The Southern herald., 1899-02-24
ARP TO THE FARMER
BE Must be shifty if He Would
Be Prosperous.
bottoa Net the OaIy crsp-Faks ths
Advice ef the Drzmmer-Ths
Monkey StsFy tie
Toid.

Teid.
Not long ago a one hCrse farmer from
the back wooda came 10 our town with
two balls oi cotton and sold Il for ive
cents pound. This was bis entire crop.
and be was complaining bitterly 70 one
Of eur merchants and said that the
farmers would perish 10 death in an
other year If there wasn't some change
for The better. A misehieyous drummer.
standing BY. said: well. my friend.
sou must quit raising cotton or else buy
some monkeys 10 pick il out. Over in
India and Egypt they make the mon
keys pick their cotton. and that is
what's the matter A monkey VIII pick
a th0assud pounds a day and be feeds
on The seed. So il costs hardly sny-
thing over there TO raise cotton. auti our
farmers 10 Mississippi and Texas have
sent over for 100 0Oo monkeys. and they
will be over here in time TO pick iht next
crop and the price viii go lower still.
and If you don't get you monkey or
Two. you had better quit growing cot
ton. for you can't compete with mon
keys.t The old man took Il all in seri-
ously and said: We'll. what is poor
farmer TO do il he hasn't got the money
70 buy the moukey?"
Grow something else" said the
drummer. Grow corn and wheat aud
sorghum and potatoes. Plant apple
and peach trees. raise chickens and
eggs, aud yesrling calf or two TO sell.
Get up soon and stir around lively aud
make every member of your family
work. Work at something. for II you
don't you will perish out. Go buck
home and take q new start. DoL't sit
down and grumble and blame somebody
else with your poverty. Quit cotton un-
til you can buy half dozen monkeys" F"
The man went back home and circu-
lated the monkey story. aud for ten
miles around the oue-horse farmers
have sworn oil from raising any more
cotton. That's what they tell me. They
say that before The war the poor man
couldn't compete with the rich mans
niggs-s. and now since he has lost his
niggers be is buyin' monkeys 10 take
their places. and the poor man won't
lave any chance at all.
or course there 10 no truth 10 this
story. but there is good deal OF
philosophy. New methods, new plows
and new machinery are the monkeys,
and II the poor farmer does not work
early aud late he viii keep poor.
know some country women who make
more money on their chickens and eggs
and butter than their usbands do on
their cotton and wheat. Little things
we'll nursed count up more than big
ones. The thrifty farmer always brings
with him something TO sell when be has
TO come 10 town. Some fowls or eggs
or potatoes or a shote or some fruit in
It's season. There is good home mar
ket for all these little things. In fact,
II we leave out cotton everything the
farmer grows brings about the same
old prices Of ten years ago. and every
thing be has TO buy except coffee is
much cheaper now than II was then.
Everything that Is made OF cotton 10 so
per cent. cheaper and everything made
Of iron or steel or tin is 100 per cent.
cheaper. Beef and pork and chickens
and turkeys and eggs and wood and po-
tatoes and apples and peaches have not
come down a nickle in ten years. Labor
is a little cheaper, not much We still
pay the same for cooking and washing
and work 10 the garden. II anybody
has a reason for complaining Of hard
times 1t is the town people, who have
everything TO buy. The farmer who is
not IN debt and owns his farm is better
off than he ever was and the prudent
reiUer can pay rent and make money
farming.
But of course there is large class OF
sblftless, unibrifty people. who VIII not
succeed at anything, and they blame
everybody for 1t but themselves. Cobe
says that the Lord had 10 make poor
folks 10 keep rich folks iD money and
so Cobe is content in being poor, for Il
is the Lords will. know folks who
have never planted trsit tree and who
will not even plant a garden. Poverty
makes some folks shifty and others In
differen, and despairing. There is an
old negro woman comes 10 our house
every Saturday aud brings us gallon
OF big hominy old-fashioned lye
hominy, and IL is luxury. We pay her
IS cents for It and she has seven other
customers. One peck OF corn that costs
her ten cents makes four pecks Of bomi'
Ly. for which she gets $I.2O, and that
makes her a good living.
read in the last Home and Farm
about a successful experiment 10 grow.
Ing ginseng, and II ] was a farmer
would try it. This was In Kentucky
where a man planted in well-shaded
forest Of beach and dogwood and gun
trees. and 1t grew both from the seed
and the roots that he planted and gave
him a good crop. It's market price Is
four dollars . pound. | know that Il
could be grown in this mountaiDousre-
gion. among the foothills. ! know q
good farmer who makes money grow.
log iurnips for their seed. and he sells
all bis crop 10 Peter Henderson, OF New
York. and Peter sells II back 10 US al SOC
per cent. profit. Any smart. indus
Irious woman could make money right
here By growing roses and dollhouse
plants. Our people send off lots o!
money for such things and some Of
them are 20 account when they gel
here.
Nobody around here has ever raised
any asparagus to sell, but they buy Il in
- - 4 t...a.. q.