Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1898-10-27
Stock and Cotton Raising.


people OF the United States to reduce
cotton raising from being their largest
farm production Notwithstanding it is
at times bound to be an Improbable
crop. Cotton is about the cheapest
crop to sow, the longest to mature,
the most expensive to harvest, but it
is cash crop and at the time OF
planting it always looks more profit
able than at the time OF the harvest.
There are many reasons why cotton
will always be great crop i'll the
South and il it has ups and downs, so
has wheat, corn and other crops
The difficulty is that too much cotton
is raised one year after another and
while cotton raiscrs all agree that
the acreage sown ought 10 be greatly
reduced they are oil determined that
some one else shall make the reduc-
ton while they obtain the benefit OF
II and so tie reduction is never
brought about. cali the cotton DIS
tricts are in distress from low piices
aud all the live stock districts are do
ing well" That is what we hear
from the South The natural remark
is: "Whv don't the Southern people
give up raising cotton and raise live
stock instead ?" The answer is that
the planters cannot so readily Jump
IRON one line OF business to the other.
1t takes money to buy live stock and
it takes time, labor and material to
turn cotton farm into even partial
use as stock farm.
While it is safe to predict that
cotton will always be the great staple
crop Of The South present appearances
also indicate that the stock raising is
becoming more and more business
South and East of the Mississippi
than formerly and it is finding a
place without causing any violent dis
placement OF any other industry.
There are thousands of different
circumstances which govern indiv-
iduals in their farming operations and
what one can do successfully another
connot do at all, Notwithstanding
appearances indicate much the same
conditions in both cases. But stock
raising is a growing industry and il
will continue to grow The extent
TO which live stock raising is becom-
ing Southern industry is best eX-
emplified by stating that in nine
months OF the present year Alabama
Louisiana and Mississippi combined
have sent l, 200 cars OF cattle direct to
the market at ST. Louis besids those
that went to other markets and hall
as many more to people of Texas and
the Indian Territory; these being
finished on other grounds loose their
indemnity before coming to market
The significance of this statement
requires explanation and is given
in the assertion that in years gone by
a dozen cars of cattle has been a
liberal yearly run to ST. Louis from
the three states named.
1t is a good sign that the increased
revenues came from live stock raising
without being the cause of much
shrinkage in other lines of industry.
This is only history repeating itself
1t used to be thought in Texas that
farming displaced stock raising,
whereas 1t appears now that where
ever the largest farm crops are raised
there also can be found the largest
finishing and marketing OF live stock,
simply because the interests are mu-
lually beneficial. Although arrivals of
Southern cattle show the most dis
tiuct increase, hog and sheep raising
are also increasing industries which
are Untitled to due credit as recent
creation or revival.
Another word is necessary to the
understanding of the situation. 1t is
that the commercial side OF the live
stock subject is so much better than
formerly 1t used to be that only
fattened and finished beef cattle had
profitable place in market. Other
states furnish young cattle by the
hundreds of thousands and this sur
plus kept the door shut against
marketing nearly all the cattle of the
South because they were decidedly
deficient in fat beeves and no other
kind wonld stand the expense of
transportation and other incidents of
sale. Happily the reduced supplies
OF other fields have opened up stock
cattle demand chat has rendered
cattle raising more than usually
profitable just as cotton raising is at
one of its low periods ST. Louis
National Live Stock Reporter,