Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1894-05-03
FARMER AND PLANTER,
COTTON A MASTER.
Suggestions to Southern Farmers for Got
ting Out of Bondage.

Suggestions TO Southern Farmers for Got
ting Out of Bondage.
Cotton has been for years emphatic
ally our money crop" that is, it not
only brings in most of the cash, but
nbsorbs every dollar of that, and often
the little CLEANED from other resources
of the farm. 1t has become rapa-
cious and unrelenting master, but can
be made most subservient and q
profitable slave.
1t has been conclusively shown that |
outside Of the cotton grown and con-
sumed in other countries that is, in
Asia, Africa, South America and Mex !
leo, the United States furnishes Is per
cent of the cotton of commerce. In
other words, the world is dependent
on the southern farmers for three
fourths of the cotton which is
used, and which can not be pro-
duced elsewhere. From this simple
statement it will be seen what power
we hold among the nations of the
world, and what a lever to lift ourselves
and our section into prosperity. But
without home supplies of food and
forage we lose the immense advantage
which this monopoly gives us. Album
dant home-raised provisions must be
the fulcrum on which our lever rests.
When our cotton crop is made we can
neither eat it nor wear it until it goes
! into other hands. But if our necessities
In these points are such that we are
obliged to part with it, we are com
peeled to take whatever price the dealer
offers. Hence the crowding of the cot
ton crop to the markets as soon as it is
gathered, though the price be below
the cost of production, and the new
year finds us with only the paper re-
ceipts to show for our twelve months
labor
If man has plenty of home sup
plies, he can afford to wait. The world
is obliged to have his cotton, During
the civil war, the enforced suspension
of cotton production caused the price
to reach the fabulous figure of 50. IS per
pound
Knowing these facts, if the farmers
generally are fortified with ample pro-
visions for family and stock, they can
quietly await n remunerative price for
their cotton. II will not do for man
here and there to adopt this policy; it
must be universal, and when our barns
and cribs and smokehouses are full,
we can afford to look calmly on while
the dealer endeavors to secure our cot
ton at less than it cost us to produce it.
Is not this the situation in nutshell?
Does it not comprehend reduction of
the acreage, lessening of the cost of
production, the prosperity of our agri-
culture, the very existence of our state
nd section as healthy part of the
body polite? What more powerful
appeal can be made to the interests,
the common sense, the patriotism of
our southern farmers? And the de-
cision rests with them. Unlike the
agriculturists of many other nations,
there is no power which can dictate
their course; they must decide whether
they will still further risk the bondage
of "a large cotton crop, and possible,
nay, probable, debt, or less cotton, am
pie provisions and certain indepen-
dence.
These thoughts are suggested and
emphasized by the fact that the final
decision must now be reached as to
what portion of our crops shall be
planted in cotton. In deciding this
question, let us remember that it is not
the number of bales, but the profit on
those bales which most nearly concerns
our welfare Let us also keep in mind
that with the same labor we can, by
judicious selection of land and manur-
ing, nearly double the yield, while
all other expenses, except pick
ing and ginning, remain about
the same. Remember, too, that
the better the land, the more ma
nure it will bear. Hence it follows
that we can, in measure, substitute
fertilization for labor. We can manure
good land with less risk, and by en-
ploying, as far as possible, improved
and labor-saving implements, render
ourselves, in part at least, independent
of that most uncertain factor in the
farm problem. Again let it be repeat
ed, don't waste labor and manure on
land. Where there is so much to choose
from we can concentrate both on the
best spots and leave the'rest either tc
be reclaimed by judicious treatment OF
by kindly mother nature. Southern
Cultivator.