The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1894-01-24
geral1 anil Ue1r5.
BE SELF-SUSTAINING.
Some Suggestions on Farming by Practi-
cal Farmer.

BE SELE-SUSTAlSlNG-
Some Suggestions on Farming by Practi-
cal Farmer.
MADISON, GA, January l.-Edltor
Constitution: I read i'll your paper
from time to time articles urging our
Southern people to be self-sustalnlDg
on their farms-to raise corn, hay,
grain and meat for their own con-
Sumption and to sell, urging those
who need to buy something 10 buy
home product. II it is a wagon be
wants, buy one made in Georgia, or
buggy. or plowstock, or anything
which is made in Georgia. Whenever
and wherever ne can buy p thing
made at home at even near the same
price Of a foreign made article 10
always give the preference to the oonie
product. All of which is good advice,
Something that love of country would
seem to instill in the heart Of every
true, thinking man-advice which L
honestly believe is much more closer
followed by the farmers of the State
than by any other of its citizens. WI
ness this in the manufactures OF the
State; they are prosperlng to.day oet-
ter in proportion to their capital than
tie larger manufactures OF Northern
and Eastern States. Their market Is
local. They sell their product at home:
They do not compete in the natural
fields of the Northern and Eastern
manufacturing companies. ihelr pa
irons are the farmers of Georgia.
Now how is it with anything the
farmer has to sell? Suppose be has a
lot of good fat beeves to sell, where has
ne aDy market for them? Unless be IS
a sharp, sh,ewd trader he will never
realize half their value. There is no
market standard by which he can sell
his beeves according to what they are
worth as in the Western States.
Beeyes are worth more in Chicago,
where there are thousands and thou
sands of them shipped every day, than
they are here, where there is nothing
like enough supply to meet the dc,
mand. Chicago beef, which has pslo
to the farmer who raised it, from to =
cents per pound for steers on foot, is
sold here in the markets at about the
same price as Georgia raised beef that
paid tho Georgia farmer who raised IL
from to u cents per pound. why ls
this? Simply because the city man
buys the beef from some poor country
galoot who had only one COW to sell
and drove it to town to the butcher,
and had to take any price offered him
rather than drive his cow back home.
There was marked market value to
the Chicago beef which the butcher
had to pay before he could get it. In
the other case there was not, and he
did not pay anything like what 1t was
worth.
: It is the same way with hay. There
are thousands of tons of hay used IN
Atlanta yearly? How much Of it is
Georgia raised hay? It is useless to
say that there is necessity for buying
so much Western bay. There are
thousands of tons of good Bermuda
and clover hay in Georgia to-day that
could go to supply that demand, but
they will not buy it. Why? They
can give no valid reason. Our Com
missioner of Agriculture and Professor
White, of the State University, will
tell them that Bermuda grass and
clover hay make as nutritious feed as
in the way Of forage that a
horse can eat. But it avails aothing
against the prejudice that exists against
raised by Georgia farmer.
Many a farmer has land that will
pay him more money in grass than IN
any other product, but he is afraid to
try it because of not being able to sell
it. I know whereof I speak, on this
line, because I have been there myself.
/ have had as fine hay as I ever saw;
nice, bright, fragrant Bermuda grass,
with red clover mixed in it, that l
have tried to sell in years past IN At
lanta and have been met with the
answer from merchants who handle
hay and other like produce, that they
would not pay 25 cents for Georgia
hay when Timothy was selling at 81
hundredweight. [ have at times sold
8 great deal of such hay to local
trade, where it had been tried and
demonstrated that stock, even the
daintisst, best kept horses, would eat
it as readily as anything put before
them.
Now, Mr.. Editor, it just struck my
mind that while you were urging the
people Of the grand Old State Of Geor-
gia to be self-sustaining and support
ing, let that advice apply to all alike.
believe the farmer comes much near
er carrying out the doctrine than his
brother in the city. Urge the city
brother to buy whatever be needs from
the Georgia farmer. Help him to
hot hn r,
raise to sell besides cotton. He is
working mighty hard to withstand
the odds against him. The city bro
ther can't get along without him. He
don't ask anybody to give him any
thing. He will work for it. He don't
ex xpect literal "free silver" He is will
ing to have something to sell in order
to get few silver dollars TO jingle in
his pockets as bis "siiver bells' with
which to ring out the old year ana
ring in the new. Your paperis power
in the land" Preach some on this line
and try to make your people in At
lanta, all over this State and this broad |
realize that the farmer will
prosper better if they will buy his
product instead.of sending to the West
for what he can sell. Buy his hay, in
stead of Western hay; his beeves, in.
stead of Chicago beef; his hogs, instead
of Western hogs.
You made notice few days ago Of a
farmer down about Americus sending
. car load Of hogs to Chicago, and spoke
Of it as laudable thing to do. It was
ali right for the farmer to do if he real
lied more money from his hogs than