The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1894-04-12
Mr. NESBITrS REPORT,
dis Monthly Talk to the Farmers OF
the State of Georgia.
THE BUSY SEASON BEGUN,
experiments in Farming, Renovation md
Rotation, Success in Cotton Plant
ing, Fertilizers, Orchard
and Garden.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
ATLANTA, April /, 1894.

AAo oosorplng work for this month is
the preparation for and planting of the
cotton crop. This work is doublv i'm.
portant because of the skill and iudg-
ment involved and because now one
must come to the final decision as to
what part of our lands shall be devoted
TO this crop. 1t is well for the farmer
W pause ana carefully ponder over this
Important subject in all its bearings.
10 alo such reflection, and to suggest
several points, which he might other
WISE Wdse overlook, | have prepared an ar
Iicle tor The Southern Cultivator'' for
April, part of which l repeat here.
tnat IL may be, if possible, more widely
circulated, and thus reach many who
might otherwise give these points little
II mas been conclusively shown that.
OUTSIDE the cotton grown and consumed
u other countries, that is, in Asia.
IAIrloa, South America and Mexico, the
United States furnishes IS per cent of
tne cotton of commerce. In other
WORDS, the world is dependent on the
southern farmers for three. fourths of
the cotton which it uses and which can
not be produced elsewhere. From this
s1Mple statement it will be seen what a
power we hold among the nations of the
Worlo, ana what lever to lift ourselves
ana our section into prosperity. But
without home supplies of food and for
age, we, lose the immense advantage
winch this monopoly gives us. Abund-
ant nome raised provisions must be the
tulcrum on which our lever rests.
when our cotton crop is made we can
neither eat 1t nor wear it until it passes
into other hands, and if our necessities
IN THESE points are such that we are
oollged to part with it we are compelled
10 take whatever price the dealer offers.
Hence the crowding of the cotton crop
10 market as soon as it is gathered.
though the price be below the cost of
production, and though the new wear
hndss us with only the paper receipts to
show for our 12 months labor. If a
man has plenty of home supplies he can
afford to wait. The world is Obliged to
nave his cotton. During the civil war
Ehe enforced suspension of cotton pro-
opctlon caused the price to reach the
fabulous figure of $2.8 per pound.
THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE.
knowing these facts, if the farmers
generally are fortified with ample pro-
visions for family and stock, they can
quietly await a remunerative price for
their cotton. 1t will not do for a 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, cur cotton
for less than it cost US to produce it. Is
not this the situation in a nutshell;
Does it not comprehend reduction of
the acreage, lessening the cost of pro-
duct1on, the prosperity of our agri-
culture, the very existence of our state
and section as healthy portion of the
BODY polite? What more powerful ap.
peal can be made to the interest, the
common sense, the patriotism of our
southern farmers? And the decision
rests with them. Unlike the agri-
cuIturists OF many other countries, 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, ample
provisions and certain independence.
These thoughts" are suggested and
emphasized by the fact that the final de-
cision must now be reached, as to what
portion of our crops shall be planted in
cotton.
In deciding this question let us re-
member that it is not the number of
bales, but the profit in these bales which
most nearly concerns our welfare. Let
as also keep in mind that with the same
labor we can, by judicious selection of
land and manuring, nearly double the
yield, while all other expenses, except
picking and ginning, remain about the
same. Remember, too, that the better
the land, the more manure it will bear.
hence it follows, that we can, in meas
ure, substitute fertilization for labor.
We can manure good land with less
risk, and by employing, as far as DOS
sible, improved and labOr-saving imple
ments of that most uncertain factor in
the farm problem. Again, let it be re-
peeted, don't waste labor and manure
on dead poor land. Where there is SO
much to choose from we can concen-
tfate both on the best spots. Leave the
rest, either to be reclaimed by judicious
treatment, or by kindly mother nature.
1t is indeed ruinous system, which
spends large sums to make an expensive
crop, and then uses this to buy others
that can just as easily be raised at home,
and paying for them much more than
they would cost us if produced on our
own farms.
The raising of corn, oats, hogs, mules,
horses and COWS belongs to the duties of
the southern farm, and with our soil
and climate can be accomplished Just as
easily, and at as little cost, as in sections
Of the northwest. where each year there
has been steady flow of money from
the south to purchase these supplies.
Let us, rather, appropriate the amount
of capital which we have thus been ex-
pending to building up these industries
at home. The man who has no back
debts hanging over Rim, and raises his
own stock and provisions, is indeed an
autocrat-"lord of all he surveys"-su-
premely indifferent to money panics.
and independent of the fluctuations of
the markets.
In selecting the cotton land, leave all
bottom or low, damp land for the corn.
Again let me call attention to the fact
that, in our climate, the tendency is to
too much stalk and foliage. Bottom
lands encourage this tendency; the hollis
open later, do not develop well, and the
general results are unsatisfactory.