The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1894-03-14
PRAISE AND CRITICISM OF cLEMsoN
King Hobbs Gives the impression n Left
Upon him by q Visit-Liberal Pre-
posals to Other Farmers of the
State,

Editor Register: Hush-sh! I've
been to Clemson. I would ask the
farmers of South Carolina to be silent
for a moment and listen to me. I
know that silver should be worth one
hundred cents on the dollar. I know
it is desirable to get more than cents
a pound for cotton. These are matters
the statesman and fnancier must work
out. The average farmer must only
listen to the eloquence that explains
the result. I believe the average
farmer can more successfully grapple
with this more important problem:
How to make half bale acre Of land
produce one bale of cotton or double its
present product of corn, wheat, bay or
any crops grown. Also the incidental
proposition: How to prevent poor
lands from getting poorer, and old
lands from going to waste. In the
solution of these problems lies the
haven of the farmer. Clemson Col
lege is his prophet. The farmer now
goes on from year to year rotating his
land into bitches. His hills are red or
white poor and scolloped with gullies.
His land is washing to waste, or being
worked out. His home is full Of
politics. His literature is political
literature. His plow, the cd plow, his
nigger the same old identity and bis
mule the same old mule. The farm
swings around from Christmas to
Christmas with no material change.
The farmer can tell you what the
Northern and Western and Southern
people are doing in politics. He sees
and reads it in the paper. He cannot
tell you what the great farming world
ont there is doing. They do not grow
cotton, so he dismisses them. He has
no agricultural literature at haad. He
is not posted. Perhaps he is not to
blame. He has been without a teacher.
He has been without inspiration.
His whole occupation has been socially
and otherwise wetblanketed. His State
and the state of his business is much
to be regretted. Our farmer does not
know what the life blood of his farm
plant is. He does not know what the
constituent elements of his ground are.
He does not knew the effects Of sun
heat on the life Of his crop. He is
ignorant of agriculture chemistry. Yet
he is a farmer. He lsbors and makes a
living among substances and condi-
tions he does not understand. In the
South he has not advanced himself,
and no one has advanced him over his
century-old forefather. I say this
more in regret than as matter of re-
~proach. Thou art farmer, and on this
rock build," would be good State
proverb to constantly look at and carry
out in practice. If lawyers had no
more education in law and practiced
reading as little as farmers in farming
what lawyers they would be! If
doctors, professional men generally,
(including politicians) were grounded
no more and kept up no better with
matters appertaining to their pro-
fessions than farmers do with farming,
what a spectacle Of incompetency
would present itself!
1t seems that when man fails at
everything else he goes to eithel can
vassing for some job lot house or to
farming. He wonders why he fails.
Well, be should fail, and I have no
sympathy for him. The farmer should
be educated in the science Of his busi-
ness and make business Of it. When
he is able to double his crops on his
present acreage he will not worry
much about 60 cents dollar for silver,
aud cents pound for cotton, as the
price of commodities is not regulated by
the output of his little farm aHy way,
and he need worry DO further than to
find out the most he can produce on the
smallest area at the lowest possible
cost. The lowest possible cost"
reminds me that more money can be
saved by discreet buying than by
selling. In buyingis found the baro-
meter of cost, the true gauge of profit,
If you admit what I have written
above, then Clemson Agricultural Col
lege is necessity for the farmers OF