The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-01-17
AGRICULTURE.
NOTES ON COTTON AND TO-
BACCO


structive Letter.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
A correspondent at Fort Barnwell,
n O., writes as follows: THE price
of cotton is below the cost of produc
tion. l am resolved to make no more
cotton, but am at loss for something
to take the place of cotton. Would
you advise the planting OF tobacco7 II
80, can you give me any information
that would help in the general manage
ment Of the crop. have conversed
with good many tobacco men, but l
find that no two agree on a single
point, which leaves me very much
puzzled. If you can enlighten me in
the matter, or give me any references
where may get reliable information,
I. will teel much obliged"
This is a fair sample of many letters
that reach me daily from dissatisfied
cotton growers all over the South.
NY answer to all these writer's is that
they really do not need anything in
the place of cotton, for in all of our
Southern agriculture heretofore the
cotton crop has occupied too large
place. Nor should they think of aban.
doning cotton. Our correspondent is
in Craven county. in Eastern North
Carolina, a section we'll adapted to the
perfection Of the cotton crop, and
where the continuous culture of cotton
year after year on the same land, with
the aid of little dribble of fertilizer of
complete character, has resulted in
the deterioration of the land, and in
smaller crops; and the continuous de-
pendence on the cotton crop for the
paying of every thing else has brought
about the natural result when the
price has gone down below what this
system makes it cost to produce it.
What we need is not an abandonment
of cotton, but the growing of cotton on
smaller area with greater crops per
acre and at a lower cost than the old
system iscapable Of. You know in a
general way how to cultivate and save
the cotton crop, and you would aban-
don a crop which you can cultivate
for another of which you know moth
ing, not even knowing whether or not
your soil is adapted to the new crop.
You are willing to take the risk OF
utter failure because under your pres.
ent system the cotton costs more than
you can get for it. The chances are
that you would make a still worse fail
ure with the tobacco.
My advice is that you do not aban-
don cotton, but that you resolve to
farm with cotton as the main crop and
so cultivate your land that you will be
able to make the cotton a real surplus
money crop, after having paid all ex-
penses out of other crops. Our farm
ers have for generations looked upon
cotton as the only money crop, and
have regarded corn and oats simply as
supplies" Suppose you get your
land to growing so to rs bushels OF
corn, and Is bushels Of winter oats per
acre; would they not then assume the
proportions Of money crops9 And In
your section this can be done by proper
farming of the land and the feeding of
stock. 1 will warrant that the market
of Newbern and Washington is not
half supplied with good beef, and that
in both cities there is large sale of
Chicago beef for the simple reason that
no good home grown beef can be had.
Now in your section of the State, there
is nothing more easy to grow than for