The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-01-16
SHALL THR SOUTHERN FARMER
DIVERSITY; AND If SO. TO
WHAT EXTENT2

who has contributed a number of ex-
cellent agricultural articles to The Pro
gressive Farmer, writes the Practical
Farmer on the above subject. He
says:
We are heartily sick and tired OF
hearing 80 much of that visionary be-
ing, the all-cotton farmer. Who is he,
anyhow3 Wehave travelled extensive.
ly over the cotton belt; have been en-
gagged in raising the feecy staple for
upward of quarter of a century, and
yet we have never seen him. If there
is such being { all, he is undoubtedly
negro lone who DOESN'T know anything
else except how to raise cotton, and
precious little Of that. He doesn't read
farm papers, hence their advisers kind
ly sympathy is lost, and their advice
vast ed on the desert air.
We make speciality Of cotton; have
doE so for upward of e quarter CEN
tury, and expect to the remainder of
our days. At the same time we are an
ultra diversificationist. No man in
the South has studied any harder to
fad a crop that could be made to super
sede cotton as a money crop We
haven't found it, and neither will any
one else.
The man who quits cotton, crop he
thinks he knows all about, to engage
in the raising of truck, business that
he really knows nothing about, or
melons, or strawberries, or pears, or
peaches, has got a hard row to hoe. He
has swapped the devil for witch, and
il he don't mind, will find that he has
thereby thrown all his fat in the fire
There is lots of good money to be
made by horticulturista, truck farm
ers, melon. raisers, etc, but unfortun-
ately, it is more often the case than
any other way that this hard earned
money goes to enrich, not the producer,
not the man who tolls and sxeats and
becomes prematurely old while hump,
ing his back up to the hot sun while
setting out plants after securing the
universe in trying to secure the cry
best Of good seed, and paying out all
the money he can rake and scrspe for
fertilizers No, it is not he who gets
the money at all. Who then is it that
gets the moneys Il is the transporta-
lion companies that get it more often
than anyone else. 1t is the case in
Florida, in Georgia, in Mississippi, and
in Texas. Ia each State the kind end
obliging railroad officials are ready at
any and all times TO gobble up the
hard. earned money of the producer.
This truck business is good on the rail
roads, but hard on the producer.
As sample, we quote from late
issue of the Texas Farm and Ranch:
Let us be honest and look at the
truck and melon growers side. Fl ere
is statement of three cars: One car
shipped to Chicago lacked several dol
lars of paying the freight. One car
shipped to Cripple Greek, Colorado
brought on the market $237 81, splen
did price. OF this amount the rail
roads extracted as freigh ut 1886 Sc; c1m
mission ee, $23 SO; total expense, $3.50.
25, leaving a shortage of 500 "a which
the shippers had to pay. A carload Of
truck shipped from Texas to Chicago
brought $247 so. The freight bill was
$24O and commission 81 80"
AS a result of this short sighted un-
business like and suicid al policy of the
railroads, killing the goose that laid
the golden egg, quite a considerable
portion of the Florida melon crop was
transmorgrified into pork by being fed
to hogs.
We are acquainted with one gentle
man in this State who sunk S. 600 last
year in raising truck.
There is but little hope of becoming
suddenly rich in raising cotton at pres
ant prices, but results such as those re
corded above never have yet, in the
entlre history of this country, been re
corded of cotton, and we are satisf fed,
never will. In bringing about such
compile e revolution, then, as quitting
cotton in order to raise some other
crop as money crop one should by
all means make haste slowly. Take
Davy Crockett's advice, BE sure
you're right, then go ahead"
There is one plan of diversitying that
could be put in practice by each and
every Southern farmer with absolute
safety, and with every assurance of
ultimate success; a plan that cannot
possibly fail of being both profssble
and satisfactory. This plan consists
in go arranging matters that the farm
shall be as nearly as practicable SELF