Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1904-01-02
Ing 9 1921 blacks and 1s.oa7 whites.

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In the counties of Le1ore, Bolivar and
Washington, where they have about
eight negroes to one white man, but
almost without exception the negroes
are under white managers, they make
one bale to every acre and d half.
while in Lowndes, Noxubee and Mon
roe, where not many white managers
are employed, they make on an avera.
age about one bale to three acres.
While this difference Is partly caused
by a difference in the fertility Of the
two groups of three counties, yet the
principal reason Is due to the supe-
rior intelligence used in the manage
ment of the first group. This Is
proven by the fact that IN every COM
parison made between a white county
and a black one. the black was the
most fertile, yet the white was nearly
twice as productive.
! claim, therefore, by improving the
character of our labor, W. can greatly
increase the production Of cotton i'll
the South. Should conditions demand
1t, the South can greatly increase her
cotton production by reducing her
corn area, and depending, as she form
erly did. upon the North and West for
coru, mules and hogs. This course
should not be thought Of. except to
meet certain conditions that might
arise at some time in the far distant
future. 1t Is interesting to note that this
was one of the methods used by the
South from 1850 to 1890 Except dur
ing the war period when the markets
of the world were closed) to increase
her production of cotton. In 1850, the
cotton area of the ten principal cotton
producing States was G,764,030 acres,
while the area devoted to corn was
1887, SOC acres. Beginning at this
time, there was a decided tendency
on the part of the Southern planters
to increase the area in cotton at the
sacrifice of that In corn until 1889,
when the cotton area Of these ten
States exceeded that Of corr by l.
145,567 acres. But under the intell!-
gent leadership Of the agricultural
colleges and experiment stations dur
ing the next ten years, stimulating
Investigation, and the raising OF
more and better live stock. the corn
area was greatly increased until In
1899 it exceeded that Of cotton in
these ten States by 1904 16 acres.
Should circumstances demand 1t, this
process can be reversed, as it was
in 1850.
The area of improved lands in the
United States Is increasing at a more
rapid rate than the national popula
ton, even though the urban popula-
ton is increasing more rapidly than
that of the agricultural districts.
The last census shows that had the
area Of improved land increased at
no greater rate than the population,
it would have been 42,915,S 91 acres
less than it actually Is. This fact Is
due to use of improved agricultural
machinery, by means of which, n
man in many instances Is able to do
the work of from five to twenty. The
South has felt the influence and eff
fects OF this machinery less than any
other section of the country. But I'M
der the teachings of the agricultural
colleges. the experiment stations, and
the farmers institutes, this condition
is being rapidly changed, and 1t Is
only a question now of a few years
when the cotton farmers will be using
as many improved agricultural imple-
ments as any class of farmers in the
land. With a few more improvements
that are sure to be made, the cotton
picker will be an entire success. Sew.
eral pickers have been in operation
this season, and our Textile School
has demonstrated that the cotton mill
machinery has no trouble in removing
the extra trash gathered by the picker.
The cotton picking machine a rul
at night as well as in the day time,
which will enable the farmer to oper-
ate a double force of hands and SAVE
the great loss of cotton caused by pad
weather. With the improved disc
plows that are now being made, by
which one man and team can break
six acres a day, with the improved
c%ultivators by which one man can
do the work of three, and with the
cotton picking machine a practical
success, by which one man can pick
six bales a day, there is no limit to
our increase in the production of cot
ton, even though our industrial de-
velopment along other lines calls for
a larger number of additional men
who are now doing agricultural work.
The South can increase and will
increase her cotton production no.
only by more intelligent selection OF
seed, not only by improving the fer
tillty of her soil by every scientific
and available method, not only by the
improvement of the intelligence and
skill Of her laborers, not only by the
use of more and more of improved
agricultural machinery, but by tho
opening up of new lands TO give en-
ployment to thousands who are COM
ing from other sections as well as TO
our fast increasing population. To
realize the vast possibilities for ex-
pansion along this line one has only
to examine the census report, which
shows that less than so per cent Of the
farm lands of the South are improved.
The report shows that is Mississippi
only 41.6 per cent of the farm land is
improved, in North Carolina only 1856
per cent, in South Carolina only Alb
per cent, in Georgia only 40.2 per
cent, in Alabama only Ais per
cent, in Florida only BAG per
cent, in Louisiana only APP per
cent, in Texas only 1876 per cent, 10
Arkansas only AIS per cent, and In
Tennessee only 50.4 per cent. By
opening up this u%ndeveloped territory,
almost every acre of which is good
cotton land, the South's ability to
indefinitely expand her cotton produc
ton cannot be questioned. and, there
fore, the alarm about sufficient cot
ton supply in the future should ho
permanently dismissed. Respectfully,
]. c. HARDY,
President Mississippi A.. and M. Col
lege.
Why His Marriage Was a Failure.
He regarded his children as a nuis-