USA > Alabama > Memorial record of Alabama. A concise account of the state's political, military, professional and industrial progress, together with the personal memoirs of many of its people. Volume I > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131
5th. To investigate the subject of viti-culture, with the view of dis- 15
226
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
covering the varieties of grapes best adapted to the different soils of the state; to report on the same and to advise the best methods of grape culture.
6th. To give attention to the dairy, find the best methods of manage- ment and how to promote the interests of dairymen, and encourage an increase of dairy products.
7th. To consider the question of fences, which is one of much import- ance in the state, requiring a large expenditure annually. In the cane- brake and prairie lands, where timber is scarce, fence laws have been adopted requiring cattle and swine to be kept up-the cultivated lands not being fenced in at all in several counties. The introduction of wire fences, which can now be constructed at comparatively low cost, may aid to solve a problem which, in the prairie section of the state, has heretofore caused much perplexity, and its satisfactory solution has been considered impossible.
8th. The care of sheep and production of wool-to study the question in all its bearings, and to be able to advise the farmers of the state con- cerning the best breeds of sheep for the climate and how best to make them profitable, both for mutton and wool.
9th. To encourage immigration by gathering and publishing infor- mation concerning the topography, climate, soils, agricultural products, minerals, etc., of the state, and using such other means as he deems ad- visable to attract immigrants to Alabama.
10th. To see that all commercial fertilizers, brought into the state, are subjected to the chemical analysis required by law, and that the pro- visions of the act establishing the department are in all respects com- plied with.
It will be seen by the foregoing epitome of his duties (and this sched- ule does not include them all) that the office of commissioner of agricul- ture was not designed to be a sinecure, but that the best efforts of a strong man are required to fill, adequately, the position. There have been up to this period (1892) only three incumbents of the office: Judge J. F. Betts, the first appointee; Captain R. F. Kolb, who succeeded Judge Betts and continued in office until the spring of 1892, and Hon. Hector D. Lane, the present incumbent. At first the commissioner was ap- pointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, but the general assembly of 1890-91, in amending the act, made the office elective. The present commissioner was elected by vote of the people of the state in August, 1892. The commissioner reports, under date September 30, 1890, that the state is very thoroughly organized. Farmers' institutes have been held in many localities, and these schools of the farmer have been well attended and have already resulted beneficially to the tillers of the soil. Scientific and practical information, by lectures and the system of questions and answers, is the chief aim of these institutes. At first the attendance was meager and the interest small, but now, the commis- sioner informs us, "it is difficult to find halls large enough to accommo- date the audiences which gather for instruction and entertain- ment." During the year ending September 30, 1889, farmers' institutes were held at Coffee Springs, Wormack Hill, Jefferson, Ramage Springs, Centre and Reeseville, which cost the state, in all, $449.37. During the
227
INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS.
year 1890, institutes were held at Tuscaloosa, Cherokee, Leighton, Roanoke and Lafayette, at the small cost of $73.41. The sale of "tags" for 1890, as compared with 1889, shows an increase of over $14,000, about thirty-three and a third per centum, indicating an inrease in the acreage cultivated and also in the application of fertilizers to the lands usually cultivated. The sales in 1892 amounted to $42,004.90.
Agricultural experiment stations and agricultural schools have been established from time to time. Several years ago an experimental farm and school was established at Auburn in connection with the Agricultural and Mechanical college; another in north Alabama, now located at Athens; another in the cane-brake region at Uniontown; another at Abbe- ville in east Alabama. The Agricultural and Mechanical college is entitled by law to one-third of the net proceeds arising from the sale of tags, which amounted in 1890 to $16,214.98. The other experiment sta- tions and agricultural schools received $2,500 each from the department of agriculture, making the appropriations for this purpose for the year ending September 30, 1890, $28,714.98. The experiment station at Union- town has a farm of forty acres-excellent land. The expenses of the department of agriculture, including farmers' institutes, were, for the year 1889, $6,206.87; for year ending September 30, 1890, $6,880.39. The expenses for year ending September 30, 1892, were $7,262.39. During the same year $37,421.73 of the receipts of this department were depos- ited in the treasury of the state.
The chemical laboratory of the state is located, as has been stated, at the Agricultural and Mechanical college at Auburn, the chief chemist being the professor of chemistry of the college. He reports for 1890 the quantitative analysis of 160 samples of acid phosphate with nitrogen and potash; seven with potash; seven with neither nitrogen nor potash, and forty-three miscellaneous, the latter including cotton seed, cotton seed meal, cotton seed hull ashes, kainite, tankage and "almost every . variety of material used in the manufacture of fertilizers." These analy- ses were generally made at the request of manufacturers and dealers. The commissioner says that the application of phosphates has not proved profitable on the black land prairies of the state. A large amount of work is also done in the state laboratory for the experiment stations and reported in the bulletins issued by the department of agriculture. The state chemist reports the examination of 150 specimens during the year ending September 30, 1890, including pea vines and roots, soils, sorghum, breadstuuffs, milk, butter, etc. Two special bulletins were prepared by the state chemist and issued in 1890, one on commercial fertilizers, with a dissertation on the composition and formation of soils and their deteri- oration, the composition of plants, the sources of the material used in the manufacture of fertilizers, the estimation of their commercial values and the preparation of composts; the other, on "pea vines as a fertilizer," discusses "the sources of nitrogen in vegetation, its value as plant food,
228
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
and how it is collected by pea vines and other legumes." Experimental data accompany this bulletin, which shows the manurial value of the vine as a whole and the relative value of the vines and roots. The state chemist, alluding to the organization of the association of agricultural chemists who meet at Washington under the auspices of the secretary of agriculture, says, "the work of this association cannot be too highly ap- preciated by all who are interested in the progress of agriculture. Whatever scientific study and investigation can do to benefit the farmer is being done; and it is gratifying to know that the dependence of agri- culture on science is now universally recognized." The commissioner of agriculture reports the issue, in 1890, of 292,000 copies of bulletins and monthly crop reports prepared at the experiment stations, and estimates. that these are read monthly by at least 75,000 of the people of Alabama. He says that he is able to send out monthly 50,000 copies of these bulle- tins and reports. At first the office of commissioner of agriculture was established by law at the Agricultural and Mechanical college at Auburn. It was destroyed by fire in the burning of that college in June, 1887, and nearly all of its records and accumulations were reduced to ashes. It was then removed to the state capitol at Montgomery, where it has ever since been kept.
It will be remembered that, among the duties of the commissioner specified in the act creating the department of agriculture, the direction to "promote immigration" was emphasized. The commissioner, in an at- tempt to carry out this injunction, made a trip to the great northwest in the spring of 1888, taking with him for distribution about 400 copies of "Riley's Guide Book" (a very interesting and useful publication to which the writer of these pages has made frequent reference) and several of the newspapers of the state which had given considerable space to de- scriptions of the resources of Alabama. His reception was so cordial and the inquiries made of him were so numerous and earnest, that he felt. encouraged to make a second trip, better provided for giving informa- tion and carrying with him abundant tangible evidences of the mineral wealth, the fertility of the soil, and varied agricultural products of this state. Through the liberality and courtesy of the managers of the Louis- ville & Nashville railroad, cars were specially fitted up to show to advan- tage the exhibit of the resoures and manufactures of the state collected for the excursion, and also for the comfort and convenience of the per- sons who were to accompany them. This exhibit was christened "Ala- bama on Wheels," and, starting in August, 1888, it made a railway tour of the west, stopping at innumerable places, where it was visited by large crowds of people, who seemed much interested in what they saw and heard. The commissioner estimates that more than 250,000 people passed through the exhibition car during the trip, and that he distributed 30,000,000 pages of printed matter describing the state and its resources. The information thus disseminated has stimulated further inquiry and led
229
INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS.
to the settlement, in different portions of the state, of immigrants from the north and west, who are proving industrious and valuable citizens. As the great advantages of Alabama, in respect to climate, soil, minerals and timber, become more widely known, people from less salubrious and fertile reigons will naturally seek homes within her borders, where they are sure of a cordial welcome, and, if frugal and industrious, of a reas- onable degree of prosperity. With regard to the benefit derived from the law requiring the chemical analysis of fertilizers offered for sale in the state, the commissioner says that it can "hardly be estimated." He says that prior to the enactment of this law, "the state was the dumping ground for all low grades of fertilizers, and, in consequence, honest man- ufacturers were compelled to seek other fields for the sale of their goods, which, being genuine, could not compete with an inferior article." Some of the samples, first analyzed by the department, of so-called fertilizers, which have sold at $47 per ton, were found to be really worth less than $2 per ton, and the purchasers were thus swindled or robbed of their earnings. The rigid enforcement of the "tag law" having driven the worthless article out of the market, the manufacturers of the valuable fertilizers have returned and several manufactories have been established in the state, so that now by "honest competition between men and goods of established reputation, prices have been reduced nearly 50 per cent., and the farmer is sure of a genuine article when he purchases commer- cial fertilizers."
While the use of commercial fertilizers has largely increased and what has been called "intensive cultivation" is becoming popular, it is worthy of remark that Alabama possesses on her own soil large quanti- ties of natural fertilizer in the marl and greensands, which are found in considerable quantities and may be of very great benefit to the farmers living near enough the marl beds to take advantage of them. The exist- ence of marl in Alabama was discovered in the spring of 1884, in the vicinity of Hamburg in Perry county. The attention of the state geolo- gist, Dr. Eugene A. Smith, of the university of Alabama, was soon attracted to the discovery, and in the course of the year, he tells us, "not only was this belt of phosphates traced by the geological survey across the entire state, but in addition the occurrence of similar phosphates at two or three other geological horizons and outcropping along as many parallel belts across the state," were discovered by the survey. These phosphates were found to occur both in the cretaceous and tertiary formations, and in five or six distinct beds. Dr. Smith classes them in three grades, accord- ing to their percentage of phosphoric acid, as follows:
1st. Phosphatic nodules and phosphatic shell casts containing from 20 to 30 per cent. of phosphoric acid, and therefore to be compared with the high grade phosphate rock of South Carolina.
2d. Phosphate greensands, holding, on an average, 4 to 5 per cent. of phosphoric acid, and but little carbonic lime.
3d. Greensands containing only about 1 1-2 to 2 per cent. of phosphoric
230
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
acid, but on the other hand from 15 to 20 per cent. of carbonate of lime in loose pulverulent form.
In an address delivered before the State Agricultural society, in con- venton at Selma, the state geologist thus describes the extent of these belts, their thickness and the nature of their phosphatic materials:
1st. At the base of the rotten limestone is the phosphate-bearing beds which we have called the Hamburg bed, and which outcrops across the state along the northern bounds of the prairie region, from the Missis- sippi line through Pickens, Greene, Hale, Perry, Dallas, Autauga and El- more counties, and also in Macon and Russell, where, however, it is for the most part covered by deep beds of sand and drift.
2d. At the summit of the rotten limestone, and outcropping along a belt approximately parallel to the preceding, but along the southern border of the prairie region near Livingston, Coatopa, Prairie Bluff and Minter Station, is the bed which we have called the Coatopa bed. In these two series of deposits both the high grade nodules and the phos- phatic sands occur.
(a.) The Greensands. The lower bed of greensands of the Hamburg belt is, on an average, about five feet thick, and has been followed across the state from the Mississippi line nearly to Georgia. As far east at least as Wetumpka the bed has this average thickness, and its materials are of tolerably uniform composition.
(b.) The upper or Coatopa bed is also known to extend from Livingston in Sumter county, to Bragg's Store, in Lowndes. It has an average thickness of about four feet and is of essentially the same composition throughout.
3d. In addition to the two great deposits above mentioned in the cretaceous formation, we have recently shown that others occur in the tertiary formation. The most important of these, if not the most in the entire state, is the Nanafalia marl, occuring on the Tombigbee river at Nanafalia landing, and on the Alabama at Black's and Gullette's Bluffs be- low Camden, but which may betraced across Choctaw, Marengo, and Wilcox into Dallas, and eastward to the Georgia line. The bed of phosphatic matter is about ten feet thick. East of Wilcox county this marl becomes more clayey and less valuable, but its place is taken by another marl, or, more properly, phosphatic limestone, which, near Ruthledge, Troy, Clayton and Fort Gaines in Georgia, is pretty widely distributed, and contains, according to the analyses of the state chemist of Georgia, 1.5 to 2 per cent. of phosphoric acid.
4th. The Wood's Bluff or Bashi marl, occurring at Wood's Bluff on the Tombigbee river, and at Johnson's wood yard on the Alabama, and appearing at many localities in Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, Butler, Conecuh, Covington and Coffee counties. The materials of the beds are chiefly greensand and carbonate of lime, but with comparatively little phosphoric acid. The average thickness of the bed may be put at five feet.
5th. The St. Stephens marl. This is seen at St. Stephens on the Tom- bigbee, and in many places in Choctaw, Clarke and Washington counties. It is clayey marl, containing over 1 per cent. of phosphoric acid and 40 per cent. of finely pulverized carbonate of lime.
Dr. Smith concludes that these beds each contain a sufficient quantity of available marl "for all our needs for generations to come," and then proceeds to discuss the only other material question, "is the quality such as to justify its use upon our soils?" He answers this question affirm-
231
INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS.
atively, first, on the general scientific principles; secondly, by noting the results attained by farmers of New Jersey and elsewhere, in the use of marls of similar quality; and third, by the experience of the few farmers in Alabama, who have used these marls upon their fields for three or four consecutive years. He cites some statements from a report of the "New Jersey Board of Agriculture," showing that the use of marls has worked a complete revolution in that state; that "it has raised the lowest stage of agricultural exhaustion to a high state of improvement." He then gives the experience of four farmers, residing in different parts of Ala- bama, who had made thorough tests of these marls, upon every variety of soil, in four widely distant sections, who gave concurrent testimony in favor of their fertilizing properties and the great benefit their use was to the lands to which they were applied. In addition to the reports of these several tests, Dr. Smith himself had personally observed the effect of these marls on crops at Coatopa on his visit there in 1886. He says, he noticed several spots in the field he visited "conspicuous by the deep green color of the foliage of the cotton plants and the greater height of the stalks-nearly twice that of the plants in the rest of the field. On in- quiry, he was told that these were the spots where the marl was first thrown in piles, preliminary to its distribution over the field. Mr. W. S. Purifoy, of Wilcox county, a prominent agriculturist, who also made an experiment with the marls, reported that land, that had been exhausted and given up to sedge and briars, are now producing paying crops. Be- side the benefit to the growing crop, Mr. Purifoy says that the use of marls "improves the chemical condition of aluminous soils, rendering them more easily cultivated; the loose nature induced by their applica- tion favors the germination of the seed, thereby securing a start more readily." These improvements in the physical condition of the lands he considers as important as to supply the elements of plant food.
Experiments have recently been made in Baldwin county and in the vicinity of Mobile to grow Sea Island cotton, and with such success that this valuable staple will soon be largely cultivated. The agricultural edi- tor of the Mobile Register, in a recent article, contends that the area commencing at Mobile and extending thence to the shores of the gulf, possesses every characteristic for the production of Sea Island cotton, and that the practical tests already made fully confirm the deductions made from a scientific standpoint. Sea Island cotton is in such demand and is so much more valuable than the ordinary grades, it is certain, within a brief period, to engage the attentionf of producers having lands in the limited area in which it can be successfully cultivated, thus adding an- other and important product to the agriultural wealth of Alabama.
The wool crop shows a steady growth in quantity and value since the the year 1880. The receipts at Mobile, the chief wool market in the state, were 346,000 pounds in 1882-83; 245,875 pounds in 1883-84; 455,000 pounds in 1884 -- 85; 510,000 in 1885 -- 86; 522,800 in 1886 -- 87; 652,000 in 1887 -- 88;
-
232
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
857,500 in 1888 -- 89; 639,200 in 1889 -- 90; and 973,100 pounds in 1890 -- 91. Prices have been generally fair, ranging from 10 to 15 cents for burry, to 28 to 32 cents for washed wool. The crop of 1890 -- 91 received at Mobile was valued at $228,678.50. In 1880 there were 337,538 sheep in Alabama, producing in that year 762,207 pounds of wool marketed in Alabama. Every county in the state contributed to this aggregate, the smallest number, 573, being in Washington county. the largest, 13,854, in Geneva county, with two other counties following closely-Jackson with 13,784, and Baldwin with 13,488. Next comes Blount county, with 10,370; Escam- bia, with 9,279; Jefferson, with 8,050; Lauderdale, with 7,316. The other counties range from 7,000 down to 626. Sheep growing in several of the counties, notably in Baldwin, Escambia, Blount, Jackson, Jefferson and Lauderdale, has been stimulated during the last decade, and is assuming considerable importance, and large flocks are being gathered and tended. The vast area of uncultivated and unfenced lands in the "timber belt," affording ample pasturage without cost, and the genial climate which ren- ders winter feeding and housing unnecessary, would seem to make south and southeast Alabama a very paradise for sheep husbandry.
The dairy products of the state were not inconsiderable even ten years ago. In 1880 the number of milch cows was estimated as 271,443; the butter manufactured at 7,997,719 pounds; and the cheese at 14,091 pounds. The largest amount of butter was made in Madison county, which pro- duced, in 1880, 251,281 pounds This county, it will be remembered, has the honor of possessing the champion cow for butter making as yet recorded in the Herd Book of registered cattle. Eight other counties, Blount, Cherokee, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Limestone, Pickens and Randolph, each produced over two thousand pounds of butter in the census year of 1880. The new and little county of Cullman led in cheese making industry, produc- ing 2,020 pounds. In other live stock Alabama did not rank very high, yet she led her neighboring states, Georgia and Mississippi, in this respect, and several of the other states very considerably. The num- ber of horses found on the farms of the state in June, 1880, was 113,950; number of mules and asses, 121,051; number of working cattle, 75,224; number of milch cows, 271,448; number of other cattle, 404,214; and 1,252,462 swine; Jackson county returns the largest number of horses; Montgomery of mules and asses, closely followed by Dallas; Monroe, of working oxen, with Clarke, Henry and Marengo close competitors; Mar- engo, of milch cows, with Clarke and Madison next in order: of other cattle, Clarke county is well in the lead; and in swine Jackson county comes easily to the front. No record has been kept of farm products other than those already mentioned, but they are not inconsiderable.
Hay, which was formerly regarded as unworthy of attention, the idea prevailing that a good article could not be made in the latitude of Alabama (except perhaps in the northern tier of counties), is now saved in large quantities in all portions of the state. Even in Mobile county,
=
233
INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS.
which formerly imported all the hay it consumed and furnished to the interior counties, large quantities of excellent hay are now made every year, not only sufficient for home consumption but also for market purposes. Field peas, millet and other crops are successfully cultivated for green soiling, food for stock and the general market. The field pea is very nutritious, is highly prized, and forms an important article of food. for the family. Eggs, poultry, honey, beeswax and syrup are also pro- duced in large quantities for use and sale, and aid considerably in supplying the needs of the farmer's household. With the improved methods of cropping; the increasing population to be fed; the further development of the mineral wealth of the state; the habits of economy, born of necessity and fostered by experience of its benefits; the coming desirable immigration, which will result in dividing up large plantations and the production of diversified crops; and the spread of general intel- ligence and particularly the knowledge of the quality and needs of the soil and how best to cultivate it, the future of agriculture in Alabama is bright with promise and full of encouragement to her people.
MINES AND MINING.
The mineral region, par excellence, of Alabama, embracing'fully one-third of the territorial area of the state, is so called on account of the variety and abundance of the leading minerals of commerce to be found therein, and the fact that nearly all, if not all, the mines which are now worked, by common consent, constitute the mineral belt. But this area, rich and prolific as it is, does not monopolize all the mineral wealth of Alabama. In several of the counties of the Tennessee valley, in portions of the "cotton belt," and also in the far south, called the "timber belt," minerals have been found in more or less profusion. Lauderdale county contains iron; iron, coal and lead and. silver have been found in Limestone county ; coal and iron in Jackson; coal, manganese, copper, lead and silver in Marshall; coal in Morgan (also asphalt, the first trace discovered in Alabama ; coal in Lawrence; traces of iron, coal and lead in Pickens; traces of iron and mineral springs and wells in Sumter; traces of petroleum and mineral springs in Choctaw; kaolin and other minerals in Perry and Barbour counties; traces of iron in Washington; mineral and salt wells, and gypsum in Clarke; traces of iron and very strong mineral springs near Greenville and in the northern part of Butler; and iron ore has been found in considerable quantities in the northern part of the county of Mobile.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.