The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-11-30


| was told only few days ago by a
banker of Louisburg that the lands
of Franklin county, since the intro
ductiOn of the culture Of tobacco.
have not increased in value Now
this is stationary, if not retrograde,
price of the tobacco lands is due to
one or two causes. or to the two COM
bined. The average price Of the to-
bacco sold on the warehouse floors
of this town about 18SO-somc years
before or g few years later-was be-
tween II and 18 cents per pound.
The average price l think last year
was between Ii and 1 cents while
other products of the farm. corn
u heat, oats, beef, pork, poultry, etc,
have greatly increased in price Of
late years some 25, some SO per
cent. This increase is largely due to
the abundant supply Of money. 1t is
we'll known that the gold mines in
the last few years have been thor
oughly worked; new ones have been
opened, and old ones that were re-
meunerative with old mac hinery have
been found to be remunerative with
new machinery. and the per capita
circulation Of money has increased in
decade nearly 25 per cent, and we
are in an era Of very high prices.
Tobacco alone lags behind. This may
be due to the poor quality of to-
bacco that is offered, or to the for
nation of the tobacco trust. The to-
bacco trust and allied interests will
say that the quality Of tobacco has
reterorated. Others will say that
the formation Of the trust has put the
prices down and has held them down.
In either case tobacco culture does
not seem to be profitable. It may
be that the land has been exhausted
Of its fine tobacco producing quail
ties. In any event it will not be con-
tended bv any one that tobacco cul-
ture on the whole in Granville county
is now profitable. OF course you will
find here and there a man who is
maxine a success and is laying up
money from the cultivation of to-
baccO.
Moreover, under the present sys-
tenn of farming in Granville county
the lands are not improving. You
dare not put tobacco land in Grim
son clover or peas, that are now con-
sidered the great land imprOverS.
Shallow and clean cultivation and the
constant application Of commercial
fertilizers the lands are deteriorating;
and one has to put to the side of the
loss account large item for the
strange way our farmers have failed
to use hillside bitches, or terraces
that are far better.
If on the contrary our farmers were
to improve their lands by the culti-
walton Of crimson clover, followed by
peas, and crimson clover again fol-
lowed by peas, together with deep
ploWing always, in two or three years
ordinary lands will be brought up to
produce to 10 and Is barrels Of
corn per acre. Such has been the
experience Of the government test
farms throughout throughout North
Carolina. And corn at four to four
and a half dollars per barrel is a very
profita bic crop, when an acre will
produce even 10 barrels. Bear IN
mind that one man can cultivate
three four times as many acres in
corn as he can in tobacco.
If with this crimson clover and peas
a farmer were to secure the i'm
proved beef cattle and raise fat beef
to sell in February, March and April,
and have the manure to spread upon
his land, how rapidly would the land
improve. Certainly everything seems
to be coming the farmers way. All
that he produces except tobacco is
bringing fancy prices: why should he
continue to be tOiling over tobacco
from February to February. when
the price does not seem to be determ-