The Progress

FARMER AND PLANTER

YOU MIGHT DO LIKEWISE.

How One Southern Land Owner Met the Contingency of Having Idle Farms.

As I have been a silent reader of your most valuable paper for many years and have often thought I would give its many readers a little bit of my short experience as a tiller of the soil, though something always prevented me from doing so until now, and if this does not find its way to the back door I may try again in the near future. I have been living in a little town for 27 years, and all the time have never plowed a day in the field. Have always rented my farms out to tenants until this year, and as last year was almost a complete failure with farmers through this section, forcing many good tenants to go to public works for a livelihood, unless the landlord would furnish them from the start. This many of us refused to do, as we were already in the hole, and many as well as myself were forced to move out on our farms or let them lay idle, and as taxes were high and many other expenses accumulating, this we could not afford to do. I for one made the move and so far I am not sorry I returned. Yes, I moved. I found a house with three rooms, one fire-place, not a porch, window, doorstep, door lock or loft in the house, nor a surplus piece of plank around, as all had been burned. Everything looked alike to me. It was but a short time until I had taken in the whole situation and soon realized that I had the hardest job on my hands I had ever undertaken. Well, I acted upon the presumption that where there is a will there is always a way, so I rolled up my sleeves and waded in up to my neck. I began to look to see what was most needed. I got lumber built two rooms, ceiled overhead, built hall, veranda, put in new windows, doors, doorsteps, cleaned up the yard, extended my garden, planted cut my fall onions, got up a lot of good winter wood, of which I had plenty, built myself a big fire, walked up and kissed my better half, one of the best little women in the world, and said: "Old gal, I can now see what I can do, have done all this with my own hands, not hiring one cent's worth." My wife's remarks were: "You have done exceedingly well, though here we are with 450 acres of land in this place and it is almost Christmas and not one foot rented. Also our other plantation on Coosa river laying idle. I can hardly see what we are to do." "Never mind, old gal. We are not the only ones with idle lands. The woods are full of 'em. I am going to work what I can and let the balance lay out." "Yes, but idle lands do not pay taxes, etc." "Well, we will get through O. K. Let's not cross the bridge until we get to it."

Well, after Christmas I began to make preparations to make a crop. I bought a set of blacksmith's tools and my better half laughed at me and said, "Why, my dear, you do not know anything about this kind of work." My answer was, "One never gets too old to learn," and I have done all my farm work, such as wagon, buggies, plows, shoeing horses, etc., and have saved about $50.

I took the "Cultivator's" advice. I planted lots of corn, planted 18 acres in cotton and in June plowed it all up and planted corn and peas, and my prospects were fine for a good corn and pea crop until the five weeks' drought we had the latter part of August and September. This cut me short of about 400 bushels of corn and 600 or 800 bushels of peas, though while I failed on one hand I kept good time on the other. I have saved about 40 tons of as fine hay as ever was cut. Will make plenty of corn to do me, lots of fine peas, sorghum, etc., all done by myself, had no experience in the farm. myself and three little boys, who, like - Cor. Southern Cultivator.