The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1898-01-19
iTrHING This YEARS CROP
o,,r ORIGINAL SUGGESTIONS TO
GEORGIA FARMERS.
ia An the Cotton You Can Without
sighting the other Crops. The
Five.Cent Staple Doesn't De-
serve Consideration.

Nbe tOllOWluS' "uiOn @ppodiou dS Ill
,EtoriaI in the Lexington Echo, has the
~ Irit of great originality, and we believe
lT suggestions, if acted upon, would
i've of wonderful advantage to farmers
l3mtEvwhere. The hope that the article
/. ,n,A aid our farm9r friends in their
~, X of starting this years crop is
l"T sopIv excuse for reproducing it in
|BaE Tbe farmers of the land are now in
HE / midst of the nowise easy task of
Egodfcbing the crop of the present year.
|. that is, they are mentally apportioning
/, the different products of the farm, set
ting aside certain fields and so many
acres to corn or to wheat or to oats
RIO cotton. Whether or not the prof
fered help is appreciated the newspa-
Ders of the country, both great and small,
are assuming no small part in this work
Of the farmer, most of them devoting
their part of the work to cutting down
the cotton acreage.
"WeIl, to keep up with the gang, we
reckon the Echo will have to take a
hand, too, but it will fly off at tangent
from the other papers and is going to
urge the farmers to raise all the cotton
they can-upon certain conditions.
There is no getting around the fact that
cotton is the money crop of the cotton
growing belt. Nature seems to have in
tended it to be, and he who opposes ma
tuTe is fool, plainly speaking. There
is money in cotton-we do not say for
whom 1t is pretty largely game of
chance though as to who gets it. We
believe the faamers stand as good a
chance as anybody else if they will only
work it right.
"But how to work it right is the ques
ton, We don't suppose one of them
can be found who will dispute with us
the assertion that they have shown up
at the sing end of this game of chance
for the past few years. That's the way
most of them talk to us when their sub
scripuons to the paper become due.
"What, then, is the right thing to do?
How can we work it right? are the ques-
tons that very naturally follow. In re-
ply the Echo makes this as a suggestion
That we quit discussing or considering
the cotton acreage entirely. In other
words, that we make it a matter of sec
ond, third or even fourth consideration.
By this we mean let's take the matter
OF acreage in the staple from the tead
Of the list and put it at the bottom when
we come to pitching our crops for the
year.
Catch our idea? Maybe you don't,
good farmer friend. Well, it is this
Mentally calculate first how much corn
1t will take to produce the necessary
amount, allowing some for unfav0rable
seasons and accidents. Do The same
tang with oats, potatoes and all other
1000 and supply crops and then put the
balance of your land you can profitably
cultivate in cotton and make all you
can nPon it without sighting the other
crops.
"Ihen, when your merchant or the re-
Porters for those concerns which keep
the New York and Liverpool gamblers
IN cotton posted ask you how many acres
you will put in cotton this year tell them
all you can possibly cultivate above
"na' 1t will take to produce plenty OF
supplies to carry you through the next
year.
" You will be surprised at what effect
Sucn reports as this will have upon the
market quotations. Those sNew York
ana Liverpool fellows will know what
Is meant. They will see at once that
you are getting in position to act some
"u"V' and maybe entirely, Independently
VI 'nem in that you will be able to refuse
'"''r prices for the staple next fall and
lave some say yourself as to what it
Shall sell for.
see tue point? Then some of the
"'oney that is in cotton will come your
way ana lots of it stay your way to be
put IN improvements on your home and
''0' Darn, to provide more comfors, to
S"' tuition of your children, to pay the
T''"cher and to pay for your paper
'r"V last clause may be our excuse for
'0''nS the above suggestions, but If it
So9 can't blame us. 1t is human ma
n.y. '0 70 DC selfish. Editors are somewhat
mere is feature in our plan tn at