The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1893-04-12
Southern Farmer.

are no QOu DG as mucn puzzled at TINS
time in regard to the setting of the
years crop as they have been any time
in the past twenty years. TO the very
large majority of farmers there has
been little profit in their last years
work. We have nodoubt it is true that
for one who made any clear money
there were dozen who failed to come
out square on the years work. Among
the large number of tenant farmers
what per cent. probably did even as
well as this. How many by close
economy managed to live and find at
the end of the year that they had not
increased their indie btedness? We have
made it business to question farmers
of every degree from the one-ox tenant
farmer up to the six, eight or ten-horse
farmer in our section and the burden of
the testimony elected from them will
easily sustain the statement that no
year in the past ten has given so little
reward for their work as '92 has done.
In the majority of cases the yield was
considerably below the average and
yet at the same time the prices re-
ceived for their products, such as
they had to sell was also below
the average. For the majority the
advance in the price of cotton came
after they had disposed of one-half or
three fourths of what was made The
small farmer derived very little benefit
from the advance. Those that were in
the hands of their creditors, so to
speak, were forced to sell just as fast
as it was picked and ginned (surely
"the destruction OF the poor is their
poverty''). A very large number OF
farmers would have held their early
pickings of cotton through September
and October, the past season, if they
had had an option in the matter, but
as they had made their obligations fall
due in those months they were forced
to sell
OF course farming is done at great
disadvantage under a mortgage" but
it seems that much of the farming of
the south can only be done in that way.
This is the misfortune of our farmers
rather than any one fault. But for
their poverty, a heritage left to them
as the result of the war, the mass of
southern farmers would doubtless at
this time be following a diversified sys-
tenn of farming that would have
brought them a comfortable liv-
ing and pleasant surroundings, even
If it had not brought them very
great riches. It is not necessary
to paint their present condition, the
cumulative effect of the 'cotton-and-
corn" system that has been so persist
emily followed for these many years.
1t is necessary though that we should
give serious consideration to the
future. The errors of the past we
must suffer for to be sure, but they
should be fraught with teachings for
the future. The best lessons of life
are to be learned from our failures.
Success is not the only teacher. We
should all prefer to sit at the feet of
success as teacher rather than fail
ure, but frequently we have no option
in the matter.
Is it not true that by far the large
majority have steadily been growing
poorer-for a number of transporter
in purse and in the quality of their
land. Some moralists urge that the
farmers are poorer, most of them, sim
ply because they are and have been
extravagant and wasteful--wastcful
not only of the money they have made,
but constantly wasteful of their time
a waste that might be converted into
money. The moralist claims if the
farmers would only choose to have it
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