The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-01-11

, That Farmers Should Avoid
This y ear.


we can witch absolute certainty de-
pcnd: .,uf | urge upon. and plead with
each and every farmer IN he State
to plant no seed cotton until hc.has
planted such an acreage of each and
every other crop that will grow on his
land. that. let the season be dry or
wet he will be assured Of abundant
aud varied provision crops. In adj
dition 10 this. let proper attention be
given to the raising Of stock OF all
kinds, particularly cattle, hogs and
poultry. With proper management,
it is easier and cheaper to raise a
pound Of pork or pound of any
kind of poultry than it is to raise a
pound of cotton, aud yet pound of
pork is worth as much to three times
as much as pound Of cotton. The
papers stated that Atlanta alone used
10 000 turkeys on Thanksgiving day,
and venture to say that nineteuth-
Of them came from Tennessee and
kentucky What commentary on
our method Of farming
\ good beginning has been made in
the right direction in the sowing Of
the largest wheat crop probably in the
late history Of the State. 4 fair crop
of fall oats has also been planted, but
the acreage should be doubled or
trebled without delay. Prepare to
plant good corn crop, not less than
10 to II acres to the piow; aud be sure
to either broad cast field peas in your
corn at the last blowing, or crop them
on, or by the side Of the corn rows at
the second blowing. Then prepare
not less than Eve acres to the plow
for such crops as ground-peas, pota-
toes, sugarcane, millet, etc After
that, put 10 acres, aud no more. in
cotton, regardless of who may advise
you to the contrary. A crop like this
will give you 25 acres to the plow,
and that is enough for north Georgia,
though in middle and south Georgia Il
few more acres might be cultivated in
corn or groundpeas.
Buy as little gnano as possible. but
use all the home made fertilizers that
you can get together between this aud
planting time.
Stop buying hoehandles, axhelves,
names and other things that you can
and should make at home on rainy
days.
Never go to town with an empty
wagon, but always carry something to
sell if only load Of wood.
Buy nothing on credit if you can
possibly avoid it. Better suffer some
privations than go in debt
If we would be independent and
prosperous, we must farm on the lines
suggested. No other roads will lead
us out of the woods in which VIC are
now almost hopelessly lost-but if we
will follow the course | have cndeav-
! ored to blaze out, We will in short
time be happy, prosperous and con
tented people.
Ia the laudable effort to become
self sustaining, all must lend hand.
The merchants and the landlords can
greatly aid in the good work by not
insisting that their customers and
tenants shall plant large cotton crop
in order to get supplies. This course
hitherto pursued, has resulted in
greatly increasing the cotton acreage,
to the serious injury may even say
almost ruir-of all hands concerned.
If they would try the opposite course,
extending aid aud credit only to those
who make their food supplies, how
different and how gratifying would be
the result. appeal particularly to
the merchants, who, by their insist
ence on large cotton acreage before
credit would be extended, have prac-
tically "killed the goose that laid the
golden egg." Let them "face about
and refuse credit to their customers
who may contemplate planting a large
cotton acreage. If such course
should be adopted and carried out, it
needs no gift Of prophecy to forctcll
that a vast amount Of poverty and
suffering would be banishcd from our
State.
[ am more than willing to help on
this good cause by every means in
my power, and the greatest reward
that the conduct of this department
could offer nc would be the satisfac-
tion Of feeling that | had aided, even
though in very small degree, in re-
storing to the suffering farmers OF
Georgia, that plenty and prosperity
| which they once enjoyed.