The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1908-10-01

voGUE, 1t is my humble opinios
that our South Mississippi farmer.
will surely come out ahead In the
approaching hard fight If they
change the prevailing cultural
methods. For instance, plant less
cotton on their present acreage by
preparing their fields in exactly the
same way. then plant cotton only
on the alternate rows and some 9TH
er crop that will die or may be cut
out by the middle OF July on the
intervening rows. such as early corn
or cow peas, or any other quick
crop. That would leave the cotton
rows 6 or 8 feet apart for the Au-
gust and September maturing. well
enough exposed to the sun to de-
stroy most of the boil weevils that
attacked it. The next year, after
burning all stalks and trash, cotton
might be transferred to the other
crop rows and the other crops be
planted on the last years cotton
rows. Then the cotton should be.
advanced as far ahead as possible.
by planting early and employing
intensive cultivation. Although Il
don't know any more about farm
ing than the late Horace Greely, II
believe with the help of govern
snent advice and their own good
sense our Mississippi farmers will
beat this insidious foe of the cotton
industry and will produce as much
Of their money CROP as they have
formerly done. Undoubtedly for
few years they will be compelled
to plant, as they should always
have done, full home-supply of
corn. raise all their bacon outside
Of the town wholesale groceries,
rear morecattle, produce an abund-
ant supply of poultry and place not
the least future dependence for
their living on the doubtful con-
tents of hermetically sealed tin
cans In the human feed stores. OIL
course such necessities as wheat
-four. coffee, tea, sugar and salt
and clothing win have to be pur-
chased. Rsst almost all else they
need, even to the tobacco they
smoke, may be grown. bred or
hatched at home. Coming back to
cane again. they may even make
their sugar at home, and there prof.
duce all the short-sweetening and
long -sweeting consumed in their
I think, too. that our Claiborne
people might be far more
with the truck business
than they were last year. Last
season the panic and the prevailing
business depression injured the de-
nand for such products and made
the business locally Improbable !;
but / believe that under better gem
eral financial conditions the local
.rnck business. properly man
aged, would pay very well. The
panic of last autumn and winter
lit our Louisiana sugar planting
industry terrible blow but our
sugar planters are not going to lie
lown and quit the business because
did. With the hope that springs
.ternal In the human breast they
ire working hard. oblivious to the
rear that is lost, looking for better
lines.
I have warm sympathy for and
lively interest In the fortunes of /
II my fellow citizens of my Mis- ]
lssippi home, and I am sure that
hey are going to win In this strug- {
lie against the worst for that has !
yer attacked our southern cotton !
ldustry. I believe in the end.
lhich will come earlier than ex- 7
ected. this supposed curse viii 7
rove to be a great blessing In I
.aching the farmers to develop theI I
I'll resources OF their soil. to prae. T
ce better and more scientific ctl~ {
walton, and TO win from their own {
nd an easier and cheaper living 4
ian they gain now by largely neg. 7
citing their own ground and seek
Ig in the cities and towns expen~ T
We supplies which they could pro- .
ice for less than half the cost al
ONE. Ia