The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-12-24
TALKS WITH FARMERS.

correspondence or the progressive Farmer.
RED SPRINGS, N. Q.
I learn that the merchants in this
section of the State are laying in large
supplies of guano. Now what is the
meaning of this9 Simply this, that
the farmers are sho wing a disposition
to buy largely, and of course the mer
chants want to sell and will sell unless
the farmers change their notions and
refuse to buy. In regard to this mat
ter I wish to have a word with brother
farmers. Buying large quantities of
guano means increased acreage of cot
ton, and, of course, less of other crops.
Now, is this wise9 This year farmers,
generally, planted less c)tton and
bought less fertilizers, the price hoped
up from five to eight cents, and while
they re- oiced at the price, they we're
sorry they had't planted more. Now,
what was the result9 The small crop
of this year brought fully as much
money as the large one of last. year.
The crop was. made. with less expense.
and the farmers, with plenty of "hog
and hominy, " are in better condition
than they were. twelve months ago:
The increased price, however; has:in
duced a cotton craze. by which, / fear,
all may be badly hurt and many en-
tirely swamped.
I entreat the farmers to consider
well what they are doing. Suppose q
large acreage of cotton is. planted and
the price eight or ten c3nts-even then,
will all be weil9 The price of every
thing he has to buy will be up, fully in
proportion, if not more so than cotton,
and in the end he will find his money
all gone, and but little to show for it.
But suppose again that the price should
drop to five cents, or les5-below the
cost of produc5ion-as it did last year,
! where would the farmer find himself
then? Gone Gone !-irretrievably
gone! With but little home supplies
and cotton that cost him more than he
! could get for it, he would be ~irrecov-
erabIy smashed. With all hope gone,
his mind daz9d by the magnitude of
his failures and his energies exhausted
in the mad efforts to accumulate money
there would be nothing left for him
but to be cast off, a hopeless, helpless
wreck, without money and without
credit, to be used only for the gain or
pleasure of his masters - himself a
drone and his family in want. What
a picture of misery and ruin would the
farmer then present to the world!
It seems to me, however, that all this
disaster and w~retchedness may be
avoided by a more conservative course
on the part of the farmers. Let every
one plant largely OF everything that
will make food, or otherwise contrib
ute to the comfort of man and beast,
from garden sass" up. Be sure to
have plenty of all such, and then put
in as much cotton besides as car con,
veniently be well cultivated, and watch
the result. If then the price of cotton
is eight or ten cents (the higher the
better) you farmers can stand upon
your own dung hill and crow loudly
over his achievements, and if the price
of his cotton is pressed below the pay,
ing mark, he is still independent and
can hurl defiance in the teeth of Cd.
preston.
Now, brother farmers, what are Won
going to do about it9 Will you take
a conservative course that leads uner
ingly to competence and independence
!; or will you stake your all on a single
throw of the dice and risk losing all
Speak out and say which.
Some n may say, the money
power" put up the price of cotton fol
political purposes, and will, no doubt
keep it up until after the next election
I believe there is something in that
too, but how are we to know9 If they
can put the price up, they can also pur
it down, and we have no means O