The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1893-01-05
FARMER AND PLANTER.
LAND POOR.
A Condition In Which Many n Southern
Farmer Finds Himself.

A Condition In Which Many southern
Farmer Finds Himself.
How few realize the pitb and point
Of the phrase, 'land-poor." The pow
erty of the south, especially the older
states, consists largely of this class
Even the land owners fail to grasp the
full meaning of these two short words
This land-poor class is not always the
owner of large tracts of poor land.
Sterile farms are plentiful, no doubt.
Poor farmers, too, are by no means
scarce, and they are not only poor in
purse but poor as agriculturists. We
do not mean to cast any aspersion upon
the southern farmer, for his is an error
of the head and not of the heart 1t is
an error in which too many of our
southern people of every class persist.
1t is the tenacity with which they
cling to the traditions of the past. In
other words, they continue to plod
along in the same old ruts.
The poor farmer of the south owns
track of four or five hundred acres
which goes begging for a purchaser at
three or four dollars per acre. His
farming does not pay because he plants
all the land that he possibly can,
and raises his grass crop in his corn
field, and pastures his stock on the
common. The inevitable result is a
poor crop of grain, no hay, except a
little crab grass, and poor stock that
brings the lowest prices on the mar
ket. Tradition teaches him that his
ancestors cultivated large areas, and
they were good livers, if not wealthy.
All this may be corrected, but he
must adapt himself to the ex-
igencies arising from the changed con-
dition of things. His fathers owned
and cultivated large acreage, but
they, too, possessed and operated an
important item of capital in the form
of slave labor, which permitted larger
agricultural projects with less cash
capital than would be req uired to-day.
Agriculture to be success, like any
other voca ton, must be conducted upon
business principles. The first and most
important principle is to lay out the
work according to the capital to work
with, One of the greatest mistakes in
farming is that anybody can be a
farmer; another equally as great is
that it requires little or no capital to
farm. Therefore it follows that one
must have at least a rudimentary
knowledge of farming, and the amount
of farming must be in proportion to the
capital. Extensive farming, as rule,
must be confined to the retired business
man or wealthy agriculturist; the in
tensive system must prevail among the
masses. One acre must produce more
grain, by better hus bandry, the grass
must be grown separately and cured
into hay, the stock must be kept in a
well-furnished pasture, the land i'm
| proved and set to grass as rapidly as
possible. Under this system diversified
ton will obtain, smaller areas thor
| oughly cultivated and literally ma
nured will produce paying crops. More
| grass generally means NOR e stock,
which should be the main source for
| supplying fertilizing material.
| But the most important point to be
taken under consideration by the land
| poor class is the question of immigra-
ton. Where farms are of unwieldy
| proportions it would be wise to reduce
the size of the farm to such dimensions
as may be handled to advantage. In
selling land the use of judgment will
pay. A low price to a thrifty farmer
insurps good neighbor, while high
figures will drive him away. The south
does not want a promiscuous lot of i'm
| migrants, but needs industrious small
| farmers who can pay for their land
| and will go to work in earnest to estab
| fish a home, working their land By
such methods as will afford them
satisfactory living. Such class Of
immigrants will soon become identified
with the best interests of the commu
nifty and aid in its development. In.
tensive farming and diversified agricul
ture may be combined to the best ad
vantage in the south. No section offers
such opportunities. Our railway mile
age and urban trade may be extended
indefinitely if business men and corpo
rations will bestow that attention upon
the agricultural development that its
Importance and bearing upon indus
trial and urban development demand
A prosperous and thrifty farming com