The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1894-12-19
A Farmers Views.

REHoBoTH. Dec. S.-Once there
were two brothers, tillers of the soil.
Jack most every year had corn to
sell and seemed to be gradually
climbing the financial ladder. Bill
was a corn buyer about the plant
ing season. Jack goes to see his
brother Bill, and as was usually the
case asked his brother if he was
through planting, upon which he IN
formed him that he was. Jack seeing
good piece of land that was not
planted says to Bill, why don't you
plant that field in corn?'' "Oh," :"
says he, II can't tend it, We'll" ;"
says Jack, you plant it and | will
try and help YOU" Upon this en-
couragement Bill plants the field.
When the busy time came on and the
grass began growing Bill calls on
Brother jack for help. BY Jove,n y
says Jack, II am SO pushed up now 1
can't. bu, you just 90 ahead and do
all you can, and | will help you as
soon as l can, So Bill kept pushing
on. After while he calls on Jack
again. only to hear the same song.
So Bill tended the crop without
Jacks help. and the next year Bill
did not have any corn to buy.
Now, brother farmers, let's plant
more corn and other grain and less
cotton and not have any corn to buy.
We have often heard it said, "Show
me man with a barn full OF corn,
and I'll show you man with plenty
of everything else necessary fora liv-
ing" and we believe il true. Where
there is plenty of grain there is plen-
ty of milk. butter, and bacon. On
the other hand, show Inc a man that
plants his entire farm in cotton and
has his barn and smoke house in the
West and l will show you a man liv-
ing on mortgaged home or rented
one. Almost every farmer readily
SAYS that planting cotton puts him
in debt, but l am so far in debt l
cant quit planting it till / get nearer
out, then | am going to cut my cot
ton crop down. Well now it does
not look very logical to US that if
planting cotton is what put him IN
debt that continuing to plant it will
bring him out of debt. But some
will say, We'll, it is not worth while
for me to reduce my cotton crop un-
less everybody else will do like
wise Well, now, wculd it not be
better to do so, if it did not affect
the price of cotton, to better our own
condition? do not mean to say to
entirely quit the cultivation of cot
ton, but let's raise it as a surplus.
Mr.. Editor, do you not think that
if those farmers having suitable to-
bacco lands and can control a suffi-
cheney of labor, wodld cultivate to-
bacco instead of cotton, and those
not having such lands raise what cot
ton they can after raising plenty OF
provisions and thereby make their
corn and tobacco surplus, that the
farmers would again become a pros
porous people? Now, here are few
figures in favor of the tobacco cul-
ture: On any suitable tobacco land
where any one can raise 500 lbs of
lint cotton, you can easily raise 1000
lbs of tobacco. Let's average each at
s cents per pound. We can readily
see that tobacco will nearly double
cotton, and have been told by those
who have experience in the tobacco
culture, that after the first year there
is no more expense to raise a crop of
tobacco than cotton. We know that
it is little expensive to equip our
selves for curing it.
Well, Mr. Editor, guess l have
said enough on this subject, for we
farmers are all strong-headed, and
we will not stick together in any
combination, association, or organi-
zation. SAM TATTLER.