The farmer and mechanic., 1910-08-30


OF the State is Robson county. to
the south OF US few miles, and can
ctioupeS that are crOwding cotton
from some Of the farms But cotton
- not sOferlng as a crop in Robson
county Yet, for the census reDort of
the cotton glnned Last year accords to
RobesOn county over $1,000 bales Of
cotton. which seed and all at current
prices IS worth close to s60O0.O00.
Robeson county ranks fourth among
the counties of the United States in
It's yield Of cotton last year. The leader
is McLennan county in Texas and
the second and third counties are
Two counties in South Carolina. all of
the four yielding above s6,0OO,00o
worth of cotton
Ihose four counties are among The
most prosperous farm counties in the
world. Robson at the last census of
ten years ago showed a population of
10000 people. How much it has in
creased since then l do not know, az
this years figures have not yet been
announced, but a crop that brings a
community of say $4,000 people half
a million dollars a month is not a
bad pay record.
IhlS takes no account of the corn
pork and other crops that the Robe
son county farmer makes nor of the
other industries that are carried on,
for Robson is not tied up to cotton
a bsOlutely
North Carolina has four counties
that exceed $4,000 bales of cotton a
year, or at the present prices that pay
the equivalent Of two and a half mil
lion dollars worth
The yield Of the North Carolina
farm Will be one OF the interesting fea-
lures of the census figures
The cotton farms of kObesOn alone
are putting out now about a fourteenth
as much as the whole State produced
OF every farm crop ten years ago.
The cotton crop OF the State last year
amounted to nearly as much as all
of the crops raised in the State were
worth ten years ago, and cotton is
not the sole crop of North Carolina
by any means. as it counted for only
about fourth of the whole product
ten years ago.
Cotton this year gives promise of
being profitable for the producer. Last
year the whole production Of gold
of the entire world would not have
bought the cotton crop of the South,
and in fact would have paid for out
little more than half of it. From
which it is evident that the man who
wants to do a little mining is safer
if he located q cotton ledge some
where on the sandy ridge or the lower
bottoms of the small valley, and pro-
ceeds to sink shaft and prospect
for few acres Of cotton stalks.
1t Is pretty Welt eStaDllSed tnat
more men made money in digging
for cotton last year than did digging
for any metal that is mined-gold or
any other klnd. Moreover, fewer men
met with disappointment in the cotton
fields than in the gold fields, and it
is a safe venture that you Will not Of
ten find a cotton vein that does not
at least pay out som mething.
The census VIII show another in
taraSflnU a
agriculture. More diversification has
taken place than anybody suspects.
Cattle and stock raising are coming
into prominence in all sections, as Well
as trucking and fruit raising, the price
Of meat and dairy products proving
more attractive than 50 much Of one
thing.
Experience shows that both beef
and dairy cattle can be raised in all
sections Of the State with satisfactory
results, and cattle have been the
main prop of successful agriculture in
every successful farming section
Another change that has come over
this State in the last ten years is the
change for q larm laborer to fine
work Once it looked as though the
negro had appropriated to himself all
the jobs to be had But later the
white farm hand has been appearing,
and the Northern man who looks in
this direction for a job Of farming for
some one else until he can make
farm for himself begins to be en-
coura ged
Until lately men who wrote to me
asking about the chance Of finding
work to help estab themselves on
farms of their own were discouraged
from such course. as the negro
seemed to have all the farm places
nailed fast. 1t looks now as though
any Industrious man would soon be
able to find work on the farms at most
any season Of the year, for the new
adjustment of farm practice changes
matters all around. The fruit farm
tries hard to have something doing
to hold a certain number Of hands
regularly. The cotton farm is ar
ranging it's winter schedules to keep
its hands employed as much as pos
sible in winter The farm that adds
cattle adds winter work as we'll as
summer work, and nothing can stand
any added work for the sum m er sea-