Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1898-04-07
Mr. J0hns0n's Scheme for Enrlching
Land ut Little Cost

Farm Magaizinc.I
want you to publish the letter.I
give below from w. II. Bradley, q
South Carolina farmer, to the Column
bia State. 1t contains horse
sense to the square inch on this vexed
question of raising tie price of cotton
than any article I have e on the
subject. In eight short paragraphs,
every ono of them we'll written,
closely connected and logically con-
structed, MI. Bradley shows the true
solution of reducing the cotton acre.
age, namely, offer something to the
farmers that will pay to put his idle
land in, and he will very quickely re-
duce his acreage. Hero is Mr.. Brad
ley's letter:
at is a fact we'll known to every
one that our financial condition is de-
pressed-I mean the Southern
States-and it is all due to the fact
that W. are getting nothing for cot
ton, u money crop, and this is
caused, as we we'll know, by over
production. Various remedies have
been suggested. 1t is a problem that
has taxed the minds of our best
thinkers and most practical farmers
for years. That something must be
done is evident, or we cannot sec fu-
ture relief. 1 suppose it will not
come amiss for me to give my ex~
perience in the fond hope that what
l say will be the means. of doing
something to relieve the situation.
[ have made q study of this subject
and shall attempt to give you my
experience:
"It is universally conceded that re-
duotion of the acreage is the curo for
all the ills. How to bring about this
reduction is the question. Any of
the plans suggested would bring the
desired relief, if carried out. My
plan is this: Let tho farmer pre-
pare as much land for cotton as he
may wish, but when he is ready "
plant let him plant every other row
in cotton, and in June let him plant
the remaining rows in peas. This,
you will observe, reduces the acre
age ono-half, but does not reduce
tho yield so much, as my experience
teaches me. T'make at least three
fourths Of q crop of cotton, and peas
without limit. You enrich your
land, SO that in q few years you can
make q bale per acre with every al
~ternate row in peas, have an abun-
dance of feed, and consequently fat
stock, and your bacon at horue. Be-
sides, you save one-half fertilizer,
one-half hoeing and onc-third pillow,
ing. We have in cultivation this
year 24,000,000 acres. We will
make in round numbers, 100000
bales. This cotton is worth at the
present price $25o,OOO,O00 Now:
to follow the pea suggestion, we
would have 100000 in cultivation,
which would yield 100000, bales
OF. $500, GG0,000 al eight cents pc,
pound, a gain OF $~5o,T33G2,2cooss, 10 ~ss say
nothing about the cost Of production,
which, as / have shown, would be
about ono-half. II it is not desirable
to plant SO many peas, you can plant
pinders, sweet or Irish potatoes, with
equal success. / bought ten acros Of
very poor land and farmed it as
above suggested, and to day I ain
offered $40 for the ten acres. I ann
making a bale of cotton per acre, Il
corn, eto, in proportion. D.
"Now, Mr.. Editor, what has b .,
done on q small scale can be done o,
q large one. Let any man follow
this plan and he will have q like oE-
perience."