The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1899-02-08

per acre, and therefore the con.
clusion is drawn that we are pros
pering like a green bay tree as
compared with our northern
brother.
In 1890 Iowa farmers worked
5000, 600 acres of improved
land; Mississippi farmers, great
er in'numbers, worked 7 600, 600
acres.
While Mississippi farmers made
in 1897 about $4,000, 600 worth Of
all crops, can find where fewer
Iowa farmers made Sl20,
600. 900 worth of regular field
crops. Besides this they pro-
duced back in 1890, 500, 600, 900
gallons Of milk worth $4,000, 900
as compared with Mississippi :
81, 900, 0g0. They made a half
million dollars worth of wool as
compared with our one sixth of a
million.
The Iowa farners kept ~, 900,
600 fowls and produced 81 600, :
600 worth of eggs. as compared
with Mississippi's 5000, 900 fowls
and 81 900. 900 worth of eggs
The statistics at command did MOI,
give the annual surplus of beat
mutton and pork for slaughter,
half Of who e value, no doubt,
came from pasture lands whose
products have not been computed.
Adding half these values to the
values already found, we have no
doubt but the earnings of each
Iowa farmer will be found to be
3 or 81 times that of the Misss
sippi farmer.
In 1896 Mississippi people own
ed 29l, 900 milk COWS worth less
than Sl3 each, while Iowa people
owned 1 200, 900 worth S28 80
each
Mississippi people owned 446. :
900 other cattle worth S30 a
head; as against 2,200,000 in
Iowa, worth $500 cache Our
1000, 900 razor back hogs were
valued at 50. 40 each, while 35l
million Iowa porkers were worth
5000 a head. Our few sheep then
surviving. were valued at so cents;
the Iowa sheep 81. 30 each.
We have no statistics on dogs,
but feel sure we have about
900, 000 head 10 spare.
OF hogs, cattle and sheep Mis-
sissippi has about $4,000. 900
worth; Iowa about liz, 000, 600,
or 91s times as much.
Who can wonder that Iowa s
total wealth is five times that of
Mississippi, and that her per cap
ita wealth is $1,000 while Missis-
sippi in $3.50.
We see it stated by many OF our
optimistic friends that Mlssissip-
plans owes but SIS per capita
while Iowan 8 owe 500 per capi-
ia. Why not 90 on to state thai
Iowans can pay these debts and
then be 3 1-3 times as rich as
Mississippians.
| verify believe that mixed hus-
bandry, diversified agriculture,
is largely responsible for this ex-
cellent showing made 81 a north
ern sister state in comparison with
our own. We follow a system OF
ill-advised, badly balanced, lop-
sided farming that enables a hand
to wear out about Is acres at
time. The Iowa farmer cllti-
Yates and utilizes over three and
one-half times as much land to
each hand, and manages it in a
way to save its fertility and in
crease its productiveness. We
may make fair money return
per acre as compared with other
sections, but wecultivate, or util-
ize, too few acres. We cultivate
mostly crop that requires an
enormous amount of human la
Dor the most expensive factor
that enters into any business.
The cultivation of cotton contin-
uously exhausts the humus, the
life giving principle in our soils,
and washing and teaching of the
bare fields have gone on to such
an extent that much Of the best
land God eyer gave to any peo-
Pile, has been well-nigh ruined.
So infertile has become the land
and so low has the price Of cotton
gone Oh account OF its too exclu-
siye culture, that land owners can
not make the wages of day labor
ers for themselves and families
while engaged in growing it.
Necessity is forcing US as never
before to seek new crops and new
products to divert some Of our la
Dor and utilize our lands. We