St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-05-09
FARMER AND PLANTER.
sEAsoMAsLE WORDS

Ese tAs Bsglanlax q tAs Years Aes1na
Woek In The Y1eaAs.
In this month. except for Unforeseen
delays, the main body Of the cotton
crop throughout the south win be put
into the ground, and while most farm
ers have decided on the number Of
acres they intend to plant, II II not too
late perhaps to utter . word of warn
ing to those who contemplate putting
In . large area Mt the expense OF the
more important provision cropA We
use the words ''more important" adj
visedly, and - supporting this asser-
ton, we point to the general condition
Of the farmers to-day, a. compared
with what It WAS ct this time last year
and the year before. Then they were
hampered in their preparations for an
other crop by A-lack of sufficient sup
plies for man and beast; to-day the
barns and storehouse groan under the
accumulation Of food of all kinds.
Though the proflts ON the past years
operations may not have reached q
high figure, farmers, ~ . rule, arc now
resting secure, while in oil other occu-
pations and professions there 10 . f.
verish anxiety and apprehension. Hav-
ing taken no chances, they have fOrti'
fied themselves against market ductu'
atoms, and thus their Investment is
moro certain than II placed in stock
companies and syndicates. No one
will deny that this Is q great and ia
vorable change, and yet there is . dis
position, in some quarters, by reduc'
ing the provision crop and enlarging
on cotton, to cut OF the only means
which will maintain us in our posi-
ton of assured security. The dispo'
sitiou to purchase mules and guano
is usually an indication OF IN In
creased cotton acreage. To tnoee
men who have already invested In "a
ditional stock and fertilizers TOR the
nurpose of planting largely in cotton,
we would urge the following reasons
why they should pause and reconsider
their plans: In the first place il each
farmer assists in keeping down the
cotton acreage, he, to that extent, In
creases the chances of prohI Tor al.
On the other hand, II there Is . gen.
eral and large increase in cotton pro
duction, the individual farmers who
restrict their acreage to reasonable
bounds stand less chance of loss. should
the price fall below the cost of pro
.duction. which it almost inevitably
will, than those who plant heavily in
the hope that by some means Provi
dcnce will bless their lack of business
sagacity and save them from the con
sequences Of their folly.
Another cogent reason for Unite d
cotton crop, and full, even super
abundant provision supply, is the un
settled condition of national affairs the
world over. Should the present dis
turbed relations between European
governments result in conflict, no one
can predict the extent to which, either
rs to time or geographical boundary,
hostilities might reach, still less could
we estimate the disastrous effects t.
our immediate agricultural interests.
The mere rumor Of war between Ger
many and England caused the pro-
vision markets in Chicago to advances
several points, with q corresponding
depression in cotton prices at Other
places.
The following figures, taken from
the report Of the department of agri
culture, give . comparative estimate Of
the corn crop OF the south for three
yeas: 1893, 435. IA, 766 bushels; 1894
4s3, AZ, 1862 bushels; 1895. COZ, 665 oil,
bushels. The estimated grain crop oi
the south for 1895, including corn, cat.
and wheat, will make . grand total o.
over zoe. COO, 900 bushels.
As q result of this largo provision
crop, and the better prices for cotton
following the reduced area for 1895
everything has taken on = brighter
aspect, and farmers all over tn.
country are in better condition thar
for years. Experience and common
sense both urge the obvious conclu
sion, but will farmers profit by the op
portunity which their vantage grounl
gives them? Will they raise theil
bread and meat and cotton at q profit
or will they simply plant cotton il
order that others may reap the benefit
The coming month must answer thes,
questions. May the decision be sucl
that the farmers will come out on thu
winning side, when the results ar,
summed up at the close Of 1S96.-South
ern CultivatOr.