The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-02-14

negroes, and would not be apt TO Stay
alone in isolated farming neighbOr-
hoods But in the trucking sections,
where large number could be EN-
ployed on closely adjoining places,
they might prove a good substitute
for the uncertain negro. The Capital,
this week, has good editorial on the
subject which we quote:
The first experiment with Italian
labor i'm the cotton fields of the South
was made a few years ago in the Delta
section of Mississippi and it proved
to he such an unqualified success that
there is now a great demand for this
labor and the cotton growers are doing
everything they can to secure 1T in
place of the native negroes who have
become utterly unreliable, frequently
deserving their employment before the
crop is half made. The earnest and
active efforts the planters of the South
are now making to settle families of
Industrious Italians on their planta-
tons promise to result eventually
in the total disappearance of ne
grOes from the cotton fields of the
South Col. Alfred A Stone. one
of the largest cotton growers of Mis-
sissippi recently read a paper before
the American Economic Association
showing some interesting facts regard
ing the increase of white labor i'm the
South and what the negroes have to
fear from competition with it. Di-
recting attention to the case of the
great Sunnyside Plantation in Arkan-
labor exclusively, he said that when
the present operators of the plan
tatiOn took charge of it in 1899 they
accepted such labor as they found on
it, consisting of thirty-eight italian
families with 200 working hands, and
BOB negro families with 600 working
hands. The Italians were cultivating
1 200 acres of cotton and the negroes
1000 acres At the end of 1908, ac-
cording to Col Stone. the Italians
numbered 1O7 squads with 800 work
ing hands. while the negroes numbered
only thirty-eight squads with 10
working hands and the acreage Guilt
| waited by the Italians had increased
to 5000 while that cultivated by the
negroes had decreased to 900 acres.
Moreover. the italians were raising an
average of 403 pounds of lint per acre
and of 1854 pounds per hand, while
the negroes were averaging 233 pounds
per acre and LIZA pounds per hand.
OF the 40 Italian squads that start
ed to work in 1903, says Col. Stone.
forty four We're new arrivals. Yet, of
the total number siXty-five squads. or
80 per cent contracted no debt for
supplies during 1905: that is to say
practically all who made crops in 1904
were independent in 1903. Of the 81
negro squads that began crops in 1908,
only two. Or 80 per cent. of the whole,
were Independent. We learn further
that at the end of 1905 there were at
work 1O7 Italian squads. One hundred
and four of these own 123 head of
work stock, which with other live
stock, such as cattle, sheep, and hogs
represent a money value of $1,000.
Only three squads have no stock of
any kind OF the thirty-eight negro
squads on the place at the close of
1905. twenty-One own work and live
stock to the value of 1890, while sew
enteen own no stock at all. This ind1
Gates not only failure to take proper
advantage of their opportunities upon
the part of the negroes as a whole.
but grossly unequal distribution of