St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-05-31
AND PLANTER.
ONE WHO WATCHES FARMERS.
The Idea Gaining Ground That ii
Doesn't Pay to Try to Farm
On Poor Land.

ing all the conditions relating to the
farming class for more than dozen
years. At the outset we realized
that the only way for us to succeed
was to get our land richer and to
make more than the average farmer,
for we clearly saw that we could not
live ,-pon the hard fare upon which
they existed. We have always
thought landowners would be the
first to awaken to the Importance of
improving their land, some here, of
course, and in every community these
constitute the successful and infiuen-
tial men of their respective neighbor-
hoods. We have often been driven to
say that "shiftless and careless" was
the name of the negro. And we con-
fess it is very difficult to get him to
expend the labor required to keep
land from washing or to build it up.
But while this is true, it is certainly
true also that necessity has driven it
into even his thick skull, the differ
ence between rich and poor land. At
least this seems to be true in Clarke
county, for we heard more than
q dozen, last fall, say: Il want to
tend a farm if I can get some good
land. I am tired of tending poor
land. I can not make anything on
it." For ourselves, we are glad of it.
This is one "strike" that would not
injure Georgia-if all tenants would
refuse to tend any land that would
not remunerate them for their labor;
for all such land is cultivated at a
good expense and must either fall as
. burden upon the landlord or the
merchant, for the average tenant has
nothing to lose. For our part, we
have never had the heart to ask one
to cultivate poor or CALLED spots with
out offering him manure for the haul
ing to put upon such places and build
them up. We are doing this kind of
work now; this, with building up ter
races and moving rock upon them,
will constitute our work all the time
it is too wet to plow. There seems
to be great desire among farmers
to know what crop will "pay best"
Well, we can safely tell them this
that all crops will pay best upon rich
soils.-G. F. Hunnicut, in Dixie Far
mer.
Do Not he Discouraged.
The low price Of cotton and the
rather short yield have had ten
dency to discourage many farmers.
This has been the more so because of
the high cost of making last years
cotton crop and the comparative
scarcity of labor for this year. In
many localities this last is q really
serious matter.
But we need not hang our heads or
grumble or feel discouraged. The
will not be relieved by do
ing these things.
On the contrary we should try to
make our arrangements so that we
will not be caught in the same trap
again. We planted too much cotton
last year. This caused scarcity of
hands when the rainy season made
the grass grow. We went in debt too
heavily in trying to make the crop
of 1901. We can avoid this in 1902
If we will. Do you ask how this is
TO be done? We answer by using pru-
dent foresight. Get good farm tools,
which will enable you to work your
crop with fewer mules and hands. |
Weeders and harrows can do this. |
Prepare your land better before
planting, then you win need less
work in cultivating. Buy less guano.
Put that part Of the money you have
been paying for fertilizers in better
,ools and better work. You will thus
make as much or more, and make it
much cheaper.-Dixie Farmer.