St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-02-09
FARMER AND.PLANTER
ATTwO.D
TIMELY THOUGHTS.

T.
Before developing fully the plans for
the coming year. it is well to look hack
and scan the mistakes of the past, Con-
ceit often makes MS attribute failures
to every other possible cause than cur
own folly, ignorance or Incidence.
Everything is to blame but ourselves.
This is human nature. but it does not
help us to make better crops. 4 1t keeps
rs in the same old easy-going steps. in
the same old ruts. Each successive
year we repeat our mistakes, and lay
the blame for failure on the weather or
something else. What a boon the
weather is to the poor farmer. All his
shortcomings are hidden away in it.
One almost universal mistake is the
cultivation of land too poor to pay any
profit On the rich lands Of Arkansas.
Texas. Mississippi and Alabama. and
with the increased production from the
use of commercial fertilizers in the
older states thrown in, the average crop
OF cotton does not exceed one bale to
three acres. Is it not perfectly clear
then that a very large quantity of the
poorer land planted in, cotton must
make less than onc-third of q bale to
the acre: But suppose the yield to be
onc-third Of a bale to the acre. is there
any money in it? The present season
q bale of cotton will not bring on
an average more than S:S, which is
equivalent to ss.:s gross per acre. Now
set over against that, interest on land,
taxes, cost of preparation and cultiva-
ton. including stock, implements.
smith bill, picking, ginning. bagging
and ties. hauling to market: and in
many eases storage, insurance. com
missions for selling. etc. After de-
Quoting these. how much will be left!
Suppose vou make eight bales to the
mule on say ,wenty-four acres. The
wear and tear orannGal depreciation OF
a mule costing $50 is SIS: the interest
on his cost dollar more, say
Sic. which. divided 10y eight,
makes - a bale for horse
flesh. to say nothing of the cost OF
feeding the horse. The picking Of a
bale of cotton will cost nearly $500,
the ginning $500. say $1,000 for wear
and tear of horse flesh in making. and
for picking and ginning one bale OF
cottons or foc, one-third of a bale yield
of one acrel e3. 30. Can you bring the
cost of preparation. planting, blowing
and hocing of an acre under 5000
Again we ask is there any money in
that? On most farms the whole cost OF
provision crops is properly chargea bic
10 the cotton crop, also. because the
former bring no direct income
they are consumed in making cotton:
and what is left to pay for your super
vision. your own worry and trouble,
and the exhaustion of your land. We
are perfectly satisfied that less than
an average yield of a half bale to the
acre will not pay. and that will pay q
very moderate profit only e ~ 4
Here it may be asked. have southern
farmers then been getting poorer. have
they made no money raising only a
third of bale to the acre. As a
whole, we have no hesitation in say
ing that they have not made money.
Some have. These are: First. those
having farms naturally rich and spe-
cialy adapted to cotton. and who cuIti-
vate them with hired labor or with crop
PEERS. Second. those having lands that
cost little, and have rented them torso
much cotton per acre. Third, the small
farmers who do their own work and
utilize the labor of their young chill
dren. Those of the first class. who are
unusually good Managers. and who
have been fortunate TO secure good
laborers, have made some money. lso-
lated cases. may he found here and
there. The second class make good
profits whenever they watch their bust
ness closely. get tenants for whom
they do not have to make advances.
or tenants so Industrious and
thrifty as to he able TO pay ont
But their apparent profits are
reduced sharply by the running
down of their lands-tenants as rule
neither protecting land from washing
nor manuring it. The third class. by
the labor of their young chill
dren, get moderate coupe nsation for
their own labor, but make very small
profits. The last. as a class, have prob
ably done better than any other.
Against the above three classes who
have made some clear money stand the
majority. who either have
lost money or merely paid out.
Those who have lost money are
in debt. probably their farms
Alas, how many Of
these are to be found. Others who
have paid ont have lived poor, enjoy
ing few of the comforts, Except the
rudest. and none of the Injuries of
life. Our farmers. as a rule, work
harder and live poorer than any other
class. And yet the cotton crop brings
a large quantity Of money into the
south every year. Who gets the bene-
fit Of that? The farmer least Of all
the merchant, the banker. the cotton
factor: the railroads get the lions
share. See how the cities have pros
pered and grown-how railroads have
been built. But to come back to orr
mistakes.
Next to the mistake of working land
too poor to pay profits. is that of pur-
suing methods which tend to make our
lands poorer every year. No soil. how
ever rich it may be naturally, will re-
tain its fertility, if deprived of its hui
mus. Without humus it will refuse to
yield up its plant food: it will run to-
gcther and bake after rains: it can not
be gotten into a state Of fine filth.
neither will it retain its filth: it will
suffer greatly during drought: it
loses the air-itr dies. We: in the face
of these weu-known facts, we
make cotton-a Misunderstanding
crop-the overshadowing crop of the
farm. Keep our lands in clean culture
year after year: reduce grain crops
humus producing-to a minimum, and
allow no rest 10 the weary, exhausted
soil. Never was q more suicidal policy
pursued by sensible men. And, final
ly. to cap the climax, we spend thou
sands of dollars in tho purchase Of
chemical fertilizers to apply to these
soils. which, in the absence of humus,
will not stand the shortest drought.
and thus virtually throw money away.
We ask the candid reader if the picture
IS overdrawn.
We shall not stop now to discuss the
terrible mistake of raising cotton to