The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-01-13


the evil. The low prices OF cotton In the
past have tended to drive many farmers
into the cultivation of other products.
In at least three of the cotton states ii
great change has thus been caused IN tne
last ten years. The farmers or deorgia
and the two Carolinas are now turning
their attention more and more 10 gram,
grasses and fruits, realizing thab 1hoil
prosperity lies in diversity OF crops.
The one-horse cotton farms of the SCUM
today afford a most interesting study VI
contrasts. These farms are the legitimate
descendants of the old-tirne plantations
of the wealthy Southerners. The bulk OF
the cotton crop of today comes from these
small farms-a bale here, two bales there
and ten bales somewhere else. The farms
are not so small as one might suppose
from the phrase lone horse farms, Tor
good cotton land is cheap in the South,
and the farmer can generally secure all
he has the capital to work. 1t is not the
pricesof the land SO much as the cost ~ol
cultivation, seedingsand harvesting that
decides the acres Of farm. Sometimes
the price OF a horse or mule will be the
measure of the size; in fact in many
localities the farms are known by the
number of work animals the owner can
afford to own. Consequently, there are
one horse farms, two horse, three morse
and five horse farms, mule farms ana
even steer farms. .
Many of these farms are worked by the
slaves of former days or their descendants
who, perhaps, pay rent in the shape OF
cotton. This is fairer measure than
money, for the value of a farm can be
measured exactly by the crop it produces.
Some of the oldtime plantations are held
intact today in this manner. The OLD
planter still owns all the lands and build
ings, but he rents most of the acres to his
Gov ell for. 40 bn1pG N0nn1S
O. cotton Per annum The negro secures
a star in life by this method with almost
no capital. He merely has TO furnish
sufficient funds to purchase seed and
working implements. Sometimes the
planter even advances the capital TO pur-
chase seed, farm machinery and mules,
taking as security mortgage on the crop
Again. he may make arrangements to
purchase all of the cotton direct from his
tenants at liked price, and run the fisk
of making his profit by handljng5the crop
on large scale. This system has become
so popular in many sections that white
planter finds it difficult to secure farm
faborers enough. Every laborer is anx-
ious to become his own farmer. He is
ambitious to say that he acknowledges no
man as master or employer. When first
started. after the war, the plan worked
better than it does today. Every emanci-
pated darby then wanted to rent land OF
his former master, and the old planters
found themselves helpless before the new
conditions, until they SAW their estates
divided up into innumerable small hold
ings, which, though they yielded good
revenue, they7oould not control. Today
theresisFa decided reaction, and many of
the one horse farmers prefer to work for
a large farmer at living wages than to
starvessonkasfew acres of their own. :,
Those few negroes who own their small
e.. va
of their race, and they have demonstrated
their superiority in practical way. They
started equal with their friends, who are
stillgslaving out an existence without
much hope of improvement; but, either
through the exercise OF keener z1ntellecu
in selling their cotton, or in making the
soil produce more to the acre, they made
enough money to pay their rent and a
living, and saved up little each year.
In time they either purchased their farm
from their landlord or bought cheap pine
land. cleared it, and erected new home.
They are today Independent, progressive
farmers.
The one horse white farmers nearly all
started out in life in different way.
While they had, ard have today, the same
chance to rent cotton land. they nearly
always prefer to own their farm, even if
they have to mortgage it heavily. Good
pine land can be purchased at from Us to
$2Urper acre, and when cleared OF the trees
much of it proves excellent for cotton
raising. The pine furnishes lumber for
the construction Of a house and other
buildings, and fuel. Immigrants nearly
always bring funds enough to purchase
few acres of such land, and then they
start out in small way to build up
their5fortunes. A hard working man can
farm from twenty five to thirty five acres
of land with one mule, and, as the aver
age yield of cotton is about one-third of
bale per acre, he can expect to raise from
eight.to twelve bales in a assessor. With
cotton at cents per pound. this hardly
pays, for it means only about So per acre
net. But when cotton advances to cents
and cents, he can see some margin of
profit.
There are two ways of making both
ends meet on these small cotton farms.
The shiftlesss darby takes to hogs, and
the white .far,nerstalses to fruits or grains.
The. negro cotton farmers would starve
some seasons if it were not for their
droves OF razor back hogs. These require
little looking after or feeding; they pick
I'D a living in she woods. Every cotton
farmer has his smoke house, where the
bacon and hams are prepared for winter
consumption. So long as there is plenty
& hon md no a o-f-r