The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1917, 1914-10-13

among the utterance and advice offered in the opinion of
lgence there has nothing been said with sense to il
ston National Secretary Of Agriculture. He does ad
the legislatures shall pass stringent laws restricting the
ging about wise action the part Of Southern farmers
Instructive PLAN"
But let Mr.. Houston tell this himself
All the officers of the Department of Agriculture imme-
datcy concerned have given most earnest and prolonged
farmer by the breaking of the European war We are
definitely of the opinion that there feasible way
OF bringing about wise action on the part of Southern
farmers except through the proposal and adoption of
constructive plan. In the face of past experience and
knowledge of the human element involved, it does not
ply to restrict acreage will solve the problem the past
such an effort has been made 1t has been found that
where agreements have been made to reduce acreage they
have not ben obsrved and that instead of reduction Of
acreage resulting there has been increase and the pro-
duction Of larger crop Many individuals thinking that
the result has been that which have indicated
The constructive plan which appeals to this Department
the farmers the fact that in the next year or in the next
few years the prices of all foodstus likely to be hgh
and that is the part wisdom for the farmers Of the
country to make every effort to take advantage of the
far possible. Even if the Southern farmers should not
think it wise to produce grains, such wheat and corn
for foreign export for interstate shipment in competi
ton with the middle West it would seem to that they
these commodities for home consumption and for the in
tercommunity market. Many of the Southern States
port many mll1OnS or dollars worth or grain
With the increasing prices of these products it is econom-
caly unsound for the South to rely so largely on other
sections for them II clear to this Department that
southern farmers should at least produce grains for home
consumption of cutting down the family ex-
penses and that they might increase their production of
of supplying their needs and the needs of their
neighborS. With adequate attention to marketing, they
can also proftably produce these things foor interstate
shipment am told that the number of poultry on the
average Ohio farmm is approximately 125, while the
number on the South Carolina farm about A.
to most of the Southern States. This situation
should be remeded and be remedied The whole
for its own consumption Too exclusive attention in the
past has been given to the production of the large ami
mails such as beef cattle and to the production Of these
on the big ranch, which IS in disappearing.
We confronted with decreasing meat supply and
rapidly increasing population is obvious TO everybody
who thinks that much larger part of the meat con-
sumption of the nation might we'll be the consumption of
poultry Of considerable variety and Of hogs. Asa
sumed is of this kind. The production Of these smaller
animals can be very considerably increased if each ndi
vdua farmer will give his attention to their production
and they can be increased and quickly increased without
very great expense. They can be consumed at home,
relieving the farmer of the expense of securing his meat
mans cost; and with the use of known methods of mar
keting they can be shipped beyond the community. If
the year after to these things and economze in produc
ton by saving manure thereby reducing his fertilizer BILL
and by planting winter cover crops especially winter le-
gumes, he the SureS relief for himself and for
his community in this emergency and can bring about
wiser direction Of his activities prominent part of a
ricultural in the South. In this direction
to lies the wise of much larger percentage of the
Southern farmers labor and capital and of his land The
Department urges that the Southern farmer follow this
direction as ofincreasing his returns and
Of bringing about better foundation for prosperity in the
South If he had done this lin recent years he would
now have of subsistence and would not be COM
PEELED in so many instances to part With his cotton I'M
mediateIy
recognize that there have been impedimen placed in
the way of many Southern farmers in his attempt to d
vsiy his agriculture by failure of banks and merchants
to extend him credit other things than cotton. It
to that this has been shorghted the part of
vidual is the foundation OF credit and again it is almost
trum that important to guarantee that credit
tended at ALL The bankers and merchants should coop
with the farmers in asceaining what the wlses
of credit and in directing the application of capital and
labor into the most fruitful channels.