Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-04-03

to make laws against their doing
business. But the first stores which
we had in Nebraska, along the Mis-
souri, river, when the pioneer settle
ments were made, were merely unor.
ganized department stores. The
first store in Nebraska City, where /
live, was established in 1865. At
that store l purchased harness,
plows, hardware, lumber, drugs,
medicines, glass, paints and oils
The settlement was 80 sparse that it
could not have maintained hard
ware store, drug store or any other
store which had for sale only one
exchangeable commodity. Those
primitive mercantile establishments
demonstrated the fact that it is
cheaper to sell all exchangcable COM
modities, which are in ordinary use,
under one roof and one management.
Whether consolidated capital will
be successful in carrying on agricul-
tural production is a question which
can only be determined by trial and
experience. 1t is, however, very
evident to my mind that the farmer
at the close of this century will have
to be far better educated man in
order to succeed than was his pre-.
decessor at the close of the nine
teenth century. Competition will
become more and moro intense, and
the man who understands hest the
nature and chemistry of the soils will
have an advantage over the litter
ate. By soil analyses the farmers
will be informed as to what particu-
lar elements of plant food are lack
ing before they attempt the use of
commercial fertilizers. Long before
this century closes the knowledge of
the chemical constituents Of the
soils in the several States and parts
of States throughout the Union will
be shown upon maps of the republic.
The lands best adapted to wheat, to
corn, to tobacco, to all sorts of crops
will be perfectly familiar to the far
mcr Of the future, because soil analy-
scs will have determined the value
of each section or area of the coun-
try for specific crops.
APPROACHING THE LIMIT OF ARADLE
Up to this time there have been
enough fresh, fertile lands to supply
the place of all lands which have
been rendered unfertile by bad
usage, and by erosion from torren-
tial rainfalls, in the Eastern, Middle
and Southern States. But we have
now nearly reached the limit of
arabic lands for sale or for giving
away by the Government of the
United States. The population of
the republic has doubled about every
twenty-five years. If this increase
continues at the same ratio, it is
safe to say that in fifty years from
this time the United States will have
population Of about 300, 100000
people. Meantime the area Of ara
bic lands will, through bad tillage,
have diminished, rather than in
creased. That is to say, the demand
for farm lan>'s will be more than
three times as great as the demand
is to day, and the supply of farm
lands will be much less than we now
possess. Holding that the relation
of supply to demand is the sole
regulator Of value, it is fair to con-
clndc that farming lands in the
United States, well located, will
be worth, fifty years from this
time, an average of from 5000
to $500 an acre. The farmers
who have the most individuality
in the way of industry, frugality and
judgment nearly all believe in a
future Of high prices for agricultural
lanes. This is particularly notice.
able among American farmers Of
foreign birth and extraction, espc-
cially among Germans, IIollanders
and Scandinavians. These people
have witnessed in their old homes
the constantly increasing prices Of
productive soils, or have, by tradi-
ton from their ancestors, a knowl-
edge of them. Up to this time the
American farmer has received from
the general government more favors
than has any other industrial class.
First, by legislation, the government
extended to prc-cmptors their choice
Of go acres of the most valuable
government land at &1.25 per acre,
provided they settled upon and cul-
tivatcd the same. This law was in
vigor until 1868. Then the home
stead law was enacted, under which
the government gave tho very best
Of its lands to any and all heads OF