TYPES OF FARMING 97 



If a successful mechanical picker should come into use, 

 it would revolutionize agriculture in the South. Cotton 

 responds well to good care, but is a crop that will produce 

 something of a yield even if neglected. This makes it a 

 good crop for ignorant labor. On the other hand, the 

 cheap labor that goes with the cotton crop tends to 

 prevent the introduction of a more diversified farming. 

 Profitable production of grain crops in America calls for 

 the use of machinery and two to five horse or mule teams. 

 This requires efficient labor. Improved live-stock that 

 goes with diversified farming also requires intelligent 

 care. If the negro could be removed from any Southern 

 state, it is probable that land values would double in a 

 few years, because great numbers of Northern farmers, 

 who are now going to Canada, would go South. They 

 would establish diversified farms, with cotton as the most 

 important cash crop. 



EFFECTS OF WEEDS, INSECTS, AND DISEASES ON THE 

 TYPE OF FARMING 



69. Pests may limit the type of farming. There are 

 hundreds of instances of an entire change in the system of 

 farming because of pests. 



One of the things that has held back the development 

 of cattle raising and dairying in the South is Texas fever. 

 This has modified the entire system of farming. Now 

 the cotton-boll weevil promises to bring about diversified 

 farming. A few years ago, the San Jose scale practically 

 exterminated the peach industry in Delaware, Maryland, 

 and New Jersey. In many cases land values were cut 

 in half. Now farmers an; learning how to control the 

 scale, and the peaches and land values are returning. 



