money as any of them, let me tell you,
but T get larger returns out Of the farm
than anything else. You can make The
farm pay 80 and 100 per cent, but you
can't squeeze any such profits out of the
store or factory"
"But how is it that so many people fail
make living on the farm, Mr.. Bar
ber3''
"They don't work, that's why. The
majority of farmern want three Sundays
week, and nobody can get along by
working only half Of the time. Suppose
Won would take, three Sundays week in.
your business, how would you come out?
You'd bust wouldn't you? That's what
you would do, and that's what anybody
else who triesit will do. Now the farmer
don't have to work any harder or longe.
than anybody else. He don't have to
work from daylight till dark. Not bit
Of it. have piece ofland over next
to the factory and have had q standing.
ing offer for the past three OF four years
of $3.50 q year to any young man who
would work it by the factory bell. I
Just want him to put in ten hours q day,
and at the end ofthe year 1'll give him
$3.50. That's fair, ain'tit7 That's as
much as the factory hands work; but if
he'll work by the bell he'll be worth every
cent Of $3.50.
"Then, there is another thing. A
good many people try to farm, and they
don't know anything about it. Take the
common notion about guauo. Most
people will put 150 pounds on an acre.
They will lay off their rows about three
feet apart, and if the windis blowing
they will tske one Of these horns, so as
keep the guano from getting out of
the furrow, and string it along the row
in fine white line. They are SO careful
about wasting it that if the string hap:
pens to get broken for foot or two they
won't even go back to patch it up. They
put in their cotton, which comes
up and starts to growing very nicely, but
.ifa little dry weather comes along the
cotton turns sickly and they say the
guano burns it up. But it amt the
guano. It is the poor land that
burns it up. Now think about it.;
They put in that little streak of guano.
The plant comes up and grows rapidly
while it lasts, but so soon as the fertilizer
is exhausted, of course it dies down,
because there is nothing lett for it to
feed on, so you see it is the poor land
that does it. Now, to prove what
I say. If a hundred and fifty pounds of
guano scorches the cotton go it won't
grow, two thousand pounds ought to set
it afre, oughtn't it? But it won't. It's
my experience that the more fertilizer
you use the more cotton you make, and,
in order to demonstrate the matter to the
satisfaction of everybody, I am going to
make a special experiment next spring,
and put two thousand pounds of guano
on one acre. And I'm not going to burn
anything up either. See ifI do"
Son shares altogether. 1t is the most
satisfactory way Of all furnish every
thidg-the mules, tools and supplies.
The cropper furnishes nothing. but the
labor. III make be makes, and ifI lose
he loses so you see it is to his interest
to work, and the harder the better. i
give them half of everything they make,
and that encourages them to make all
they can. Sotne people don't give but
two ffths, but let me tell you I get as
much out of the half as any of them."
Mr.. Barber is president and secretary
and treasurer of the Fishing Greek Man.
ufacturing Company, has a large store at
Leslie's and lives at Richburg. He has
recently connected these three points by
q private telephone line and placed
himself within easy speaking distance of
all of them at once YorkviNc Enquirer.
"A humane blacksmith in Nevada has
built cart with the axles bent 80 that
the horse is directly under it, sheltered
from sun and wind. The driver sits in
-