Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-03-09
FARMER AND PLANTER.
KEEP MORE STOCK.
sensible Advlos to the All Cotton Farm.
era OF tho eoutn,

tcntion than has hitherto been given
to this branch Of hhsbandry in all the
cotton regions is daily becoming more
ana more apparent. Intelligent, pro-
gressive agriculturists at the south are
fully alive to the imperative necessity
OF providing in some way for the reno
vation of soils mutually fertile, but ex-
hausted by long-continued cropping
with cotton. The culture of grasses
and the raising OF stock is natures
method of renovating the aelds lmpoy;
erished by long tilla9e, and this mode
of treatment will be found for the most
part efficient and economical. True,
saano and artificial fertilizers may be
resorted to, but will they thoroughly
renovate the soil? We think it will
hardly be claimed that more can be
done with the aid of these fertilizers
than to'maintain fruitful soil in its
present condition. Other means must
be resorted to in order to restore to
worn-out lands their lost fertility.
The improvement of these by grow
ing stock upon them, instead of being
an item of expense might, in most
cases, with proper management, be n
source of profit 1t is quite rohta
mon mistake to suppose that grasses
Will not flourish upon good cotton
land. True, the clover and herds grass
Of the northern and middle states will
not flourish in climate suited to the
natural growth of cotton, but there are
other grasses to be substituted, such as
the Kentucky blue grass, which will
grow on any good soil and will flourish
under such as are rich in lime; wild oat
grass, the orchard grass and bermuda
grass, which furnish excellent and
abundant pasturage upon great pro-
portion OF the exhausted cotton lands.
That sheep, cattle, horses and mules
can be protitably raised In the south
has been nbuhdahtly shown by the vast
number that are now produced, and is
far beyond any experimental stage
In fact, it is claimed with every reason,
that wool can be grown more profita-
bly, in the south than in any other
section of our country. But we hear
it continually criel out and duly car
RED into execution that the duty of the
cotton planter is to kill grass instead of
raising it, that cotton and stock can
not be protitably produced upon the
same plantation at the sane time, that
it is more profitable to wear out the
land and go in search of virgin soil
May not the correctness of these say
ings well be questioned? They
can, to a certain extent At the
rate the old plantations are being
turned out for nature to restore lost
fertility, we fear that the virgin soil
now being frequently resorted to will
also play out. 1t is only a matter of
time, if this system is continued, when
the south will be more like an African
desert, instead of hills and valleys be.
ing covered with vegetation, and where
you now support one head of stock you
should keep ten. Again, why should
not the planter conduct his business
upon the same plan or system of the
merchant or manufacturer? What bus
mess of any extent would pay anyone
to do for them or produce for them
what they can themselves pro-
duce more cheaply and convenient
ly? Yet the planter or farmer
finds that he can not produce his
own cows and hogs, chickens, vege-
tables and many other products of farm
and garden, and must buy them from
Tom, Dick and Harry not stopping to
think one moment that those same peo-
pie produce these supplies at u profit to
them, which you paid in addition to the
profit and freight charges
added We submit rule that will be
of estimablc value to every farmer and
planter in the south: "Never buy from
abroad what you can produce at home"
This rule strictly followed will keep
your silver dollars in circulation at
home, and in many cases, or perhaps
thousands of cases, will cause some of
them to remain in a savings bank de-
posted to your credit. This is no over
drawn picture, but facts that bear no
contradiction.
The growers of mixed husbandry--
tobacco, hemp, wheat and corn, etc,
have all found 1t profitahl> to connect
stock-raising with these staples, and we
are confident the opinion is gaining
ground among intelligent cotton plant
ers that it would be to their advantage
to pay more attention to the improve
ment of the soil by stock-growing, thus
increasing the amount Of cotton grown
per acre, which means upon the inten-
sive system of farming lessening of
the cost per pound to produce it. Most
kinds of stock could be growr at very
cheap rate upon a great portion of the
rolling cotton lands which have become
exhausted and are now of little value.
The large sums now paid by the
planter to other states for mules to |
work his crops, corn to feed his mules,
md bacon or hog meat to feed his |
hands, would be saved, and while get
ting these at cheaper rate, or about |
of the market price, he will be |
'eaping from such course still great
= increased value of his lands. We do
NJ, for moment suppose that single
le:e of rich land, such as lies along the
i:"r valleys, is be devoted to stock
growing or pasturage for same, so long
Us their fertility remains unimpaired.
But by change or rotation of crops
,hese rich lands can greatly be
or less danger of |
becoming impoverished BY n mixed
lusbandry, which will include the
ieeping of stock, and this we firm
y believe would be the system for the
of the WORKOUT soils.
The constant drain of fertility carried
If annually by cotton, and this regu-
ar from year to year, with an occa-
ional rest, is sufficient to ruin the best
arning land in any country or climate,
nut more especially warm one. These
oils are deficient, especially in nitro
'en, and all naked soils, when contin-
ally exposed in warm climate, will
ose the greater portion of this impor-