[The letters published in this issue form the sixth instalment in the series commenced in the October number of this magazine. These communications are published in response to numerous inquiries from Northern people who desire to know more about agricultural conditions in the South, and what is being accomplished by settlers from other sections of the country. These letters were written by practical farmers and fruit-growers, chiefly Northern and Western people who have made their homes in the South. The actual experiences of these settlers, as set forth in these letters, are both interesting and instructive to those whose minds are turned Southward.—Editor.]
Fruit-Growing in Middle Georgia.
Charles T. Smith, Concord, Ga.—Concord is located in the fruit belt of Middle Georgia. The country is slightly rolling and well watered. The soil is productive and can easily be brought to a very high state of fertility. For years cotton has been the staple crop, but King Cotton has a powerful rival now in peaches and grapes. Fruit-growing was introduced into Middle Georgia about twelve years ago. The first plantings were small and there were many scoffers. The industry proved to be very remunerative, and each year showed an increased acreage until fruit farms of 100 to 500 acres are now not uncommon, and hundreds of carloads of grapes and peaches are shipped annually and are known far and wide for their superior quality. Georgia grapes and peaches bring a higher price in all the leading markets than the same fruits from any other State in the Union, and with each season their popularity is increased.
The future outlook is very encouraging. The prices to be obtained now are not so large as heretofore, but with increased production came better methods of growing and hauling and better shipping facilities, and the profits to be derived are much the same, and far more satisfactory than any other crops that can be grown. This industry has been largely fostered by Northern men, who have always been with the foremost in progress. Their efforts have been crowned with success, and they may now look with pleasure not only on the handsome properties they have amassed but also on this splendid new industry in the development of which they have been pioneers.
A Northern Man’s Observation of Southern People.
L. S. Packard, Pine Bluff, Moore county, N. C., formerly of Warrensburg, N. Y.—Few persons realize from passing through the South what the soil is capable of producing under careful cultivation. After a stay of several years among Southern people I have learned much about them and their modes of work, the care the lands ought to have and the yields that can be expected under good cultivation. I give in brief my observations:
Southern men and women are justly entitled to the credit they get for being the most hospitable people in the United States. The majority of them live easy, enjoy life and are contented to go forward in the quiet ways of their fathers. Some, however, are branching out, learning to make money and are accumulating fortunes on the farms and in the factories. It is the general belief of the Northern people that Southern people cannot succeed.
To show an instance where a Southern born man has succeeded I shall confine my article to one man and to one farm, and in my future letters give the names of Northern men who have come South. Within a mile of the Seaboard Air Line in the county of Clark and State of Georgia, Mr. John Smith has a farm of several hundred acres. He started with small means but has improved, buying more land and stock, building larger barns and better houses each year until he has one of the finest and best equipped and regulated farms in the United States. His grain, clover and grass fields are as fine as any in Pennsylvania or New York. His stock is well kept and creditable in number and quality; they will compare favorably with the best in Ohio, Michigan or any part of the Northwest. His cotton fields are beautiful beyond description. He has every convenience in the way of modern machinery. He has built and equipped a railroad from his farm to Athens, Ga., and has erected a cottonseed oil mill, fertilizer factory and conducts a general mercantile business to supply tenants and employees.
Mr. Smith’s farming operations were enough to convince me that all the soil needed was careful cultivation and constant attention to yield three times the profit of any in the Northern or New England States.
Recently I met Mr. J. T. Patrick, of Southern Pines, N. C., who is a noted worker for Southern development and perhaps one of the best posted men in the South in regard to the developments going on in that section. I spoke to him about Mr. Smith. Mr. Patrick said: “I have seen his farm and it is a credit to Mr. Smith and the South, but there are many more Southerners who are doing as well as he, but I suppose you have not seen their farms. Major R. S. Tucker, of Wake county, Dr. W. R. Capehart, of Bertie county, and thousands of others scattered over the South are owners and managers of as fine farms as you can find in any part of the United States. You Northern people do not get out from the line of railroad to see what our people are doing, and we are generally judged, condemned and sentenced by people who ride through our country at the rate of forty miles an hour on a Pullman palace car and don’t know the difference between a cotton plant and a stalk of buckwheat.”