The sun., 1893-11-08
THINK OF THESE THINGS!
SOME FACTS ABOUT F4HIISa LANDS
IN THE SOUTV.


IN THE SOUTH.
Statistics Show They Are Hi Adapted q
Cereal Production - The Cotton Cror
and Its Incrense-rhe Cui.ivabis Area
In commenting upon our recent article en-
titled The End OF the Land" our esteemed
contemporary. the 1imes- Democrat OF New
Orleans. says we And proof OF our postulate
In the mad rush for the lands OF the Chero.
kee Strip. and in the fact that. In recent
years. there has been 80 little increase in the
area under cultivation, and that we deduce,
there ore. the theory that nearly all the
cultivable lands have been taken up.
The critic practically admits tho correct
ness Of our view. In the statement that
while the United States still possesses an
enormous area Of funappropriated land. 1t Is
30 arid and Of such an irroclaimable charac-
ter as to be made productive only at such
great cost that 1t will be many years before
we can do anything with 1t. Thus far our
contemporary held an impregnable posi-
ton. but he abandons 1t in saying this:
-n on the other hand. THr suN means that the
euitivabie land 10 exhausted. or 10 even becoming
scarce. tits altogether wrong and what In said 10 only
true of a very limited area"
Then. quoting freely from our article. the
critic goes on to say this:
-THs sis ali wrong hero. II the South did not in.
srsase the area under cultivation to any great extent
between 1880 and 1890 not because OF any lack
Of land but because it was abandoning the old and
wasteful system OF slavery days whom every planter
cultivated too many acres Thy ,etni to rork 10 r'
tpats ourey and closely The intensive yen and they
have secured better yield We have specimen OF
It here in Louisiana. whero the yield per aero In
sugar under the present methods per cent great
or than It ntoen years ago under tho old system.
In period The Sun speaks or 1SI9e3 the value OF
our farm products increased 7<9 por cent although
pricss ranged lower while the land under cultivation
Increased only 1s per cent.
"Ths actual production In pounds OF cotton ana
sugar. bushels of &C. was probably 100 per cent
or nve times great the increase in acreage and
much than the population Because OF this I'M
in yiod tho farmers did not increase their
acreage much having all they could Go TO harvest the
crops they raised.
"There are b4s 75o 900 in the South. ses soo
600 acres OF which is good arabic land OF this 58
600 900 acre loA per of the total area and
l12 per cent of the good lands. IL under CROP Sec
tiou which per cent OF its arabic area being
practically untouched can scarcely be regarded as
crowded or bothered on the land question There IL
stin plenty of good land down here"
It is always unpleasant to direct atten-
tlon to the errors OF friends. but 1t some-
times becomes necessary. as in this In
stance, and we shall endeavor to perform
the duty in manner that will enable our
esteemed contemporary to comprehend
hereafter the situation as respects the cul-
tivable lands yet available.
True, there Is an abundance Of unoccu-
pied land at the South: but what is its
character, and what the inducement for its
cultivation?
Have the crops Of either Louisiana. or the
South as whole, probably increased 100
per cent. in volume during the last thir-
teen years
Has there been such an increase In the
yield an acre as to employ all the labor in
harvesting the augmented crops?
Has there. in fact. been any increase
whatever in the yield OF cotton, corn. &o..
an acre1
On the other hand. has there not in the
last fifteen years. been a material reduc-
tion In the yield per acre OF every staple
grown In the South. with the possible ex-
ceptions Of sugar and rice?
Did the aggregate annual value Of the
farm products grown in Louisiana or the
thirteen Southern States increase 749 per
cent. between 1879 and 1898
Has the yield Of sugar an acre. in Louisi-
ana, increased 152 per cent. In fifteen years
by reason Of improved methods OF cultiva-
tion, or has our esteemed contemporary
fallen into so palpable an error as to credit
to improved methods Of cultivation an In
crease that the veriest tyro knows to be
due to improved methods Of reduction in
the sugar mills?
The reports OF the Department Of Agri-
culture contain data which accord closely.
so far as yields are concerned. with those
furnished by the censuses Of 1880 and 1890.
enabling us to answer these interrogatories
as respects all the staples grown at the
South except sugar and rice, but our show
ing will necessarily be confined to cotton |
and the principal cereals. These showings |
will be by quinquenniums. beginning with |
1870 and covering the period within which |
we are assured that the improvements in |
the methods Of culture have been such as |
to increase the acreage yields SO greatly as |
to nearly absorb the added labor power In |
the augmented product. leaving |
little to be employed IL reducing more
acres to cultivation.
Going back to 1870. tho most favorable
showing possible is made for the conten-
tion Of our esteemed contemporary-whom
we desire to assist out OF an embarrassing
as the indefinite terms used |
leave us In some doubt as to whether
some OF the figures apply to Louisiana or
the whole South, we first tabulate the
and the aggregate value OF tho
staples grown in that State. which have
been as follows in the years named:
Apes l0nler Aggytgafs VaIus