SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE. 



Address delivered by Col. Thou. Clairborne, of Tennes- 

 see, before the National Agricultural Coagrttl at 

 Philadelphia, September 12, 1876. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Agricultu- 

 ral Congress; In appearing- before you, I am 

 painfully conscious that I subject myself to your 

 criticism ; that I am inadequate to the task of 

 satisfying 1 your just expectations. During 1 two 

 or three intervals snatched from actual field la- 

 bor I have crudely prepared this address. I am 

 not university-bred. I am provincial, and do not 

 affect a contest of this sort with men of literary 

 and scientific training ; and since I am here as a 

 modest helper, let me propitiate your fair favor. 



At this moment, and, as it appears to me, un- 

 der the happiest auspices, you have assembled 

 for patriotic work, in this venerable city, famed 

 in arts, scit nee, literature, and other, the bright- 

 est, phases of human progress, when the eyes 

 of a whole people are turned to this point, and 

 many thousands are daily imbibing new lessons 

 in viewing this mighty exhibition of the wond- 

 rous products of the talents, skill, industry and 

 perseverance of our fellow-countrymen and 

 foreign nationalities, you, gentlemen, with 

 great propriety, occupy a conspicuous place 

 amidst this grand assemblage of American 

 citizens; for upon the labors of those whem 

 3 ou represent rests the whole of this magnifi- 

 cent display ; the broad shoulders of the hus- 

 bandmau are the pediment of this splendid 

 pyramid of American achievement. 



1 received with surprise the invitation to ad- 

 drets you to day upon the subject of Southern 

 agriculture, which your worthy president ten- 

 dt-red to me in June, and accepted it reluctant- 

 ly, at the request of one who should this day be 

 here, occupying this stand I menu Col. J. B. 

 Kulebrew, commissioner of agriculture, etc., of 

 the State of Tennessee, a working man, "take 

 him for all in all" the like of whom is hard to 

 find anywhere ; who, in advocating the claims 

 of his state to the intelligent consideration of 

 capitalists for investments in mines of coal or 

 iron; in manufactures, whether of iron or 

 wood, cotton or wool ; in setting forth in fresh, 

 vigorous and truthful descriptions her vast re- 

 sources for happy agricultural homesteads ; and 

 also for the able instructions in the art of agri- 

 culture, which t<y pen and xongue he has lavish- 

 ly imparted to his fellow-citizens, deserves, as 

 lie has received, their respect, their applause, 

 i he 1 1- confidence. This is the man who could 

 ana would have charmed you with his happy 

 discourse on such a subject. He has substitut- 

 ed me froni friendly partiality, and deprived 

 you, by his absence, of a real enjoyment. 



The art of agriculture has been treated of so 

 often, and praised so well, for its intrinsic 

 worth to the children of men by the orators and 

 philosophers of all ages of civilization, by so 

 many and so happily qualified men of our coun- 

 try, from John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James 

 Madison, Judge Peters and Coi. Taylor, "of 

 Carolina," all of whom were the earnest advo- 

 cates of agricultural science, witn many other, 

 tue most reputable, names, of this country, all 

 along down to our own times of eager inquiry 

 and pursuit, when able and enthusiastic men, 



with the vast additional aids of new discoveries 

 in mechanical and chemical science, are seeking 



to wrest from nature her most hidden mysteries, 

 a plain farmer, like me, stands abashed and con- 

 fused, and hardly knows where to begin, or on 

 what to lay hold a conscious trespasser. 



I do not expect to advance any new ideas ; I 

 shall not consume your time in praising the art; 

 I shall proceed to talk about Southern agricul- 

 ture and its outlook; and to do this intelligently 

 requires a reference to the geograpical and po- 

 litical relations of the South to the whole 

 Union of these States. May that Union be con- 

 secrated to liberty forever. Our country, in its 

 general aspects and conditions, is essentially 

 agricultural, while many parts admit more 

 readily of employments in mining and manu- 

 facturing: yet, upon the whole, nature has 

 stamped the agricultural feature as the domi- 

 nant. I need not enlarge upon the fact that 

 agriculture is the basis of all prosperity among 

 the civilized people; nobody questions it; the 

 great Webster has eloquently said that it is the 

 " noblest and the grandest of the symbolic pil- 

 lars that support the government." Here, then, 

 in the South, is the great field of American ag- 

 riculture ; its real importance cannot be over- 

 rated. What shall be the future of this South- 

 land? 



There, spread out before you, through 12 

 parallels of latitude and many more of longi- 

 tude, lies the fair South country ; from the 

 Chesapenketo the Cape Sable and the mouth of 

 the Rio Grande, twelve states, one of which 

 Texas equals in its fertile areas two Pennsyl- 

 vanias, all chiefly best adapted to the planting 

 of cotton and tobacco ; on the coast rice and 

 sugar; in other parts corn, wheat and the 

 other cereals, sweet and Irish potatoes, hemp, 

 thix, sorghum, the raising of horses, cattle, 

 sheep, hogs, and all the other agricultural, pas- 

 toral, pomoiogicai nnd other infinite vegetable 

 productions, of course varying in character and 

 excellence according to their special habitat; 

 the Avhole expanse of mountain and valley, un- 

 dulating plain and "green" savannahs, capable 

 of infinite production, and destined to be the 

 theatre of an agricultural development that 

 will exact the homage of the world ; for here 

 is best distributed the great essentials, sunlight, 

 warmth, and moisture over continuously vast 

 areas of extraordinary fertility. I do not think 

 it worth the Avhile to estimate this area in 

 square miles to state minute features ; it will 

 suit my purpose and lessen your fatigue to 

 hasten, touching the most salient features. 



The present is not the proper normal con- 

 dition of the South; you will, each of you, 

 readily assign the reasons therefor, as they may 

 occur to you. Unless you come from, and have 

 lived and struggled among the people of the 

 South, you will not be able to descern truly, and 

 it would require a deal or patience to acquire 

 by recital, the facts necessary to an exact under- 

 standing of our political relation. The South 

 needs white men to settle up waste places, to 

 contribute to her development, and all men of 

 patriotic feeling and sound reflection know 

 that, to insure success, when immigration is in- 

 vited, security must be extended. 



The generous will not include a whole people 

 in the errors of a fe-v, and may find, in the ig- 

 norance of educational prejudices of e\ en these 

 a great deal to palliate ; for the basely wicked, 

 it would be a harder matter to find an apologist 

 at home than abroad ; and are not these to be 

 found, despite of example and experience in 

 every land? We have had our disorders. 



The Avar wrought a prodigious waste of men 

 and material wealth of the South: the slave 

 property was scarcely less than $1,200.000,000, 

 aud four years loss and consumption of crops 

 and other material, will cover four or five bil- 

 lions. The chaos that greeted the vision of the 

 soldiers returning to their homes might well 

 have appalled them; that prospect is now greatly 

 altered, by their labors, for the better. I shall 



