THE ALABAMA OPPORTUNITY. 93 



chants in New Orleans began firing in five times as many orders 

 as he could fill. 



That was three years ago. Air. Reed owns one of the finest 

 homes on the highest hill in Lanett, with a big flower yard, a 

 spacious green lawn and big water-oak trees. He sold the 

 stock in his company with ease and the neighbors who laughed 

 at him are buying ypung pecan trees to set out on their own 

 farms. 



CARRYING OUT AN IDEA. 



There have been more failures in agriculture than any other 

 field of endeavor. The industry offers and has offered through 

 all the ages an interesting field to the experimenter. It is full 

 of temptation, the business of farming and its corollary indus- 

 tries. There seems to be so many difiFerent methods of doing 

 an old thing in a new way, or doing some new thing in a new 

 way. Therefore, as has been before remarked, agriculture has 

 more failures marked up to its' credit or discredit than any other 

 line of industry. 



For which same reason the man with a new idea, the man 

 with an experiment, is regarded always with' suspicion by his 

 neighbors. It is easier for a man with an idea to convince peo- 

 ple with money that gold can be distilled from sea water by a 

 process of which he only knows, than it is for a man with a new 

 agricultural idea to win the faith and confidence of his' neigh- 

 bors. That typical American character, the sanguine boomer. 

 Colonel Mulberry Sellers, had a much easier task of convinc- 

 ing would-be investors that there were millions in his patent- 

 ed eye-water, than he would have had if he had undertaken to 

 solicit some new idea about growing corn or cotton. 



The success of Mr. Reed's venture, however, did not de- 

 pend upon the faith his neighbors put in the undertaking. 

 It was his' money, his time and his faith that he had put in the 

 enterprise. He was to reap the result, whatever it was, success 

 or failure. 



To be sure pecans had been grown for profit and with suc- 

 cess in Texas, Louisiana and other states. But in East Ala- 

 bama and West Georgia such a thing had never been before 

 undertaken. There were some pecan trees scattered here and 

 there, but they were there more as curiosities or accidents 

 than anvthing else. 



