The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-10
Growth of Stock Interests in the
South.

From all over the south comes encour-
aging news Of brighter times ahead, and a
steady progress in the rearing of fine stock
Of all kinds, especially of horses and cattle,
saws CIark's Horse ReuietV. And the south
never goes at anything without carrying
with her the enthusiasm beRot by sunny
climate and tinctured with the breath OF
her genial air.
Thou southland, whose ever golden fields,
Plowed by the sunshine only, would suffice
For the worlds granary,
Is indeed awakening to the fact that cotton
is not the only product of her soil, but that
BY the very nature of things, the climate
that makes animal heat with the least out
lay Of expense, and the soil that produces
everything the animal needs at the smallest
cost, should be the home of Gods noblest
animal creation.
The old south, physically, has passed
away: morally and intellectually it will
never die. Gone are the 1,000-acre cotton
fields, the swamp lands where stood mile on
mile OF serried rows Of corn, the negro
quarters, the banjo and the moonlight
nights, 'old marster" and the family coach.
But old mnrster's gentle blood and honest
sentiments, and truthful, loyal principles.
aud never die gameness, goes marching on
through sons and daughters that may now
be poor as compared with the estates of
their ancestors, but are not in pedigree and
principles. Without such a nature it is
hardly possible that their country would
have recuperated 80 quickly after such a
radical and devasting revolution.
They have passed through the trials that
we're spared the Romans when Alaric came
down; they have built up waste places that
the Jews never saw IN the flrebrand of Ii
tus; they have overcome obstacles that
buried u Greek civilization in a mongrel
wave aud they have solved a problem that
the white race never confronted but once
before, and then only when the Aryan sue
cumbed TO the Hindoo. But, best of all,
they have conquered prejudice and bitter
ness, and withstood alike the avarice of the
alien and the malice of the mongrel. The
people of the south have long ago seen that
something else must be done besides grow-
ing cotton. 1t is true that they make three
times as much cotton now as was made the
year before the war, but the area Of civil
cation is vastly larger, and the population
in proportion; besides the margin between
the selling price Of her staple prod
uct and the cost of production has
probably increased in inverse ratio, and
while her magnificent cotton crops OF
100000 bales last year may represent
S3,000.000, yet is a lamentable fact that
the cost OF production is not perhaps 30
per cent. behind the figures mentioned.
Something must be done, and nature, ever
on the alert to overcome the effect of waste
has begun her silent and almost imper-
ceptible restoration. Cotton is a deadly toe
10 every grass, it is jealous autocrst, and
will not grow unless it has absolute pcs
session OF the earth and "all that in it Is"
And as the big fields gradually weakened
and the continually drained reservoirs of
natures supply OF food were gradually ex
hausted and the land given up, and charred
and scorched with cotton blight, the grasses
o! nature sprang sweety up to restore the
waste places and the wasted energies, and
they came as If from the magic wand of
grass god, altke useful, though Of many
forms and kinds.
Bermuda, the blue grass of the south,
runs its wiry stolens in every direction Me-
liotus, the hardy Johnson grass, the sweet
scented, dew-drinking Lespedeza, the
groWthy crab, the swamp grass. the hun
dreds OF clovers, all from Bermuda, creep
ing few inches over the ground to the
Wild sorghum, waving its black and beaded
tassels In the wind above the head of horse
and rider, have sprung up in the wake of
abandoned furrow, and run their protecting
ana nourlshing roots into the blistered and
tired earth. The effect soon follows: The
country is rapidly taking to stock-raising.
IN every state of the south, the Tennessee,
Virginia and Carolina pacing horse long
ago found congenial home.
these are being greatly improved and
splendid studs Of trotters are springing up
IN all the Southern Gulf states, from Texas
TO Georgia. Alabama has produced the
famous family of trotters known as the
-hcOurdy Hambletoniaus and PAGERS of
equal merit. Guy 2:06&, "the gray
gnost," came from Mississippi, a state
winch is fast filling up with good trotters
aud PAGERS. The same is true of Georgia,
south Carolina Louisiana and Texas, and
II IS safe to say that these states contain
Today three times ss much fine stock within
tnelr borders as they ever bad in the palm
ieSt days before the war. Verify the south
Is III 1t, ana the industry within her borders,
no" spreading aud growing, has come with
me same intention that Pickett's famous
brigade is said to have charged up
Cemetery's hights-"to stay"