The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1911-09-28
PLANTATION TO FARM.
A Man Who Has Made Dlverslfi.
cation Profitable.

i
Just at this time when there ex'
lists a general feeling OF pesslmistr
among the planters OF the weevi
infested districts of Mississippi and
Louisiana 1t seems to me opportune
to sound an optimistic note. and tc
say that although my plantations
have had the boil weevil since the
fall of 1908. that I feel more hope
fut and am greater believer in the
possibilities OF the valley lands to-
day than at any other time of my
association with them. I am not a
stranger either 10 past or present
conditions In the Mississippi val
ley, my ancestors commenced plant
ing cotton on the river In Warren
county In 1907, just hundred and
FIVE years ago next January. They
planted continually from that time
with the exception of four years of
war, until my administration be.
gun, after my fathers death, In
1900. All my family have been as
dyed In the wool cotton advocates
as any one In the state. The aver
age number of bales from our
property between 1900 aud 1908
was around I, 100 bales, so you can
understand we were cotton peo-
ple."
When the boil weeviI convention
was held in Shreveport about 1903
l attended 1t, and became impressed
with the dangers of a slnle crop
system and determined To- hdeavor
to inform myself In other lines Of.
farming. I got some Farmers
Bulletins published be The agricul-
sural dsparb ashington.4
and bought a few head Of grade
Hereford COWS. I also paid S2oo
for pure bred registered Hereford
ball; but all this time I was reIuc-
tant to give up cotton as my main
source of income. The places made
a large amount of money in 1903,
and l made the mistake right then
of not weaving myself largely from
cotton planting, and using a con-
siderable part of that money to-
wards putting a herd of well bred
cattle on the place, but 1t was hard
to break the old cotton ties Inherit
ed through four generations, and !
hung on to the cotton game.
Both 1905 and 1906 were poor
cotton years. but we made some
money; 1907 was an overflow. and
1908 we were almost ruined by
siepage water. Since that time we
have had the weevil. 1907 and
1908 caused me to do some hard
thinking. Being dependent on a
private levee, I knew I would
probably always be subject to over
flow and looked around for some
means of making a living that over
flow would not destroy; I noticed
that none of my cattle had any
ticks on them, due to overflow,
and this gave an idea; I could
raise cattle as good as those raised
in the North, where they had no
cattle tick. Then l knew that
Bermuda grass was not seriously
damaged by overflow and that gave
me my clue. 1908 I instructed
my manager to NOW the weeds on
the lands that were lying out, this
was done In July and again In Sep
tember. I moved these same fields
three times in 1909 and In the
spring of 1910 I had the finest Ber-
muda pasture I have ever seen.
have now on this pasture Of 124
acres, l76 young steers weighing
approximately 100 pounds. and II
could easily carry rs more OF the
same weight. making Ia the neigh
borhood of 1900 lbs. Of beef pas
tured on one acre. Adjacent to thi.
pasture Is about IS acres Of wood
Hand which furnished shade and
some slight pasture. This pasture
lis on sandy Ioam land. ! am nov
ling the weeds also On the stiff
black lands, but 1t Is taking mucl
fElonger time to set them Ia Ber
lmuda. Bermuda Is Q natura
lgrewth on our lands and will se
itself wherever the land i give
sunlight and the weeds kept down
THE vaIue Of an acre oE welI-se