The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-12-29
ADDRESS OF HON. D. F. HOUS-
TON, SECRETARY OF ACRl-
CULTURE.
CONTINUED from page A.

The average farm in the United
States at the last census had NOR
than 9 head of attic, 9 hogs, more
than 3 work animals, and 40 heao
of poultrv, South Carolina had less
than 8 head of cattle, 4 hogs, z
work animals, and II head of poul'
try. While Iowa had more than
6 dairy COWS per farm, 80 hogs an,
1OS poultry, South Carolina had !
milk COW, less than 4 hogs, n II
Aultry. In respect to live STOCK,
fconditions in Anderson, Oconee:
Pickens, are representative OF
those in the State. Consider now
the size of the farm and its bearing
on the problems of production and
marketing. According to the cen
sus of 1910, in the United States
as a whole 1873 acres represents the
average size of the farm, and 70
acres the average for the improved
=. land. The farms of South Carolina
average 76k acres, instead OF w
acres in 1900, ia acres in 1890,
and 500 acres so years ago; and
the number of improved acres IN
farms in 1910 was only As per
cent of the total in farms, or 34R
acres, and in Anderson county the
average farm contained 54k acres,
and approximately 80 acres of i'm
proved land.
Evidently, the nation is becoming
a nation of small farms, and South
Carolina in particular is becoming
a State of especially small farms
too small, in fact, in the Judgment
of experts, for the economical en-
ployment of labor and for other
economics in production, and es-
pecially for economy in marketing.
In passing, I may say that partly be-
cause of the small size of the farm,
and partly because of too great ad-
herents to the n crop system,
there is exhibited in this section, if
we may trust the conclusions of ex-
perts, a striking waste in the en-
ployment of labor both of men and
of work animals. The Office of
Farm Management has made a care
full inquiry into this matter in An
derson county. They report that
Nthere are on the average 215 avail
ake work days, but that the work
o4&producing the crops of the county
calls for only los days of each work
animal, or less than so per cent of
its available power, and only 129
days for each laborer, or about 60
per cent of that available. Couple
these facts with the fact that less
than so per cent of the land in farms
is improved, with the favorable
conditions existing here for diversi-
f~ication and for the development of
the live stock industry, and with
the difficulties that small farmers
find in marketing their products. Is
it not clear what direction thinking
and practice should take? Would
it not be possible to utilize a con-
siderable fraction of the unused
lands, to practice rotation of crops
more largely, to SOW some of the
hills that are being washed down, in
Bermuda grass, which will grow
on any of the land and in time will
the ground, and to follow this
with burr clover, to plant cow peas,
vetch and crimson clover as cover
crops, to extend the planting of
grains, and to lay a broad and thor
ough foundation for a live stock
economy which is essential to a
balanced agriculture.
But even if all this were done,
if diversified farming were fully
practiced on a farm sufficient in size
to utilize economically the full time
of the family and of the work ami
mails, there would still be presented
in urgent ways the problem of what
to do with the products, of how to
market them ~proftably, and to in
sure to the producers a just price.
I have said that the family unit
farm is an economical producing
unit, but not an economical mar
keting unit. The problem is to re-
tain the economics of production and
to eliminate the wastes of distribu-
ton, and the solution of this prob
lem so far as individuals can solve
it, lies it seems to me in team
work, in organization, in coopera-
ton. Organized buying and selling
and the financing of farm enter
prises when we get outside the rou-
tine practices can be successfully
done only where there is concerted
action. A small farmer may sue
cessfully produce and keep a small
number of milk cows which will pro-
duce beyond his family needs, but
he is helpless in marketing the sur
plus. A farmer may produce peach
es in considerable quantity, but in
dividually he will not succeed in mar
keting them proftablv. And the
safhe thing is true of any of his
specialized products: and is true in
a measure even Of his staple pro-
ducts, and even of cotton. I con-
ceive it to be essential that in this
as in most other farming sections of
the Union, men shall put their heads
together in an intelligent and gen.
erous way, and they shall initially
decide what they shall produce, tc
what extent they may standardize
their products, how they shall handle
them, how they shall transport
Them, and how they may establish
the requisite daily information con
terning markets and market condi
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