The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-03
THE FARMERS OF FIVE SECTIONS.

Mr. George X. Holmes expert and sta-
tistciau of the department of agrcuit-
| ure. gave the industrial commission the
other day some facts and figures which
| deserve the most careful consideration by
| the farmers of the South. Mr. Holmes
| submitted figures compiled from official
| records showing the average per capita
| production per annum OF the farmers in
the five geographical divisions of the coun-
| try, as follows. South Atlantic states,
| s177; South Central states, S2l1; North
Central states 1902 North Atlantic states,
$3.50 and Western states, S5l9.
| During the course of the examination of
! witnesses at Washington the industrial
commission had heard nothing but tales
Of woe from the South respecting the
| farming interests. Hon. Pope Brown, Mir.
! Barrett and others have described the al
most desperate condition in which the az
| riculturaI classes fnd themselves. On the
! other hand, no complaints have come from
| the North and West The farmers Of those
sections are getting along very well They
are paying OIL whatever debts they may
have been iaboring under, and are put
ting money in the bank. Mr.. Dye, eecre-
| tary Of The State Board of Agriculture of
New Jersey. told the commission that the
farmers of his state were prosperous, and
Mr.. Coles, a farmer and dairyman Of the
same state, said the people had nothing
To complain of.
Il apears from Mr.. Holmes figures that
the Northern farmer makes per year
nearly 81 to every 81 made by the South
ern farmer and that the Western man
does more than 81 better than his North
ern neighbor. Is there any good reason
why there should be such disparity
between the producing capacity Of farm
ers North and South? There is a cause
of course. 1t is cotton. But is there any
reason why the agriculturist in the Nortf
should discount the one in the fruitful
South by 4 or TO / ? Indeed ought not the
ratio of producing capacity be reversed
in favor of the South in many parts Of
which it is possible to produce two crops
10 one in the North?
The plain truth of the matter is that the
Northerners ard Westerners are better
farmers than we are in the South They
study farming as a profession. They farm
on scientific principles. They do not jeei
at the book farmer" and hold to th'
opinion that the only way to learn to til
a farm is to follow the plough, and t
SOW and hoe and gather as their fathers
and grandfathers had done for genera
lions They do not, year after year, devot
themselves 10 one crop, whether it pay
: or not. imagining that because the!
raised that crop in former years they car
: never raise any other. The reason the,
are prosperous is that they study thei
soils. and their crops and the markets 70
which they are planting. They do not d.
things by rule O. thumb; there is no CUES
work About the only chance taken is il
the coming of the rains and the sun
shine in proper season. They diversif
their crops. changing them whenever
may be necessary for the good of the so
or 10 reap the benefits of a new or improy
ed market. The West was quick to cate
on TO the sugar beet Only a few year
ago it was unknown in this country; nov
there are millions of tons of the beet
c raised and sold in the West.
The South will have to come to tn
j Northern and Western system of farmin
before it will enjoy permanent agricultr
4 raj prosperity There must be more inte
70 ligence and education employed on tn
farm. We must quit sending to Ne
York. Illinois and Indiana for our butte
Y cheese, preserves, vinegar, evaporate
n fruits. etc: to Chicago Kansas City an
J. Minneapolis for our meats and -four, to Ii
g West for corn and hay, and to New Ems
= land for leather. We must learn TO far
70 scientifically Having done so, with SO
and climate in our favor, we can far
profitably. Intelligent farming, whic
Il necessarily includes diversified farmin
II is the solution of the agricultural probe
/ of the South. When we produce thO'
4 things which we need, and which we no
It depeud upon the North and West TO pr
( duce for US at prices which they fin
profitable the cotton question will pro
ably be found in a fair way of settir
itself Year after year conventions a
held for the purpose of inducing a d
crease of the cotton acreage, with the 7
- suit that no reduction occurs And no r
- duction is likely to occur until a substa
"a taI advance shall have been made t
!" wards scientific diversified farming,
GLIDING the raising of cattle, hogs, poultr
sheep, etc, in quantities Tor market. T
81 agricultural colleges and the farmers
stitutes will help greatly towards tn
20 end
s. ONE THING THE CENSUS VIII SHON
The census to be taken this year W
~ show that there has been a very great
II. -. 49,. ,,,,,,ror ~ cation factori