AROUND THE YEAH WITH COTTON 171 



April has truthfully and artistically portrayed the im- 

 portant role that hog killing plays in the life of the 

 plantation Negro, but it is no less significant to the white 

 family. Existing on a monotonous diet throughout the 

 growing season, with little or no consumption of beef or 

 mutton, the grower's family is "almost starved" for fresh 

 meat. A butchering is a neighborhood event, and pres- 

 ents of the delicacies are distributed. First to be eaten 

 are the brains and liver. Liver hash and liver pudding 

 are special delicacies. It is commonly thought that only 

 Negroes eat the "lights" (lungs) and "chitlings," but 

 there are many white cropper and tenant families who 

 regard them as palatable. Backbones, boiled, and spare- 

 ribs, fried, follow. The crisp remains of fat after the lard 

 is extracted are often baked in corn meal to make crack- 

 ling bread, esteemed on almost every southern table. 

 Hams, shoulders, and side meat are smoked and stored 

 away to furnish meat throughout the winter. 



It is likely that by this time the rural schools have 

 opened for the winter term. If so, the attendance of chil- 

 dren, both black and white, is likely to be sporadic until 

 cotton picking is finished. School laws allow children to 

 be excused for emergencies on the farm. Compulsory edu- 

 cation is confronted by a fact, not a theory, and the 

 school bows to the cotton system. In many places schools 

 do not open until after the picking season. And until 

 living standards and economic status of the cotton farmer 

 are raised this seems to be a realistic adjustment. 



After several more pickings the crop is finished, all 

 the cotton has been baled, hauled down main street, and 

 sold. If grown east of Texas, the crop has required from 

 100 to 140 hours of man labor and from 45 to 60 hours 

 of mule labor per acre. The amount of labor has varied 



