The Lafayette gazette., 1895-08-24
OUT OF THE RUT.

The Strange but 9uccessful Departure OF
Southern Planter.
A young farmer in the south west,
having come into possession of a small
plantation through the death of his
father. deter mined to introduce some
radical changes. The farm had not
been profita ble for several years. His
father had borrowed money of mer-
chants and put every acre into cotton,
buying his food supplies every year
and running every year more deeply
into debt. Tie son was anxious, as lie
said, "to get out of the rut.'
He decided to abandon cotton-pla Mt
ing, and to raise straw berrie. and 9TH
er fruit on a large scale. and. so far as
possible, to make q living from his
farm by producing his own food sup
plies. He began with a few acres OF
Strawberries, and put the remainder OF
his land in corn, oats. grass. potatoes
and vegetables, increasing his supply
of poultry and pork.
All his neighbors demonstrated with
him. A southern plante0s they said
who did not raise cotton, but who de-
voted his energies to small fruit and
''trucking," would be of no account
socially, while inviting financial ruin.
The young farmer was warned that in
breaking away from the customs and
traditions of the cotton belt he was
lowering his dignity and degrading
himself to the level of 1.-The poor white
trash"
One critic was even more outspoken.
He was the father of the you ng woman
whom the young farmer had been
courting, and who was engaged to him.
''You are acting like lunatic!'
growled this veteran. what can you
do without a cash crop like cotton
Where can you find a market for your
Strawberries? You are as mad as q
March hare!"s
THE finest varieties of berries will
grow here to perfection. I can make
| arrangements to send them by rail
| north, where I shall be ahead of the
season, and also south for the latest
| varieties when the home crop is ex
| hausted. AS for cotton, it is impover
ishinR the planters here, as you well
| know. Why should I raise cottor
| without profit for the sake of what YOU
| call social prestige?"
''Well, sir." was the angry reply, "i
you are bent upon going on with youl
| crazy schemes. you shall not drag
| down my daughter with you. She is
| a cotton planters daughter, and shall
| not be truck farmers wife"
As the daughter sided with the
father, the engagement was broker
off. The young man, uncismayed BY
| the disapproval of his neig bors, car
ried out his plans with resolute deter
| mination. The experiment was sue
| ceSsful.
| He was obliged to be patient as wei
as determined, and the result was tina
he was soon obliged to double hi
straw berry acreage. He then intro
duced raspberries as a crop to follow
| the rawberries. The result has beer
that he found his pcofits warran ntet
the purchase of another farm, and th<
enlargement of his fruit business.
| Meanwhile the planters around hin
were many of them impoverished by
| low prices for cotton. The veteran
who had called him . lunatic was re
eluced to such straits that one or tw,
of his children went into the fruit
farmers fields to pick trawberries i,
their season for the wages they nigh
receive. Everyone now is convince,
| tina there was method in the young
| planters madness. Youths Com
| panion.