202 



BO tbat upou tbe mountains lying along the eastern and western bor- 

 ders tbere is no excessive beat even in midsnmmer. 



Furtber data concerning tbis region are furnisbed by tbe following 

 letter from tbe pen of Mr. J. C. McKiuuey, of llogersville, Hawkins 

 County, on tbe subject of its soil, climate, agricultural capabilities, and 

 mineral resources : 



Eaet Tenuessee has beeu called the Switzerland of America. It is truly a mountain- 

 ous country, but iuterspersed with tine alluvial bottoms and rich valleys. It is bounded 

 on each side by high mountains. It is some two hundred miles long by one hundred 

 miles wide, extending from the northeast to the southwest, in which general direction 

 all the streams and mountain ranges take their course. Although called a Southern 

 State, its productions are those of the Middle States. All the grains, grasses, vege- 

 tables, and fruits of Pennsylvania grow and do well here. Years ago cotton was cul- 

 tivated, but it was found that we could do better in raising horses and mules for the two 

 cotton States south of us, and hogs and cattle to feed their people. This was the kind 

 of farming followed by most of us before the war, and we did well at it. But the war 

 stripped us of our stock. Grain brought good prices, and we all turned our attention 

 to its cultivation ; but the price has gone down, and the seasons have not been good, 

 so that, in addition to running down our farms, we find ourselves, after the last most 

 unpropitious season, with no surplus to sell and no money. 



The country is very irregular and unequal. The river and creek bottoms are rich, 

 and produce all kinds of grains and grass equal to the prairies of the West. There 

 are fine bottoms that produce well, then more broken land, until you come to the 

 mountains, which are fit only for pasture. There is one feature of the mountains and 

 all our hills which is, perhaps, peculiar — the southern side is generally thin land, while 

 the northern is rich, producing good grain and grass to the very summit. We have fine 

 timber of all kinds. The country is finely watered. We have good drinking-water, 

 and water-power sufficient to drive any amount of machinery. Medicinal springs of 

 all kinds exist, some of a very high character. It is entirely healthy ; ho section of 

 the Western States is more so. Many j>ersons from the North, afflicted with lung dis- 

 eases, have found relief here. Owing to our altitude, our summers are no warmer 

 than those of Pennsylvania. The winters are mild, there being but few days that 

 out-door work may not be performed. This is a great advantage to the farmer, not 

 only in the saving of fuel and the care of stock, but in many other respects. 



Our farming, like the country, is unequal. Before the war there were many who 

 followed a good rotation of crops, used improved implements, and their farms pre- 

 sented the appearance of careful cultivation. There were others, some owners of lands 

 and some but renters, who cared nothing for improved machinery, whose farms pre- 

 sented a dilapidated and worn-out appearance. Since the war, unfortunately, the 

 number of good farmers has decreased, while the class of renters, who care nothing 

 for improvements, has largely increased. This class work the land on shares ; they 

 will neither manure the old nor clear up the new land. Our farms must be divided 

 up and sold to men who will improve them, unless we can get a class of tenants like 

 the English tenant farmer, who has some capital, and, renting a farm for a term of 

 years, it becomes his interest to improve it. 



The dairy business would do well here, as we have fine grass and good water, and 

 long seasons for grazing. Some few who have tried it in a small way have done 

 well. All kinds of stock do well, and our proximity to the cotton States gives us a 

 good market for them. Our mouutain-sides should be covered with sheep— there is no 

 part of our country where they do better. A mixed husbandry is the kind for us— 

 grain, grass, and stock. These will pay us best, and keep up the fertility of our lands. 



CHANGE m TEXAS CATTLE-RAISING. 



^Cattle-raisers are beginning to realize a cbangein tbe conditions which 

 have hitherto secured to them certain special and anomalous advan- 

 tages. A broad, free range of native grasses has relieved them of all 

 care for tbe raising of food for their herds. Tbe sole labor required 

 hitherto has been in the collection and identification of each stock- 

 raiser's cattle. The methods in use were effective enough when tbe 

 business was in its infancy, but do not meet the necessities of its later 



