Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 17

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Mississippi > Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II > Part 17

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Wheat only reached a production of one hundred and thirty-eight thousand bushels in 1849. It didn't pay to raise it when the product of the Northwest could be secured so much more easily. Oats was heavily grown, so that the year 1849 produced one million five hun- dred thousand bushels, chiefly spring and winter or black oats. Rye and barley were past- uring crops, and only produced ten thousand of the former and two hundred and twenty- nine of the latter in 1849. Chicken corn, broom corn and "Hebron corn" were grown also before the war. Rice was generally cultivated in the southeast, especially near Mississippi city, and produced two million seven hundred thousand pounds in 1849. Sugar cane reached a crop equal to three hundred and eighty-eight hogsheads and about eighteen thousand gallons of molasses. The latter was made as far north as Chickasaw county, and many planters in the south part of the state made all their own sugar. There were sugar mills in Pike, Amite, Marion and Perry counties. The sweet potato was cultivated in five varieties, and in 1849 made the stupendous crop of four million seven hundred and forty-two thousand bushels, worth more than $2,000,000 -the state taking fourth rank in this particular. The Irish potato was confined to the garden, and the crop of 1849 was only about two hundred and sixty thousand bushels. The cornfield pea was extensively grown, the crop of 1849 reaching one million bushels. It was a splendid stock feed. The Bermuda and other grasses were grown, but none compared with the magnificent Bermuda.

These were the chief agricultural products. In 1836 there were one million forty- eight thousand five hundred and thirty acres cultivated and three hundred and seventeen thousand seven hundred and eighty-three bales of cotton raised. In 1849 Mississippi was third, with four hundred and eighty-four thousand two hundred and ninety-three bales, and in 1859 she scored one million three hundred thousand bales, worth $45,000,000. In 1840 and 1850 there were produced of corn thirteen million one hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven and twenty-two million four hundred and forty six thousand five hundred and fifty-two bushels respectively, of wheat one hundred and ninety six thou- sand six hundred and twenty-six and one hundred and thirty-seven thousand nine hundred and ninety respectively, of rye and oats six hundred and eighty thousand and sixty eight and one million five hundred and fifteen thousand eight hundred and ninety four bushels respectively; of sweet potatoes, one million six hundred and thirty thousand and one hun- dred, and four million seven hundred and forty-one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five

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bushels respectively; of rice, seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand one hundred and ninety-five, and two million seven hundred and nineteen thousand eight hundred and fifty- six pounds respectively; of horses and mules, one hundred and nine thousand two hundred and twenty-seven, and one hundred and seventy thousand and seven, one hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred and sixty of the latter being horses; of cattle, six hundred and twenty three thousand one hundred and ninety-seven to seven hundred and thirty-three thousand nine hundred and seventy in 1850; of sheep, one hundred and twenty-eight thou- sand three hundred and sixty-seven to three hundred and four thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine; and of swine, one million one thousand two hundred and nine to one million five hundred and eighty-two thousand seven hundred and thirty-four in 1850.

These are sufficient to indicate the condition of agriculture in the closing years of the old regime. This is a view from the standpoint of 1854; let a view now be taken from the view-point of 1884, after about a quarter of a century of the new regime, in the midst of its best decade:

"From the time when the first European settlement was established at the Bay of Biloxi, in 1699," wrote Major Hurt in 1884, " a variety of causes have intervened to retard that systematic, thorough, intensive cultivation of the soil, in connection with a variety of products which are required to develop to their full extent the natural advantages of an agricultural country. The system of agriculture which obtained in this state prior to the emancipation of the slave was not conducive to this end. It was an area of large estates, devoted almost exclusively to a single product, and this not with the idea to obtain the greatest results from a given area of land. Under the new order of things, after the Civil war, the farmers of Mississippi found themselves without capital with which to cultivate their lands-the only species of property, save a remnant of their stock, left to them. Millions of dollars' worth of their property had been swept away, and thus impoverished, they were compelled to invoke the yoke of debt, backed in many cases by mortgages on real estate, from which they are not yet entirely free. The system of large planting was quite extensively resumed after the war. Advance of supplies and money to make the crops were usually obtained from the local merchant, reaching the farmer after having passed through the hands of several middlemen, and compelling him to pay to them very liberal, not to say exorbitant, profits and rates of interest. The end of the year frequently found the farmer unable to meet his obligations for supplies obtained upon these terms, and in this way many fine estates were sacrificed under foreclosure of deeds of trust. Probably no other country except that of cotton production could have withstood, and even slowly prospered under, these adverse circumstances. The agriculture of Mississippi has run the course common to most states-improvident, careless farming on rich lands, exhaustion and restoration. It is now the period of restoration, and while the state has abundance of fertile land yet untouched, a great deal is being accomplished by the improvement of lands which have been heretofore impoverished by previous careless agriculture. There has been a marked improvement in the methods of culture, the treatment of the soil, and the diversification of crops in the past few years. A very encouraging advance has been made in agricultural methods, but much remains to be done to bring the state up to that high degree of agricult- ural prosperity which nature seems to have designed for its people to enjoy. New ideas are rapidly taking hold of the people. The obsolete agencies of the slave period have been discarded for methods better suited to the new regime. Improved implements, intensive cultivation, diversification of crops, fine stock, fruit and vegetable production, are the means which are quietly effecting a revolution in agriculture. The progress has been especially

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rapid in the last four years; lands have advanced in value, and there is a hopeful, cheerful, contented feeling abroad in the state."

The causes of these changes are interesting. Not the least of them were agitation for them among the farmers themselves, smaller farms, competition, and educational efforts of all kinds.

The State grange and similar societies represent the first movement mentioned. This was organized on March 15, 1872, at Rienzi, Miss., by O. H. Kelly, secretary of the National grange, and Gen. A. J. Vaughn was chosen master of the state organization. His successors have been: W. L. Hemingway, elected in 1874; Capt. P. Darden, in 1876, serving until his death in 1888; Dr. J. B. Bailey, serving from then until the election of the present incum- bent in 1890-Hon. S. L. Wilson. Capt. W. L. Williams, of Alcorn county, served as secretary until 1880, since which date Mrs. Helen A. Aby of Claiborne has served. The successive annual meetings have been held as follows: Columbus, 1872; Jackson, 1873-4; Kosciusko, 1875; Jackson, 1876; Holly Springs, 1877; Okalona, 1878; Forest, 1879; Brook Haven, 1880; Durant, 1881; Jackson, 1882; Meridian, 1883; Jackson, 1884; Durant, 1885; Jackson, 1886-7; Newton, 1888; Forest, 1889; and Hickory, 1890. In March, 1872, there were but six local granges, with one hundred and twenty-three members; in December there were fifty-six, with one thousand six hundred and eighty members. The movement has enrolled from the first as high as thirty thousand members in the state, but it now has forty- six local granges, and about two thousand members. This is taken as an old and represent- ative illustration of similar movements in the state. These movements led to the establish- ment of agricultural schools as means of advancement.

These schools-one for white and one for colored, with one for white girls-are treated at length in the proper place. It must suffice to say here that they are having in their respective spheres a success that proves the wisdom of their founding as powerful allies to these efforts to put all phases of agricultural life on the highest basis possible.

The change in size of farms is another vastly important feature in developing and econ- omizing land resources. "One of the most encouraging features in the agriculture of Mis- sissippi, " said a recent writer, "is that the large plantations are being gradually subdivided into smaller holdings. As before remarked, the system prior to the close of the late war was one of large estates, and there was a strong tendency among slave-owners to enlarge annually the size of their plantations with the increase of slaves. To-day, just the contrary policy is pursued; the tendency is to contract the size of the larger plantations, intensify and improve the cultivation, and generally to obtain the highest results from a given area of land. The individual cultivation of fewer acres by improved methods is now the popular idea. The statistics of the census show that the progress in this direction is quite marked, a fact that will be gratifying to those who believe that the agricultural prosperity of the state and the value of lands will be increased by the subdivision of large plantations, and the acquisition of homesteads by an intelligent and industrious class of immigrants." From 1850, when there were thirty three thousand nine hundred and sixty farms with an acreage of ten million four hundred and ninety thousand four hundred and nineteen, and an improved acreage of three million four hundred and forty-four thousand three hundred and fifty-eight, and with an average size of three hundred and nine acres, to 1850, when there were forty two thousand eight hundred and forty farms of fifteen million eight hundred and thirty-nine thousand six hundred and eighty-four acres, with an improved acreage of five million sixty-five thousand seven hundred and fifty five, and an average farm size of three hundred and seventy acres, the gain in number of farms was only twenty-six per cent.

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From 1870, when there were sixty-eight thousand and twenty-three farms of thirteen mill- ion one hundred and twenty-one thousand one hundred and thirteen acres, with an improved acreage of four million two hundred and seven thousand one hundred and forty- six. and an average size of only one hundred and ninety-three acres, to 1880, when there were one hundred and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two farms of fifteen million eight hundred and fifty-five thousand four hundred and sixty-two acres, with an improved acreage of five million two hundred and sixteen thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, and an average size of only one hundred and fifty-six acres, the gain in number of farms was within a small fraction of fifty per cent. It will be noticed that the average size was in 1880 two hundred and fourteen acres less than in 1860, a twenty years' interval. This is striking proof of the tendency to small farms. Said Colonel Power, writing in 1889: "Large farms will soon cease to be the rule in Mississippi," and adds that in 1890, " there will be fully one hundred and twenty-five thousand farms. Lands are still very cheap, because in larger tracts than they can be profitably cultivated under the present labor sys- tem, and hence necessity forces the sale of all that can not be held or cultivated." By acres, the distribution of number of farms was as follows in 1880: eighty-four farms were below three acres; two thousand three hundred and thirty-six farms between three aud ten acres; eleven thousand nine hundred and thirty six farms between ten and twenty acres; twenty- six thousand eight hundred and thirty-six farms between twenty and fifty acres; nineteen thousand three hundred and eighteen farms between fifty and one hundred acres; thirty-five thousand four hundred and ninety-three farms between one hundred and five hundred acres; three thousand nine hundred and thirty-six farms between five hundred and one thousand acres; and only one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three farms of over one thousand acres.

In this connection it is important to note certain leading features of the labor system in agriculture, as having a most serious bearing on this greatest interest of the state. It can not be better done than by using the words of Major Hurt: "The problem of labor lies at the very foundation of all agricultural prosperity. There can be uo permanent advance- ment in agriculture when the labor by which the soil is tilled is indolent, uncertain and diffi- cult to control. Ever since the emancipation of the slaves, this great question has been anxiously and seriously considered by the planters of Mississippi. While it can not be said that a solution has been reached, the question is not discussed as extensively as formerly. The colored people, who form the great bulk of agricultural laborers in this state, have of late years manifested a deeper interest in their own material welfare; they have taken less interest in politics; they are no longer harassed by fears that their freedom is in peril; they realize that all the rights of citizenship are accorded them, and that as long as they live in the midst of the whites there is an interdependence of interests between the two races, to an extent that whatever promotes the welfare of their white neighbors must necessarily redound to their own advantage. They begin to understand and appreciate the full force of this mutuality of interests, and with this better understanding has come a marked improvement in their usefulness as laborers. Left to themselves, and free from the influences of design- ing politicians, it is but just to say that they afford perhaps the best class of laborers for the large cottonfields, especially in the Yazoo delta. Many planters, indeed, consider negro labor the only kind suited to the existing methods of cotton culture, with which long experi- ence has made them familiar. Frequent attempts have been made to introduce labor from abroad, especially from the European countries. But little success, however, has attended these attempts, probably owing to the fact that there was no systematic and organized effort

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to obtain and retain this class of laborers, and the further fact that they were not introduced in sufficient numbers to overcome the objectionable competition with the colored labor already established. The difficulty was not one of climate, as has been erroneously sup- posed. There is no climatic bar, a fact which has been practically established. There are many instances of Swedes and others, from more northern latitudes, working successfully and without any great inconvenience throughout the hottest summer months. The main body of farm labor is, moreover, accomplished before the heated term comes fairly on, and besides there is generally a gulf breeze in Mississippi which greatly tempers the rays of the summer sun. Early corn is laid by before the hot season, while the attention which cotton requires in midsummer may be given in the cooler portions of the day. Of course there is no diffi- culty of this kind in the way of native white labor, as more than one-third of the cotton prod- uct of the state is the result of white labor."

As to systems of labor, he continues: "There are three systems of cultivation as respects labor in vogue among the landowners of Mississippi, each having its advantages and defects. They are the wages system, the share system and the rental system. The wages plan, under which the laborer receives a certain stipulated sum by the month or year, is preferred by many farmers, especially those who labor for themselves, for by tak- ing the lead and exercising close supervision they obtain better results than is possible under either of the other two systems. By this plan the farmer can control his labor, superintend the cultivation of the soil and hold in perfect discipline the forces with which to make and harvest the crops, and also to carry on the improvements necessary to keep the farm in good repair. It is not always, however, that laborers can be obtained on this plan. As a general thing, the colored people are adverse to working for wages, preferring a semi- proprietorship or partnership in the products of their labor. The share system, originat- ing soon after the war, is quite extensively adopted throughout the state. It is, however, considered by many objectionable, as under its operation the lands are allowed to deteriorate in value, the laborer caring little for their preservation and for future results. To this system, perhaps more than anything else, may be attributed the slovenly and nnremunera- tive methods of agriculture sometimes met with in this state. When the share system is adopted the landowner furnishes the supplies necessary to make the crop to the laborer, he has a lien to that amount, without the formality of writing, on the laborer's share of the crop, under the provisions of the existing agricultural lien law, and in like manner the laborer has a lien for his wages. In other cases the laborer gives a mortgage to the mer- chant on his share of the crop to secure the value of supplies advanced. The rental system has grown quite popular with many landowners. By this method the farms are rented for a specific amount of money, or pounds of cotton, the tenants making their own terms for supplies and assuming all risks. Under existing law this plan is quite safe for the land- owner, for he is entitled to the crop, to the exclusion of all others, as fast as harvested, until his rent is satisfied. As to the earnings of the laborer, of course much depends on the character of the soil, season, markets and the prudence and energy exercised in cultivation. One thing, however, may be said of labor in Mississippi-the prudent and industrious laborer need not long remain simply a laborer, as the rewards of labor are nowhere more certain; land is cheap and easily secured, can be bought on long credit, and in a brief time the frugal and industrious laborer becomes himself a landed proprietor."

Interesting as it would be to enter more in detail into these subjects, but one more feature can be noticed, namely, the restoration of land by the use of fertilizers of various sorts. Says a recent student of this subject: "The era of restoration of exhausted soils

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and the preservation of the fertile lands of the state, too long delayed, is now fairly inaugurated, and it is expected that there will hereafter be a large annual increase in the use of these means, promising results of the highest practical importance. More attention is being paid to the care, collection and application of barnyard manure, which costs but little time and no money, and which, by itself, supplies the ingredients necessary to insure permanent and active fertility. It is said that European agriculturists consider that anyone who even sells the manure which accumulates on bis land, instead of returning it to the soil, is fast ruining his estate. The agriculturists of Mississippi have not yet reached that point of appreciation for the materials necessary to keep their soil fertile and to restore already exhausted lands, but the improvement in this respect is notable, and promises well for the future. The materials for cheap and ready fertilizing are abundant throughout the state. There are many beds of marl, calcareous and gypseous, marsh and pond muck, lignitic clays and other substances suitable for composting, and, above all, is cottonseed and its product, cottonseed meal, which have no rivals as fertilizers. The valuable purposes to which cottonseed may be now applied are such that the seed is no inconsiderable part of the profits of the crop. Many years ago cottonseed was looked on as a nuisance, and often attempts were made to get rid of it by burning in a heap, the planters seeming to entertain no suspicion of its value as an application to the land. It is said to have been a common practice with the planters of the Mississippi bottom, with whom cottonseed was a drug, to get rid of it by hauling it to the bayous, where a part was eaten by the hogs and the rest washed away. The stalks also were generally pulled up or knocked down and burned on the field." This is all changed. Fertilizer manufacturers are now in almost every city in the state, and the trade is now recognized as one of the permanent ones.

Let some of the results of the different lines of agriculture be considered. Take the great line of cotton. Says Prof. Eugene Hilgard: "There is no natural cause why Missis- sippi should ever cease to be what she has been for some time past, the banner state for cotton production. Texas, with its vast area, may surpass Mississippi in total product by force of numbers as it were; but it would be difficult to cut out of that state an area equal to that of Mississippi which would equal the latter state as a whole in capacity of production." The product in 1883 was one million and fifty-two thousand one hundred bales, valued at $46,292,400, and other years of the past decade have approached that figure, and it is acknowledged that the yield of this state is safer and surer than that of other states. About one-third is raised by white labor. It is noticeable, too, that the state is beginning to con- sume a large amount of its cotton product, as is indicated by the fact that the last two years has witnessed the consumption of over thirty thousand bales within the state.

Take the fruit-growing and vegetable lines. Truck farming on an improved scale was begun in Copiah county in 1874. Rev. J. W. McNeil and Mr. Stackhouse were pioneers at Crystal Springs. About twenty years since Mr. Cassel of Canton began advancements in horticulture, and in 1872 the Mckay brothers-Dr. H. E., John and W. T. McKay-began the present extensive strawberry culture. Said a writer in a New Orleans paper in 1887:

"In the central and southern portions of Mississippi fruit and vegetable production as a business has been found so profitable as to obtain a firm footing there within the past few years. This part of the state possesses many advantages for this, and is attracting the attention of market gardeners of the North and West. The winters are mild and short, and successive crops of a large variety of vegetables can be raised during the year with outdoor culture. It is claimed that in the extreme southern portions of the state, with reasonable attention, green peas, lettuce, radishes, and a number of other vegetables, can be raised every month in the year.

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"The most successful fruits in the state are the peach, apple, plum, pomegranate, pear, fig, orange, and of the smaller fruits, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.

"Of peaches there are shipped from Crystal Springs, Terry and Hazlehurst annually not less than one hundred and fifty thousand boxes, of one-third a bushel each, to New Orleans and Western markets. There are not less than two thousand acres cultivated in the peach belt, which extends about seventy-five miles along the Illinois Central. New orchards are being planted annually, and more interest has been shown during the last few years, owing to the profitableness of orchards and their not being killed as much as formerly by frosts. The most profitable varieties are the Early Rivers, May Beauty, Early Rose, Tillot- son, Thurber, Crawford's and Picquet Late. The lands best adapted to peach culture are the black sandy piny woods and the deep red limy lands. Peaches which grow on this soil are noted for their beautiful red color and deliciousness, similar to those of the famous Michigan peach lands, which, before the yellows predominated, were valued at $1,000 per acre. Peach culture is one of the growing industries of the state. Some attention has also been given to the cultivation of early varieties of apples, as the Astrachan, Carolina, June and Early Harvest varieties. They generally bring remunerative prices. The Le Conte pear is being successfully introduced.

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Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 17

Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314