The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1899-06-03
The Many Benefits Derived
Therefrom Both to the Far
mer and to the Town.

A1t e - OHG l6dluI6 III COHIlec- :
ton with the development of the
cotton milling industry in the
South that has been generally
overlooked by the public-a feat
ure that has perhaps peen kept
in the background by the force Of
circumstances, but which is now
beginning to call for its share OF
attention. With the building of
cotton mills public thought has
been naturally absorbed with the
benefits which flow to the imme-
date locality-the drawing Of a
new population, the building of
houses and the accumulation and
disbursement of capital that was
hitherto unknown to that partic-
ular community. In the contem-
plation of the benefits of cotton
mill to town, their benefits to
the surrounding farming COM
munity have been overlooked.
Are the farmers benefited by
the cotton mills? Undoubtedly
they are, immensely so, and no.
where can the fact be more thor
oughly demonstrated than around
Charlotte. 1t is a recognized fact
that the mills have created a de-
mand for their cotton sufficient
to secure for them better price
than they would be able to get
under former conditions, and it
will not be necessary to discuss
this feature. The mills help the
farmer in other ways than keep
ing up the price of his cotton,
chief among these being the
opening up Of market for ev-
erything which he produces
milk, butter, eggs, vegetables
and fruits-a source from which
he can draw from 81 to 50 day
the year around, according to
the degree of energy which he
displays, and from 81 to 81 day
during the fruit and trucking
season.
Almost any mill community in
the South affords undeniable ev-
idence Of the improved condition
Of the farmers in its vicinity.
While the plantations Of farmers
remote from cotton mills have the
same cid appearance, the farms
that have been brought within
the sphere of influence of the cot
ton mills show all indications of
renewed life, Of thrift and pros
perity. There is not farm with
in radius of six miles Of Char
lotte. whose appearance has not
undergone a change for the bet
ter in the past few years. In
some instances this change is re-
markable.
have in mind the case OF one
particular farmer that will serve
TO illustrate the point. Dilapi-
dated rail fences used to line the
road that passes along his farm:
the fence corners We're grown up
with briars aid tangled weeds,
and there were bare spots and
ugly gullies on his hillsides. His
residence was unpainted and his,
outbuildings were sorry looking
affairs. built out Of odds and
ends of lumber. He is a young
man and good worker, and his
first help came when the good
roads bu lders came along his
way with the macadam. His
fences disappeared then and he
began to take occasional turns Of
vegetables and produce to town.
Later on he found that a new
factory settlement afforded him a
better market than he had hith-
erto known. Formerly he had
TO drive about town with his load
and on some occasions had to
carry part of it back home un-
sold. The new factory settlement
whose acquaintance he made was
the Atherton, through which he
had to pass before reaching the
city. He had been dealing with
the factory people only a short
time when he made the discovery
that they needed a great many
things which his farm could pro-
duce and more of each particular
article than he had ever thought
of raising.
Profiting by this discovery, he
began raising more fruits and
vegetables, bought additional
milch COWS as his means permit
ted, and raised more hogs. He
has since been steadily engae ed
in an effort to increase the varie-
ty and volume of his marketable