The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1900-08-02
TKE STATE FARMS.
Good Crop Prospects and Good Health
Among the ConvictS.

Among the S0nVlCtS.
The State farms of South Carolina
comprise abotu 5000 acres, and are IN
Sumter and Kershaw counties. lhe
DeSaussure farm Is In Sumter and the
Reed farm in Kershaw, the county line
being the line between the two farms.
The DeSaussure farm is managed by
Mr.. W. R. Gardner OF Kershaw coun-
ty, who is considered good farmer.
Two hundred acres Of Mir. Gardner
farm is in cotton. A low estimate OF
the WELD would be IT'S TOGO bales.
Ffty-four acres were soWn IN Wheat,
which yielded $50 bushels, measured
from the threher. Three hundred anu
fifty acres were IN oats, which yielded
10 900 bushels. These oats have been
threshed en1 are now in one large
harm, The barn is 120 x 40 feet and the
ilooriscovere6to xfs shrd shrd cnfwcs
floor Is covered to a depth Of about four
feet.
The most Of the land that was in
wheat and oats mas been sown IN peas.
On this farm there are about 500 acres
in corn, the yield Of which Is yet un-
certain, as the mostof it Is late. The
early paintings though will make from
10 to 60 bushels to the acre.
The Reed farm contains about the
same, In acreae. as the DeSaussure,
and is directed andsupervised by Mr..
+ n. Morris OF Marlboro county, a
practical business man. The acreae In
cereals and cotton is about the same as
that Of the DeSaussure. but the outlook
at present Is that the yield in both cot
ton and corn will considerably exceed
that of the DeSaussure. Mr.. Morris has
about 800 acres of corn, which at low
estimate will yield Is bushels per acre.
In addition to these staple crops these
farms raise abundance of syrup, pota-
toes, rice, vegetables, etc., to supply
them.
Under the present management the
farms are not only self-sustaining, but
are asource ofconsiderable revenue to
the State. When Messrs. Morris and
Gardner took charge last March one
year there WIS not corn enough to last
three months, consequently they haG
to buy all the corn they used from
June until the crops were made and
harvested. There Is now on each Oh
the farms plenty OF corn to carry them
through, after having sold 1000 BUSH
els each to the penitentiary. They
have also sold large quantities forage
such as peavine hay, shreaded corn and
fodder, and Mr.. Morris says that he
has enough left to run the place anotn-
er year without touching this year'S
product.
The labor of the farms consists OF
120 to $50 convicts, who run IS plows.
Everything moves along without fric-
ton, and the men seem happy and con-
tented.
Col. ]. D. Griffith, of the peniten-
tiary, visits the farms about once a
month and gives direction and sugges-
ton.
The greatest drawback to these
farms has heretofore been that they
were not healthy, but Col. Griffith has
to great extent improved their health
by having deep wells bored over the
farms at convenient points for the
hands to get water while working in
the fields. The water from one OF
these wells (and they are all alike) has
been examined by the State chemist
and pronounced good and safe drink
ing water The sanitary conditions OF
the Reed farm are such that any small
town in the State would do we'll to pet
tern after.
There is not a case Of fever or any
sickness on the place nor has there
| been this spring"