Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1898-10-29
A TRIBUTE TO OUR STATE
Mississippi Treated Historically and Com
merciaIly In a Most Interesting and
Comprehensive Manner.


Southern railway. Every State and
every particular interest of the coun-
try east OF the Mississippi and south of
the Potomac and Ohio rivers is treated
in broad, vigorous and interesting
manner. The author, Frank Pre- -brey,
has been for months engaged in the
preparation of the book. 1t is volume
which is sure to do the South an IN
calculable amount of good. From ad-
vanced sheets we take pleasure in quot
ing from the chapter devoted to Missis-
sippi as follows:
Its not possible to better express a general
Idea Of the resources Of Mississippi than In the
language of Mr.. Carlisle: This noble common
wealth is essentially and pre-eminenly an
| agricultural State. Nature designed and fash
| ioned it to bless and reward the labors Of the
husbandmen. Its geological formations appear
to exclude it from the profits OF the mine and
quarry, but what the State lacks in mineral re-
| sources sometimes transitory and always in the
| C<.d exhaustive, Is more than colnterbalanced
by generous, responsive soil, an almost ideal
climate. and productions the value OF which Is
not exceIled in any part OF the Union. The first
Europeans who ir0i its sol-the adventurous
and romantic expedition Of fernando DeSoto--
| found It's surface richly carpeted with the ma
| tive grasses and maize or Indian corn, one Of
| the chief foods of mankind. of such luxuriant
| growth as to produce three or four ears to the
| stalk No State In the Union has been more
| literally endowed by Nature with all the cOndi-
| tlons favorable to agriculture. In one sense Of
| the word Mississippi Is still new State, with its
| immense natural advantages as yet mainly I'M
| appropriated Its great forests of valuable
woods have been comparatively little depleted;
many OF It's numerous fine mill and manufacture
| ing sites await the power Of skill and capital;
more than hall its area remains untouched by
the husbandman, while the part already in cult-
walton may be made to double its productive
power by improved methods OF agriculture.
| But despite the fact that general geological
| appearances seem to be against it., there are
many who hold firmly to the belief that portions
| Of the state contain extensive cca beds. There
| are distinct traces Of coal along the edge OF the
| hills bordering the Yazoo Valley ON the east,
| especially in Holmes county near Tchula, where
| tests Oh an extensive scale are contemplated.
| But, as has been well sad Mississippi can waive
all pretcntOns to mineral wealth and still take
her rank with any State in the Union In ma
terlal advantages.
The area OF the State Is &c, so square miles, or
| 2995S. 400 acres, being 1888 miles wide and $50
miles long, and with river from. aye along the
| Mississippi Of 357 miles. The number OF acres
| used as farm lands as shown by the most au-
thortative statistics is l7572,5i 6oi9,390 acres
of which are in actual cultivation. These lands
are divided into 1898 farms, the average size
of which is l22 acres. The population of the
State is estimated to be i,5J0,UG0, having in
creased from 79l, SIS IN 1860
The surface OF the state generally is undulat-
ing, with gradual slope from north to south.
The Yazoo Delta is not included in this general
descrptoa being composed OF level bottom
lands and aluya soil. The highest elevations
to be found in the state are in Tippah and Union
counties in the northeast, where some of the
hills reach an altitude OF 1900 feet; the greatest
elevation in The central portion OF the state is
from 800 to 800 feet, while the surface near the
gulf coast is only from 20 to 80 feet above the
sea level. All this part of the State is well
drained by creeks and rivers.
The NazoO Delta or bottom lands lie In the
northwestern part of the state and occupy one.
sixth Of the area OF the State. This section has
numerous navigable streams such as the Yazoo,
Nalobusha, Tallahatchie and SuniloWer rivers,
and is dotted win lively and prosperous towns.
The lands of this section are amoag the richest
in the whole world, and the region is rich in
imher, among which are twelve varieties of oak,
"a ld.tlon to ash. looast, gum. cypress, maple,
tisiory, worina cod and others.
s0is feihalsstas sc,i.,ss., deserves more ihan
tIss.dg notice. II IS very near a f-shapeG
ni OF land, The point Of the beginning at
sr u nh 10 "a
Of Vicksburg, ami running nearly "a The north
line of the State, the Yazoo river being its east
ern boundary. The Delta contains ijO0,O0
acres. 1t has good drainage, az Horn Lake,
at the head of the Delta, Is IA feet above I'll.
mouth Of the Yazoo, and there is not a single
swamp in its entire area. Large, naylgable
streams flow through the Delta, making per-
feet network of waterways, and there are
thrty-one of these that are trayessed By steam
boats of from fifty to one thousand tons burden.
In addition TO these, there are many large bay
ous, which are used in floating ont timber, and
these are available for two or three months in
the year. The soil is wholly aluvial. having
been deposited by the oyerfows o; the Mlssls-
sippi river during the ages past, AMI now that
the river has been controlled by leYees so as to
prevent future oyerl0ws, nearly the entire region
has become available for settlement and cultlva-
ton, and newcomers are already filling the
country AT rapid rate.
The Delta produces more cotton than does
any other one district in the world, though less
than one fifth its area Is given to that crop,
While Mississippi may have no mineral de-
posts OF value, good building stone is found
in some localities. A fair quantity of mari is
abundant and clay in many sections is well
adapted to the making of brick, tile and pottery.
Innearly every part Of the State flowing artesian
water can be had at depth of from 800 to 600
feet. This is great blessing to the Delta, where
this puse water has considerably lessened the
DANCE, Of malara diseases.
| The climate OF the state is usually mild, and
is not Sdbject TO extremes of heat and cold. The
summers are long, but temperature OF 95 de-
grecs is unusual. The winters are cold and
agreeable, but a temperature OF 20 degrees Is not
unusual even in January.
| Mississippi, because OF its excellent natural
conditions, is one Of the healthiest States in the
country, the official statistics showing that
while the death rate In Massachusetts is 1855
per i,cOl; New York, 1880; Pennsylvania, 1i92
and Colorado. l3lO it is but 1889 in Mississippi
and this is inclusive of the colored population
the average death rate of which in the entir'
South Is li.-S per 900.
Facts will show that Mississippi is one OF tht
BEST governed States in the Union. Ever!
householder with family is entitled to hold ex
empt property sufficient 10 support family II
comfort. Liquor selling is regulated by "loea
option" In the counties Since this law wen
into effect, about eight years ago. saloons hay
been abolished In all but six or seven counties
Purity OF elections is assured by the Australia
ballot system. An educational and poll Ia
uual liHcaton has eliminated the ignorant an
vicious voter from participating In election:
, Mississippi has q smaller mortgage indebted
ness than any other State except three, while tn
public debt is smaller than that of any othe
State except West Virginia. while her total In
debtedness is smaller than that Of any 0ths
State, with no exceptions.
, While Mississippi is the greatest OF all I'll
cotton producing States, 1t is erroneous to prt
r sumo that cotton Is the only product that ca
be raised here. A great variety Of grasses has
been successfully grown. Corn, oats, hay, ry
millet. wheat, rice, potatoes, peas. sorghum
j, hemp and all kinds OF fruit are standard crop
Stock growing Is destined to become one Of Il
= leading industries Of the State Dalrying al
Il truck farming already yield profitable return
Hogs and sheep are raised with great success
In verihcaion OF the agricultural worth
Mississippi the following from the pen OF
I S. NJ. Tracey, late OF the state Experiment ST
r tion. is offered In evidence:
"The percentage Of the gross earnings OF Il
= capital Invested in farms. including land, buil'
ings, implements and stock, is very high