The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-02-27
COTTON AND DIVERSIFIED FARM
ING.

correspondence Of the Progressive Farmer.
Dversified farming has o. recent
years been held out to the farmers of
Gns Son5h as a psnacaa for all ills, and
especially those ills incident to growing
G c1Jton a5 a lose. AL those farmers
whose locality is suited to cotton, but
Who have failed TO make i5 prof able
through poor management, and Igno
rance of the conditions necessary to
che oest development Of the cotton
plant. are supposed to be able to go into
samethlng else which they know less
about than they do about cotton, and
for which in many cases, their land Is
not SO well adapted, ano make money
For instance. the Sousa Georgia
farmer has been advised 70 plant sugar
cane 10 competition with Cuba, Porto
R,c) snd the Philippines, and move
ment is on foot to start a sugar rein
cry az Savannah, while the north
Georgia farmer !s encouraged to grow
wheat; crop trebly as exhaustive to
mis- soils as cotton, and one which will
bring him in, il any thing, less money
than cotton On the same land.
Now. | do not mean by this, to give
the impression that I am an advocate
Of the all cotton idea A certain amount
of oivarsifications is necessary, even to
the bast development OF the cotton
croo. but l like TO see this diversity
come along reasonable lines, and the
farmer encouraged to plant those
thin % for which his soil and location
are best adapted, and the sale Of viii ;h
carries wish il the smallest amount OF
planC food off the farm. Now while
the farmer should without doubt raise
as much OF his home supplies as he can,
prefitably, it does I OF follow that he
shouId produce every thing he needs;
as he was compelled to do in earlier
times There are such things as sugar,
lea, four, clothing, ETC., which he can
buy very much cheaper and better
than he can produce them. These
commodities can safely be left to other
people, while his energies are directed
toward the production Of those thin gs
for which his coil and location are best
adapted, to exchange for them.
Among these things cotton takes
ArsC place in the Southern States, and
should De supplemented 0Y dairy prod
ucts aDd beet cattle. History shows
us that q people have always been
prosperous in the possession OF large
herds OF cattle, even as far back as
Abraham. Cattle furnish the missing
link to the successful production OF
coston, making a place to put the for
age crops which must be grown in or
der TO establish a rotation in wnich
cotton will do its best.
In an interesting and instructlv'
pamphlet on 1.-The manuring OF cotton,
Issued 0y the D partment OF Agrlcul
ture at Washington, we find the fol
lowing:
"Ranovating crops, and especially
the cowpea, furnish an eff 3ient and
economical method OF bringing cotton
lands into condition to respond most
literally and profitaOly to the applIca
ton of concentrated manure under
cotton The most profitable plan OF
employing the cowpea for this purpose
on cotton, is to gather the peas at ma
turlty, cut the vines for hay, and turn
under the stu06le along with the ma
ure.resulting from feeding the hay tc
stock and cattle"
The above remarks are derived by
com dining the results obtained at OH
feren5 experiment stations over the
South, and illustrates the tacs Fna'
castle are a necessary adjunct to pro
fitable cotton growing. l would, ho"
ever, suggest that the pea vines be Gu
for hay as soon as we'll podded, tol
hest results. With cattle and apropel