363 



iJyoke oxen ' !^150 



1,000 bushels corn 1,000 



Gear and implcmcuts , j^.OO 



Guano 900 



Seeds 150 



Wages, 22 hands .- 2,200 



Feed, 22 hands f>50 



Extni labor 400 



Total 15,850 



CKor. 



Cotton, 250 acres, 100 bales J|il0, 000 



Corn, 150 acres, 1,500 bushels ' 1,500 



Oats, 25 acres, 375 bushels 300 



4,000 bushels cottonseed , 600 



Total 12,400 



ASSETS. 



800 acres land - $8,000 



10 mnles 1,<)00 



2 wagons 200 



3 carts - 100 



2 yoke oxen 125 



Gear and implements ■ .\ 100 



Total , 10,125 



Assets $10,125 



Crop value 12,400 



$22, 525 



Cash outlay 15,850 



Balance 6,675 



Forage is not taken into account, because enough should at least bo made to meet 

 the demands upon the place. Neither is any estimate made of family expenses, which 

 would vary indefinitely, according to the tastes, habits, and circumstances of the ^iropri- 

 etor. All tho fruits and vegetables in their season might easily bo had ; while with 

 diligence and care milk, butter, poultry, eggs, and even pork, mutton, and beef, suffi- 

 cient for family use, could be added to the products of the plantation, almost without 

 an appreciable increase of expenditure. 



It Avill be seen that cotton is valued at 20 cents per pound ; it is now worth about 

 22 cents in the home markets, and the net profits of the plantation vary $500 with each 

 fluctuation of a cent in the price of cotton. 



Production is placed in the above calculation at a little less than 5 bales to the regu- 

 lar hand, or a little less than 4 bales to the hand, counting in the extra labor ; and it 

 is worthy of notice that tho net profits of the business are increased $2,200 with every in- 

 crease of one bale per hand. The average production here is probably 'il bales per hand, 

 Avhile successful planters make 4, 5, and even 6, and occasionally we hear of 8 and 10. 

 Does agriculture offer anywhere else such great rewards for intelligent and iiersistent 

 effort ? In evidence of the fact that the results of the above calculations are clearly 

 within the limits of what may be done, we give here statements of the crops actually 

 made and gathered last year by members of this club : 



Mr. Page, from 18 acres of improved upland planted in cotton, obtained in money 

 if $2,150. His entire crop, with 5 hands and 5 mules, was 19 bales of cotton and 2,400 

 bushels of corn, besides peas, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and forage and 4,000 pounds of 

 pork. This plantation was bought by Sir. Page five years ago for $4,000 in currency. 



Mr. E. S. Hammond, on a poor quality of upland worth $6 per acre, (recently bought 

 for that,) worked two hands and two mules ; money value of cotton, corn, hay, and 

 sweet potatoes, $1,600, besides 1,500 pounds of pork, and fruit and garden vegetables in 

 great abundance. 



Mr. G. B. Mills, on medium upland, worked three hands and made 21 bales of cotton, 

 corn and forage in abundance, and 500 bushels of sweet potatoes. 



Ml-. B. T. Page, managing for Mr. Bamy Dunbar, worked thirty hands, and made 161 

 bales of cotton, 3,000 bushels of corn, 400 bushels of peas, besides forage, sweet i>ota- 

 toes, vegetables and fruits in abundance, and killed 7,500 pounds of pork. Tho plan- 

 tation on which this crop was made was bought two years ago for $9,700 in ciu-rency. 

 4 



